Catherine Fitzpatrick

Director

Catherine joined the Board in July 2019. She has a deep understanding of activism, strategy development, communications and audience understanding, having worked for more than three decades for non-governmental organisations in Australia, the Pacific, Canada, Asia and Europe.

Catherine first got involved in activism during the Franklin campaign in the 1980s working for the Wilderness Society. Since 1996, Catherine has campaigned full-time on climate and energy issues, first with the David Suzuki Foundation in Canada, leading their successful air pollution and climate campaign. From 2002 to 2021, Catherine worked for Greenpeace in Australia, China, Europe and Southeast Asia on climate, renewable energy, communications, and audience engagement and segmentation.

Catherine now works as a consultant, supporting and enabling a new generation of campaigners to develop and deliver campaign strategic work globally.  She is deeply committed to supporting the mission and work of the Sunrise Project through her work as board member and Vice-Chair.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Claire Mallinson

Board Chair

Claire joined the Board in December 2019, she is passionate about the Sunrise Project’s mission and purpose and brings strategic expertise, business acumen and leadership experience. Claire has a deep understanding of campaigning and the power of activism across international boundaries with over 30 years of senior leadership experience with environmental, human rights, disability and cancer research INGOs/NGO’s in Australia and around the world.

Claire was the National Director (CEO) of Amnesty International Australia (AIA) for twelve years and part of Amnesty International’s Global Leadership Team for a decade. Whilst National Director of AIA Claire oversaw the growth of AIA’s supporters by 400% and the delivery of significant human rights wins in Australia, Asia Pacific and globally.  She built, led and developed key partnerships including business leaders, major funders, Indigenous communities and elders and civil society leaders and activist groups and was part of the Board team that developed and implemented major governance reform. Claire is an advisor, coach and mentor to CEO’s, senior executives and Boards and is a Member of AICD, Chief Executive Women, and Women on Boards.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Erna de Vries

Director

Erna is a retired petroleum geologist and financial analyst with a keen interest in sustainability and corporate ethics. She studied Earth Sciences and worked as a geologist with international oil and gas companies including Shell, BHP and Ampolex. After working in the Netherlands, UK and Brunei, her career brought her to Australia. Erna obtained her MBA in Sydney and went on to work as a senior executive in corporate and institutional banking with Bankers Trust and then Westpac as Head of Resources Research and Commonwealth Bank as a senior risk manager. She has been involved in the financing decisions of many major mining and energy projects. For the last 15 years Erna has been an active volunteer in various local community campaigns.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Giles Gunesekera

Director

Giles is the Founder and CEO of Global Impact Initiative. Giles has over 25 years’ experience of building and developing teams and businesses for global enterprises. Giles has held senior roles in the financial services industry spanning recruiting, training, product, distribution and leadership.

Giles has received an Outstanding Alumnus award from Oxford for creating an innovative, sustainable business that generates positive social impact. His business, Global Impact Initiative (GII) is one of only forty-one (41) Global Compact LEAD companies, recognised for their high levels of engagement in the United Nations. GII has been a UN LEAD since 2019 and is the only Australian firm to be recognised as a UN LEAD. The business works under five key pillars of Gender Equality, Indigenous Communities, Health, Affordable Housing and Climate.

Giles is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia, Fellow of the School of Social Entrepreneurs, Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders, and Member of the Australian Institute of Training and Development. Giles is an Industry Fellow at the Business School of the University of Technology, Sydney.

Giles has a unique blend of leadership and business skills gained in the corporate environment married with financial and governance skills gained in the Not-for-Profit sector. Giles holds numerous Volunteer Not-for-Profit Directorships ranging from International Aid, Human Rights, Disabilities, Education, Arts and Sports. Giles is on Advisory Boards for the United Nations for Climate & Health and Sustainable Finance. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Securities and Investments Institute of Asia Pacific.

Giles has formal academic qualifications from Oxford University, Melbourne University, Monash University and the Financial Services Institute of Australia.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Jason Field

Director

Jason is a Koori with ancestral connections to the people Bidjigal and Walbunja peoples. Over nearly thirty years Jason has worked in the areas of human rights and Indigenous policy and programme delivery.

