Our Team

Associates

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  Michila Critchley (Programme Director)

  As Programme Director, Michila leads the design and implementation of our work and plays a key role co-ordinating our activity and team. She has deep experience in organisational development, facilitation, research and fund-raising from over twenty years’ experience working with not-for-profit organisations internationally and in the UK. Specialist knowledge includes; programme development, facilitation, strategic planning, research and funding and grants and a thorough working knowledge of a national umbrella association for development education.

  Michila played a key role in the success of the Climate Voices project (2015-2021), adapting the delivery of this key project during the coronavirus pandemic to be delivered digitally at a time of considerable pressure on secondary schools, our key partners for the project. More broadly, Michila has led our recent international work through the EU Erasmus+ funded International Climate Action Network (I-CAN).

  LinkedIn
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  Cecily Etherington

  Cecily is a freelance Project Manager with over 10 years’ experience of developing and implementing creative sustainability programmes; emphasising positive social and environmental impact through behaviour change, strategic partnerships and youth-led approaches. She is currently enjoying undertaking our climate action research and supporting students to engage and motivate action amongst their peers.

  LinkedIn
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  Rachel Shepherd

  Rachel is a member of our team of Associates, supporting the delivery of our programmes through her engagement with schools. A recent highlight has been working with St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School in Bristol on their journey to become a school which is leading the way on climate action.

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  Isla Graves

  Isla works part time as our Communications Lead. She studies MSc Global Sustainability Solutions at the University of Exeter, after a Geography BA. Isla has volunteered in a range of roles for ICN over the past three years after becoming involved in 2017, when she took part in the Climate Voices programme. Winning the Leadership Award at the 2018 InterClimate National Summit, Isla and her team were nominated for the Climate Coalition’s Green Heart Awards ‘Greenest School or Youth Project’.

  LinkedIn

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  Makayla Murphy

  Makayla is a freelance Research Associate who has supported our Youth Climate Action Research since 2022. She has an MSc in Behaviour Change from University College London and a BA in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin. Makayla’s background in behavioural science and research has supported the production of ICN’s school-level and national reports on climate action among secondary school children in the UK.

  LinkedIn

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  Helen Garforth

  Helen is a highly experienced facilitator, trainer, researcher and communicator with proven enthusiasm and talent for raising awareness of local, national and global sustainable development issues and motivating for change. She has a passion and a talent for helping to turn discussion into action, and for enabling people, communities and organisations to make a difference.

  Helen’s experience includes being Director of a national and international development education programme, facilitating a global youth action group, international partnership co-ordination, being a trustee on the boards of the Development Education Association, being a school governor, and setting up successful business, Just Ideas.

  Her educational background is in anthropology and international development, with an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a BA from Queens’ College Cambridge.

  Helen has been involved in ICN since the early stages, playing a key delivery role within the UK team, particularly focusing on developing resources and delivering workshops in schools and with youth groups for the International Climate Challenge and Youth projects. She has particularly enjoyed the Model UN Climate Conferences, and looks forward to developing this methodology further, integrated with other ICN initiatives.

  LinkedIn
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  Richard Usher

  As an Associate of InterClimate Network Richard has co-facilitated ICN’s Model Climate Conferences, engaged students through outreach work with schools in Reading and London, and done the behind the scenes work making sure events happen! He is also Learning and Evaluation Director at Just Ideas so has contributed to the evaluation of InterClimate Networks projects – assessing the difference that participation makes to young peoples’ attitudes, understanding and actions in relation climate change.

  The powerful participation of new groups of students each year in ICN’s activities, gaining motivation, sharing experience and creating new ideas really drives his involvement with the Climate Voices project. His current portfolio of work beyond ICN includes evaluation for trusts and charities focusing on environmental sustainability, systems change and community development. He loves meeting new people involved in these projects and challenging himself both in learning from others and with a fondness for outdoor adventures involving bikes, trail shoes and wet suits!

  LinkedIn
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  Mary Singleton-White

  Mary supports and co-ordinates InterClimate Network’s work with schools in the Reading area, including Reading’s Model Climate Conference. Mary particularly enjoys the outreach work with local schools and has been inspired and humbled by their passion, energy and commitment to tackle, in their words, “the defining issue of our time”. As Project Co-ordinator for Just Ideas Mary has focussed on a range of projects engaging with environmental sustainability, health and community development.

