Our Foundation trustees

Carys Nelkon specialises in developing projects that work directly with young people and volunteers to make long lasting social change. Carys is currently working with the local community to develop a place-based, nature-based and sustainability focused curriculum.

Before this, Carys helped establish Arts Emergency, growing it from a grassroots project to a nationwide charity. She has varied experience working with charities, higher education and the legal sector alongside a range of cultural organisations both in the UK and Australia.

Carys also sits on the board of the Daisy Farris Dance Collective. She’s known more widely as a facilitator, mentor and as a Clore leader.

Daisy is the project manager for inclusive grant making at the Nuffield Foundation. They’re experienced in embedding equity and inclusion within organisational practices, cultures and programmes.

Dr Joanne Wade OBE has over 30 years’ experience in the energy sector. She is currently chief strategic advisor at the Association for Decentralised Energy and also works as an independent consultant. Her expertise spans energy sufficiency, local energy systems and their supply chains, and energy use in buildings

Gill Collinson BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, CEng, MIET is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). She leads the professional body representing medical physicists, clinical engineers and technologists, championing the vital contribution of healthcare science.

Gill provides strategic and organisational leadership to advance professional standards, education and training, policy influence and sector sustainability. Prior to joining IPEM, she held a Director role at STEM Learning Ltd.  Her work focused on system-level improvement, partnership development and long-term programme sustainability.

A Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Gill brings extensive experience across both the public and private sectors.  She’s passionate about enabling professional communities to thrive and ensuring that technical expertise translates into meaningful societal impact.

Julian is Deputy Director of Conservation Programmes at WWF UK. He is a passionate advocate for young people and social and climate justice. Julian has over 25 years’ experience working with civil society organisations. He’s helped them build the skills and social capital of local stakeholders to become effective change makers.

He lived in Africa and Central and South America for over 17 years. He has first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for civil society, young people and social change movements.

He was chief executive at youth leadership organisation Raleigh International and now works at WWFUK in conservation partnerships.

Ella Thorne is a senior communications and corporate affairs adviser. She led global corporate sustainability communications campaigns for Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. She’s also held senior positions in global communications consultancies including MSL Group and Ogilvy.  

Starting her career as a secondary and tertiary education teacher, Ella is passionate about empowering young people to help them thrive and drive positive change.  She established and directed The Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards, a global grant-making and mentoring programme that supports young people tackling sustainability issues.  

Jasmine is a climate action advisor at Ashden Climate Solutions, supporting schools, colleges, and nurseries to decarbonise through the national Let’s Go Zero campaign. She has worked on a range of education programmes and campaigns that empower young people to learn about the climate crisis and take action. 

A former primary teacher in London, Jasmine trained through Teach First, earning a PGDE from UCL’s Institute of Education. As an active Teach First ambassador, she’s committed to improving outcomes for all young people. Jasmine also serves as an assessor for the King’s Awards for Enterprise, identifying businesses and non-profits driving sustainable development in the UK. She brings expertise in sustainability, education, and climate action to her work. 

Zoe is an environmental advocate and student, currently studying Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick. She was first involved in environmental campaigns at the age of 14, when she founded the Bristol Youth Climate Strikes. She has since been passionate about bringing together young people to raise awareness of environmental issues. She also feels strongly about supporting other young people with Climate Anxiety while equipping them with tools for change. She’s passionate about refugee rights and is campaigns coordinator at Warwick Student Action for Refugees (STAR) and a student trustee for STAR national.