Jason has diverse Indigenous policy interests including land and sea management, education, stolen generations, housing and the protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples rights to their country, knowledge and heritage. He has worked at the local, regional, state, national and international, having participated in various United Nations fora including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and as an adviser to the federal environment department for the negotiations of the Nagoya Protocol.

Jason is currently the Executive Officer with the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University and is an aspiring PhD candidate.

John Hepburn

Founder & Co-Executive Director

John is an activist and social entrepreneur with over twenty-five years experience running environmental campaigns. In 2017, he was an inaugural recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award, which was the catalyst for Sunrise to scale its work globally. Prior to founding The Sunrise Project in 2012, John spent a decade leading campaigns with Greenpeace, and previously worked on a wide variety of environmental campaigns at a grassroots level. He is the founder of several non-profit recycling businesses, which led to him being awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2002. John holds degrees in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Business Management, and before becoming an activist, worked for several years as an engineer making components for the oil, gas and coal industries.

Sam La Rocca

Co-Executive Director

Sam leads the Sunrise Project’s Australian Program. He brings over twenty-five years experience building people powered movements for a socially just and ecologically sane world. Sam holds a multidisciplinary degree in environmental science, and while completing his first class honours thesis on grassroots mobilisation, he co-founded activist education outfit The Change Agency to deliver social movement education, campaign strategy and organising training programs to community groups around Australia and internationally. He’s worked as a senior political advisor in federal parliament and led highly successful electoral campaigns. He has facilitated movement-wide processes for the Climate Action Network Australia and Friends of the Earth International’s Asia Pacific Region; and he has a strong interest in building powerful networks to catalyse system change.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sudha Nandagopal

Chair of the US Board

Sudha Nandagopal is a highly regarded organizer, facilitator, strategist, and movement builder focused on democratizing systems of power. Her career includes leadership roles in strategic communications, international organizing, program design, policy creation, and political campaigns. Through this work and her leadership in social, environmental, climate and racial justice organizations, Sudha has developed expertise in multi-sector stakeholder engagement, networks, collaborative problem solving, and building power with communities of color, immigrants, and refugees in the United States.

As Chief Executive Officer of Social Venture Partners International (SVPI), Sudha cultivates and expands a philanthropic network to catalyze more resources to communities around the globe, demonstrate ways for philanthropy to share power and wealth, and build stronger relationships between philanthropists and communities. Under Sudha’s leadership in response to the systemic crises magnified by the COVID 19 pandemic and the renewed global reckoning on racial justice, SVPI launched Reimagine Giving, to inspire donors to become system change advocates. Prior to joining SVP International, Sudha co-founded, in partnership with community leaders, and led the City of Seattle’s Equity & Environment Initiative.

Sudha is a published author and an expert consultant for foundations, local governments, and national environmental organizations. Grist Magazine recognized Sudha as one of their inaugural Grist 50 visionaries who will “lead us to a more sustainable future.” Puget Sound Business Journal recently recognized Sudha as one of the region’s 40 under 40 for her leadership in philanthropy and the social change sector. Sudha holds a degree in Biology and Society from Cornell University which informs her systems thinking and interdisciplinary approach.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

John Hepburn

Director

John is an activist and social entrepreneur with over twenty-five years experience running environmental campaigns. In 2017, he was an inaugural recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award, which was the catalyst for Sunrise to scale its work globally. Prior to founding The Sunrise Project in 2012, John spent a decade leading campaigns with Greenpeace, and previously worked on a wide variety of environmental campaigns at a grassroots level. He is the founder of several non-profit recycling businesses, which led to him being awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2002. John holds degrees in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Business Management, and before becoming an activist, worked for several years as an engineer making components for the oil, gas and coal industries.