  Mary has a background in marketing and communications in both the charity and technology sectors. Prior to joining Just Ideas, Mary worked as a consultant for international NGO the Rainforest Alliance where her work included delivering the annual Follow the Frog campaign and working with businesses such as Unilever and Kraft to help establish the Rainforest Alliance certification in the UK. Mary is a trustee of a Reading based charity which provides support to parents of children with additional needs and has served as a town councillor.

  LinkedIn

Trustees

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  Ruben Brooke (Chair)

  Ruben first became involved with InterClimate Network in 2017. Attending a climate conference inspired him while he was developing a school-based climate diplomacy project with a social mobility charity in London, which led to subsequent voluntary involvement with the charity and, in 2020, a role on the board of trustees. Professionally, he works in investment management and has a strong interest in the developing areas of impact and climate investing. He holds the Investment Management Certificate, an MSc in Management from the University of Bristol, and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy with English from Northeastern University, London.

  LinkedIn

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  Ben Carroll

  Ben is a Consultant for Community Insights Group, a social impact management consultancy. His current role involves undertaking human and social rights impact assessments, evaluating project stakeholder engagement, and developing country human rights profiles. His recent experience includes being a caseworker and researcher in the Parliamentary and Constituency Offices of an MP.

  Ben holds a First-Class BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bristol. He is particularly interested in the intersections between climate change and human rights. Ben has volunteered for ICN because he believes it is essential for younger generations to be inspired to address the issues of climate change and to strive for environmental sustainability.

  LinkedIn

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  Rupali Nahar-Williams

  Rupali is a Policy Advisor working in the Modern Slavery Unit of the Home Office. Rupali was previously the Policy Officer at the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy focusing on resources and waste legislation. During her time there, she managed and developed the strategy for the Tidy Britain All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and launched the new Parks and Green Spaces APPG. Experience in these sectors has led to passion in inspiring and amplifying young people’s voices in the political process.

  She also has an academic and background interest in intersectional climate and environment issues relating to race and gender equality. She has a MA in Religion in Global Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

  LinkedIn

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  Julian Parkin

  Julian graduated in psychology prior to qualifying as a chartered accountant and working as the financial controller for a professional services firm in China.  After working in New York Julian returned to the UK where he spent 17 years in the Financial Services industry.  He worked for many years in risk management, governance and control before moving into programme and portfolio management, delivering global programmes and projects.

  For the last 7 years Julian has run a consultancy working across multiple industries to implement frameworks including risk management & ESG, privacy, data together with assisting companies in their public listings on stock exchanges.  Julian has worked in a voluntary capacity managing the finances of a number of educational organisations and believes that the most effective change will come through educating and empowering the younger generation to drive the agenda.

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  Catherine Sayers (Board Secretary)

  Catherine is a chartered Company Secretary and is currently working within financial services.

  Catherine has spent over six years working in Governance roles within financial services, gaining practical experience supporting Boards and Committees and undertaking Governance projects. Having historically undertaken ‘front of house’ voluntary roles for charities, Catherine believes it would be of value now to combine the Governance skillset developed throughout her career and studies with voluntary work in support of charities and worthwhile organisations.

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  James Streeter

  James is a sustainable business leader and is one of the first generation to actively pursue a career in sustainability selecting his school and university studies to meet this goal.

  Upon graduating with his MSc in Environmental Management in 1992 he has seen sustainability grow enormously.   His work has taken him to many countries and some incredible environments including the Arctic, the Amazon rainforest and the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, where he has seen both the vulnerabilities created by climate change and also the strong global commitment to take action. This is an intergenerational challenge and James is keen to inspire the next generation of young people into taking action, including creating opportunities for young people to get work experience and ultimately pursue a career in sustainability.

  LinkedIn
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  Tara Theiss

  Tara is a young professional working at the intersection of climate, ESG and corporate law. Her recent experience includes working on various renewable energy fund IPOs and share issuances, as well as contributing to the development of an in-house ESG financial product classification system. Tara has also assisted with the editing of a soon-to-be published handbook on energy law and ethics, and currently participates in a climate think-tank as a research fellow. Tara holds an LLM in Energy and Natural Resources Law from Queen Mary University of London and has written award-winning dissertations on directors’ duties with respect to climate change, and the barrier of legal standing in climate litigation.

  LinkedIn

Volunteers

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  Helen Dewhurst

  Helen is a Corporate Sustainability Associate at BloombergNEF. She previously worked in sustainable procurement at Accenture, and holds a BA in geography from the University of Cambridge.

  Helen’s present role involves examining how companies procure renewable energy, and the efforts being made by corporate and industrial consumers to manage their resources more sustainably with a focus on carbon reduction. Helen examines how policies and renewable energy economics interact to influence corporate renewable purchasing decisions, and builds datasets that track the progress of corporate environmental commitments.

  Helen is excited to be part of ICN. She believes it is vital for the next generation to learn how they can tackle climate change. ICN provides the inspiration and knowledge teenagers need to influence decisions made by governments, companies and civil society.

  Growing up over a decade ago, options to pursue a career in sustainability weren’t clear. The opportunity to take part in ICN events would have been very welcome.
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  Will Henley

  Will is a sustainability communications specialist and Head of Communications for the International Hydropower Association. He has worked in journalism, international development, government, and energy, finance and infrastructure sectors.

  As a climate advocate, Will is a strong supporter of ICN’s mission to inspire young people to become active citizens and leaders in sustainable development. He has represented both IHA and The Commonwealth at the United Nations climate conference (COP). He previously wrote about sustainable business for The Guardian and co-founded a youth website YourCommonwealth.org

  In his early career, Will worked as a ministerial research assistant at the Home Office and also for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Kosovo and Macedonia. He holds a first-class degree in international relations and a post-graduate diploma in journalism. He is also a keen kayaker and river user.
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  Toby Leaver

  Toby was introduced to ICN via his children’s school and an introduction from James Streeter. He is keen to support the work of a charity that increases awareness of the environmental impact we have on the planet and hopes supporting their work can increase ICNs ability to get their message out to as wide an audience as possible.

  He manages IT support teams for a large multinational media organisation in London and is the web site administrator for InterClimate Network website.
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  Jenny Mant

  Jenny Mant started her professional life as a physics teacher. This was followed, as a university lecturer, by extensive educational research and teacher training. Before retiring she worked for the Institute of Physics on projects promoting physics education in schools, and specifically those which explored how to encourage girls into physics.

  She has recently volunteered for ICN because she thinks it is vital for young people to understand all aspects of climate change, particularly the science involved, and for them to be educated to participate in society and learn how to take action. The work ICN does with young people is inspiring and she is keen to support it further.

• Lucy White

  Lucy was introduced to the work of ICN while she was teaching in a West London school, where in 2017 she helped to organise a Climate Summit for local secondary school students.   Lucy teaches biology and environmental science; she feels lucky to be able to share her love of the natural world with her students and strives to inspire and instil in them a respect for the environment.  She is thrilled to be a volunteer for ICN; she believes that by bringing young people together, and pledging to take action, we can influence others to make responsible decisions.

  Lucy currently lives and teaches in East Sussex and can often be found pottering in her vegetable patch with her children. She holds a Masters Degree in Comparative & Global Studies in Education and Development from the University of Hong Kong; a BSc in Biological & Marine Science from King’s College London, and is a graduate of the prestigious Teach First programme.
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  May Tatum

  May volunteers as our Social Media Lead. She is a third-year undergraduate student at University of Essex studying Literature and Creative Writing. Once she graduates, May intends to pursue a career in marketing and social media.

  May has a strong interest in sustainability and her favourite sustainable tip is to shop second hand, especially at boot sales and charity shops. She’s passionate about using social media to encourage others to do the same. Newer generations of young people are influenced by others online, May feels privileged to be able to use our social media channels to help them make sustainable choices.