Sam La Rocca

Co-Executive Director

Sam leads the Sunrise Project’s Australian Program. He brings over twenty-five years experience building people powered movements for a socially just and ecologically sane world. Sam holds a multidisciplinary degree in environmental science, and while completing his first class honours thesis on grassroots mobilisation, he co-founded activist education outfit The Change Agency to deliver social movement education, campaign strategy and organising training programs to community groups around Australia and internationally. He’s worked as a senior political advisor in federal parliament and led highly successful electoral campaigns. He has facilitated movement-wide processes for the Climate Action Network Australia and Friends of the Earth International’s Asia Pacific Region; and he has a strong interest in building powerful networks to catalyse system change.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Adam Black

Senior Campaigner

Adam has four years’ experience on the climate team at GetUp, working to stop Adani, keep coal seam gas in the ground, save Australia’s Renewable Energy Agency and generally make federal climate policy less woeful. He has a journalism degree from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Anneke Gouws

Partnerships Associate

Anneke is a passionate and energetic young person working in the climate space. They bring a broad swathe of experience to their work, from events management to ethical procurement. She holds a Bachelor of Theology, and is working towards a Masters of Theology by Research, with a special interest in gender diversity within theology.

Anneke grew up in South Africa, and now lives on Wurundjeri country with her partner and their bunny. In their spare time, they like to try new recipes, play guitar and board games.

Bikash Bhattarai

Finance Director

Bikash is a professional accountant with more than 14 years of experience in three different countries. Originally from Nepal, he moved to Sydney in 2017 work for one of the impactful Australian charity The Fred Hollows Foundation. Prior to that we worked in a micro-finance bank and chartered firm in Nepal.

A recipient of Certificate of Excellence from CPA Australia, he is passionate about helping non-finance folks understand the subtleties of finance, simplifying and clarifying processes, finding and implementing long term solutions, helping people and most importantly leaving this world a better place than it was before!

In his free time, he loves listening to eastern classical music, watching a lot of movies and playing with his toddler.

Claire O’Rourke

Co-Director, Australia Energy Transformation Program

Claire has 20 years’ experience in journalism, communications and campaigning in Australia and around the world. Claire has held a number of leadership positions, including most recently at Amnesty International Australia and as National Director of community-led renewable energy advocacy organisation Solar Citizens.

Claire has a broad history of organising and campaigning in the labour movement and for organisations of social impact, including overseeing communications for Australia’s successful Every Australian Counts campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Deepa Sealy

Partnerships & Projects Manager (SOL)

Deepa has worked and volunteered for a number of environmental Not-for-Profits mostly in New Zealand.  From workshop facilitation on urban agricultural projects, to community organising, engagement and operations management, she is committed to climate, wildlife and social justice in everything she does.

She moved to Sydney in 2019 to be in a warmer clime,  and closer to family and started at The Sunrise Project in June 2020.

When not at work Deepa is out exploring National Parks by foot,  cooking army-portion meals with her family, gardening, doing weekend quizzes, reading and watching films!

Detta Guthrie

Programs and Operations Associate

Detta has over 10 years of experience working in office management and operation roles within a number of fields, including tech, government, and not-for-profit. Detta loves helping organisations create strong policies and streamlined processes to ensure operational efficiency.

Detta is passionate about health and the environment. When not at Sunrise, you can find Detta educating others on ways to improve their nutrition and lifestyle and reduce their waste.

Dominique Doyle

Senior Lawyer

Dominique has practiced as a lawyer for the past 8 years, spending most of that time developing and overseeing legal strategies against coal and fossil gas infrastructure across Europe. She previously worked at ClientEarth in London and Brussels, where she led their Fossil Fuel Infrastructure program’s litigation strategy in South East Europe.

Prior to joining ClientEarth, Dominique worked for Friends of the Earth UK, where she represented local groups in their opposition to fracking applications in the north of England. Before becoming a climate and environment lawyer, Dominique worked as a commercial lawyer in London.

Ed Hill

Senior Campaigner

Ed has over ten years experience working on environment campaigns with grassroots community groups. Ed led successful campaigns to protect native forests in Tasmania and Victoria. He helped to scale the impact of forest campaigns through digital storytelling, media and citizen science.

Ed studied Natural Environment and Wilderness studies and the University of Tasmania. He volunteered in remote Vanuatu for two years, working with grassroots community organisations to establish small scale locally owned eco-tourism and marine conservation projects. Ed is passionate about applying his skills and experience to tackle the climate crisis, keep coal in the ground and protect the natural world.

Elly Baxter

Communications Campaigner

Elly is a communications and media professional with more than fifteen years of experience in media relations, communications and public relations, in the arts, not for profit and government sectors. Before joining Sunrise, Elly founded and directed her own consultancy, which provided communications advice and support to some of Australia’s leading arts and culture organisations. She started her career as an Electorate Officer in the QLD state electorate of Clayfield, then the state’s most marginal electorate.

At Sunrise Elly coordinates media and communications work on our energy transition projects, including Australia Beyond Coal. She collaborates with other organisations and individuals in the sector to plan, identify and capitalise on opportunities to build a strong public discussion about the need to immediately transition away from coal power to reduce the impact of climate change in Australia and around the world.

Emma MacPhee

In-house Counsel

Emma is the Sunrise Project’s in house legal counsel. Prior to joining The Sunrise Project, Emma worked as a lawyer at a commercial law firm, Arnold Bloch Leibler, where she practised in public interest and property law and advised a range of charities and Indigenous-led organisations. She has interned at various human rights organisations including the Human Rights Law Centre in New Delhi and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne.

Emma has a longstanding interest in climate change action, having completed her legal thesis on coal and climate. She holds a Bachelors degree in Science (Chemistry), a Diploma in Applied Mathematics and a Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne.

Emma lives on Bpangerang country in regional Victoria with her partner, son and energetic puppy. In her spare time, she loves yoga, gardening and all things outdoors.

Frederica Hill

Program Associate, Energy Transformation Program

Fred joined the Sunrise Project in October 2021 to support the Australian Energy Transformation program. She brings six years of experience at climate-focused nonprofits, most recently in a program manager role at the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc., the organisation that supports the US’s first cap-and-invest system across eleven states. Prior to that, she supported climate and energy grantmaking as an analyst at a US-based philanthropic foundation.

A born-and-raised New Yorker and new Sydneysider, Fred is excited to apply her skills and experience to support climate change mitigation work in Australia.

Gemma Borgo-Caratti

Senior Strategist

Gemma has over 10 years’ experience working on climate justice campaigns, including as the National Director at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition working alongside the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network to build a generation-wide movement for climate justice. Gemma is passionate about building the power, skills and networks of everyday people to tackle the climate crisis. In her spare time, Gemma enjoys making amazing pasta.

Georgia Miller

Program Director

Georgia has 20 years experience as an environment and social justice campaigner and a passion for bringing together analysis and activism. Georgia spent seven years coordinating Friends of the Earth Australia’s nanotechnology project, has worked as a political advisor and election campaign manager, as liaison officer to parliament for NSW’s environment groups, and as a research assistant investigating health and medical research policy.

Georgia has a PhD in Science and Technology Studies and an honours degree in Environmental Science.

Harkiran Narulla

Senior Strategist

Harkiran has over 10 years experience as a climate and environmental lawyer, economist, policy designer & multi-stakeholder process leader. He’s worked on climate at all levels of Australian Government and led systems evolution projects in Denmark, Norway, South Africa and Brazil. He’s deeply committed to a truly sustainable, thriving and equitable world – and inspired by the potential to innovate towards this.

Harkiran holds degrees in law and commerce from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Climate Change from the Australian National University, and is a graduated enterprising leader from the Scandinavian systems leadership school Kaospilot.

Helie Fitzgerald

Programs & Operations Associate

Helie supports the office operations and the team at Sunrise Project. Most of Helie’s career has been spent as an Executive Assistant and office support for a range of not for profit organisations.

Holly Creenaune

Program Director

Holly has over 10 years’ experience working on mining, energy and climate justice campaigns at the grassroots level, in non-profit organisations, and for national labour unions. Recently she directed the NSW state political and community organising campaign Land Water Future, that saw fossil fuel mining licenses drop from covering 80% of the state to just 8%. She has a journalism and law degree – majoring in corporate and environmental law – from the University of Technology, Sydney. Previously, Holly worked with the labour union United Voice as national campaign director on climate justice and fair economy.