Advisors

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  Cristian Parrino

  Cristian is a tech turned social entrepreneur, focussed on applying his commercial and innovation background to enable an inclusive and regenerative economy. He currently shares his time between building Greengame, a tech-for-good startup that works with cities, universities and businesses to incentivise sustainable behaviour, and helping social impact organisations scale through new programme development, fundraising and partnerships. Recently this has included working with primary and secondary schools on a climate action themed social entrepreneurship programme, advising the United Nations Global Compact on their Young SDG Innovators Program (YSIP), and building a research and innovation programme for environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

  LinkedIn

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  Dale Williams

  Dale is a partner in the corporate team of BPE solicitors, which means he acquires of, disposes of and restructures companies and other business structures. He acts for wide range of both private and public companies and has a specialism in renewable technologies, a subject close to his heart. Originally from North Wales he moved to England in 1988 settling in Cheltenham in 1998 then joining BPE’s Cheltenham office in February 2013, so he finally works in the town where he lives and can walk to work most days. Outside of law Dale is a passionate Skier and Snowboarder and a Trustee of The Children’s Family Trust.
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  Emma Callaghan

  Emma is a strategic communications and campaigns specialist with experience across local government, international development, social care, education and disability rights. She has held senior communications roles at the BBC and on the board of an award-winning Top 20 Consumer PR agency and launched major environmental education programmes in Cambodia and Laos.

  Emma is Deputy Head of Communications at the London Borough of Havering, driving culture change and transformation initiatives as well as high-profile public health campaigns. She has led on major community engagement programmes including the NHS vaccination volunteer drive, mental health awareness partnerships and the COVID-19 emergency response.

  LinkedIn

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  Kirsty Schneeberger

  Kirsty is Head of Partnerships at Climate Care, the leading profit with purpose B Corp working with organisations to meet their climate change and net zero commitments. Her career has spanned working for the UNFCCC on the Paris Agreement, NGOs such as ClientEarth on their strategic litigation work, and philanthropy including CIFF and Synchronicity Earth.

  She was appointed MBE in 2010 for her work as a youth climate advocate, and called to the English Bar in 2015.
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  Lucy Stone

  Lucy has many years’ experience at the cutting edge of public engagement on climate change, recently helping establish a UK citizen assembly and a documentary about the process. She is Director of FILE Foundation, on the board of a community energy company and chair of Climate Spring, a climate storytelling organisation

  She has been a long-term advocate for enabling the voice of children in climate policy – nationally and internationally. At UNICEF UK Lucy led the organisation’s climate change work, which included support for a global children’s forum on climate change during the Copenhagen UN climate negotiations. She helped establish the ‘children in a changing climate’ coalition of children’s organisations (Save the Children, Plan, UNICEF and others), providing research on the role of children in child-sensitive climate programmes and policy.
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  Mike Barry

  Mike is a change agent, committed to helping business big and small, new and established to prepare for and succeed in the great sustainability disruption that will wash through the economy in the 2020s. He’s worked with organizations such as Unilever, SAP, Grosvenor, GSK, Nestle, Reiss, Nomad Foods, the Environment Agency, Royal Society of Chemistry, British Retail Consortium, Rentokil, Skipton Building Society, Bord Bia and Climate Action.

  Mike was until recently Director of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer, spearheading its ground-breaking Plan A (because there is no Plan B for the one planet we have) sustainability programme. He co-chaired the Consumer Goods Forum’s sustainability work bringing the world’s largest retailers and fast-moving consumer goods brands together to work on issues such as deforestation, plastics and forced labour. He is a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and a Trustee at Blueprint for Better Business.
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  Paul Tyler

  Former Liberal Democrat MP, Lord Paul Tyler is the Honorary President.

  In 2005 Paul retired, after serving for 14 years, as MP for North Cornwall. In addition to his relentless campaigning on a broad range of issues during his time in the House of Commons, Paul also served the Liberal Democrat Front Bench as Chief Whip and most recently as Shadow Leader of the House.

  Paul was subsequently made a working peer and introduced to the House of Lords. He is now Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Constitutional and Political Reform, and served on the 2006 Joint Committee on Conventions, which examined and set out the relationship between the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

  Paul and his wife, Nicky now live in a recently built sustainable, largely energy self-sufficient home in Nicky’s native Gloucestershire.