Jazmine Mohsen

Senior Executive Assistant

Jazmine is a Senior Executive Assistant at The Sunrise Project to our Founder John Hepburn and the Board. Jazmine is a strong administrative professional with a First Class Bachelor’s degree focused in Content Development & Production from Ravensbourne University London.  Her background as a production manager and EA means she can find clarity in chaos and thrives in high pressure environments.

Born and raised in London she moved to Sydney 5 years ago to be closer to beaches and sunshine. She loves camping and being outdoors in the elements with her partner and oversized puppy.

Jess Harwood

Senior Campaigner

Jess is a communications campaigner, illustrator and facilitator with more than ten years experience in coal and environment campaigns. Jess started in this sector at NSW Farmers Association where she ran trainings for farmers on their legal rights when negotiating with coal and coal seam gas (CSG) companies at the heigh of the CSG boom in NSW.  Jess has also worked in a Parliamentary office in NSW Parliament, at EDO NSW developing an training program for Local Land Services staff, and on shark conservation at Humane Society International (HSI) where she represented HSI Australia at the Convention on Migratory Species shark conference in Costa Rica.

Jess’ art and illustration has been featured on the BBC and ABC, and has had success with viral artworks online during the pandemic (no pun intended!) She specialises in combining her communications experience with her art skills to convey campaign messages visually.

Joshua Wyndham-Kidd

Senior Strategist

Josh has 10 years of experience in campaigning for people, climate and nature. Josh has run successful election campaigns, managed a fundraising business, and worked in federal Parliament. He has a research background in international affairs and energy security in Asia. Josh lives on Larrakia Country in Darwin with his partner, his friend’s pets, and the magpie geese and corellas that visit in the Wet.

Kajute O’Riordan

Special Projects

Kajute has over 10 years of experience developing, building and leading organising campaigns. Most recently, he was a key lead for GetUps 2019 organising mission which supported 1000s of GetUp members to make almost 1 million persuasive calls into marginal electorates. In total, GetUp volunteers have made over 2 million calls including crucial get out the vote efforts during the Marriage Equality postal vote. Before that, he worked in international development as well logistics on major events in South Africa and Australia.

He lives in Melbourne with his family, is a keen gardener and a maker of not very good things with his hands.

Kelsey Cooke

Senior Campaign Strategist

Kelsey has eight years experience at GetUp, specialising in elections, project management and member engagement. She has also worked with organisations from the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN). She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. In her spare time she is a keen potter and painter.

Krys Mossop

Project Manager & Editor, Grants Administration

Krys is a scientist, communicator and curious thinker with strengths in crafting evidence-based arguments, inclusive and collaborative environments, and processes that help teams create positive change.

She has worked as a project manager, grant developer, and editor/writer, and coordinated a range of stakeholders to help build a first-of-its-kind, $12 M national network ambitiously focussed on raising the bar in mental health treatment. With interests in equity and leadership culture, Krys is passionate about supporting a diversity of people and thinking as vital ingredients for social and environmental justice.

Krys has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Zoology and a PhD in Ecology and Evolution – having been privileged to study desert fish in the culturally significant waters of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.

She lives on Wadawurrung Country in Victoria with her husband, two dogs, and three ducks. In her downtime, she paints (badly) and cultivates a growing indigenous garden.

Laure Legros

Head of Experience

After spending most of her career in the corporate sector as a digital marketer, Laure decided to take a sharp turn and dedicate her professional time to the climate crisis.

Laure is now leveraging her skills and corporate experience to connect with and inspire professionals who are working inside the system and want to drive change from within.

Outside of work, Laure loves spending time in nature and connecting with the outdoors through sport – she is an accomplished triathlete, trail runner, surfer and tennis player who loves a good sports challenge. She recently completed her first full distance Ironman, which she self-organised since Covid prevented her from entering the race she had entered in her state and she did not want to fly to another state for a single event.

Lauren Farrow

Senior Strategist (Corporate and Industry)

Lauren has more than 15 years’ experience in journalism and public affairs in Australia and abroad. Most recently she led the Indonesian office of a government affairs consultancy firm, supporting companies navigate the country’s complex, regulatory, policy and political environment, particularly in the areas of renewable energy and supply chains.

Previously she was the Southeast Asia Correspondent for Australian Associated Press (AAP), as well as the newswire’s chief court reporter and NSW political correspondent. As a younger reporter, she spent two years travelling throughout India producing radio packages for Deutsche Welle, focusing on the country’s development challenges.

Liz Murphy-Forrester

Program Associate, Australia

Liz has been working on environment, social justice and community development for over two decades. For the last six years she has been working closely with the Queensland environment movement to build capacity, strengthen collaboration and get organisations organised. Liz has experience in fundraising, organisational development and is a bit of a governance nerd. She believes in the power of support and a well coordinated movement.
Outside of work Liz spends time coaxing her children into nature and planting a bit of food security into her home garden.

Lucy Piper

Program Director

Lucy has spent the past 15 years working as a communications professional, working primarily in advertising and brand creative production. She has played a key role in the uptake of purpose-led initiatives within a commercial organisation, and utilised company culture and staff influencer networks to create momentum and internal support for B Corp certification, and environmental advocacy. With this first-hand experience of what it takes to transform and influence corporate culture from within to become a climate and sustainability champion, Lucy is determined to scale this across broader industries and corporations.

An experienced public speaker and panellist, Lucy is a passionate storyteller and communicator, who worked in film production during and after university in the UK. Lucy has been lucky enough to combine a love of endurance sport and filmmaking, and her career highlight (so far) was running the Inca Trail in a day whilst filming blind athlete Dan Berlin complete a record-breaking run.

Mark Wakeham

Australian Program Director

Mark has over two decades of experience in advocacy, policy, fundraising and media for progressive causes and managing nimble and effective NGOs. Mark has been a CEO and board member, including a co-chair of the Sunrise Project. Most recently, Mark has been working with the Australian Council of Trade Unions supporting its members to ensure workers’ voices are heard in climate, energy and just transitions policy debates. Mark was recently awarded a Churchill Fellowship to learn about how other communities are making the transition beyond fossil fuels in ways that look after the interests of workers and their communities.Mark now leads the Sunrise Project’s Australia-wide strategy and supports the team of brilliant program directors.

Melissa Prior

Project Director

Melissa has worked across Australia and the US enabling businesses to scale their operations through alignment of people, process and technology. Driven by a passion for systems and social justice, Mel brings a human centred approach to transformation projects. Working in the areas of community housing, human rights and the arts, Mel strives to foster an inclusive workplace that supports everyone to amplify their impact and connect to purpose at work. With a Bachelor in Human Resources and Marketing and Grad Cert in Social Impact from UNSW along with certifications in change and service design Mel is excited to apply these skills to support The Sunrise Project and the important work being done. Mel lives on Gadigal Country, and acknowledges First Nations peoples continuing connection to country as the oldest living culture we know. When she’s not working she can be found exploring mountains and oceans, playing soccer and playing with her doggo Sir Elton at the park or trying to keep her ever growing collection of plants alive.

Mike Matters

Campaigner

Mike has spent his career in the progressive campaigning movement in Australia and the UK. He has experience across communications, media, digital campaigning and political advocacy across a range of issues, from healthcare to industrial relations, to climate and the environment. In 2020 oversaw the relaunch of GetUp’s grassroots campaigning platform, “Campaigns by Me”. At the Sunrise Project Australia he is focused on building support for a fast and fair transition to 100% renewable energy in Australia.

Miriam Lyons

Co-Director, Australia Energy Transformation Program

Miriam Lyons leads the Sunrise Project’s work on renewable energy. Miriam has over 20 years of experience as a campaigner, policy analyst, writer and commentator. She has held a variety of leadership roles – most recently as Organising Director and Climate Justice Campaigns Director at GetUp, where she led a number of highly successful campaigns.

She is a Fellow and former CEO of the Centre for Policy Development, which she co-founded in 2007. She is the co-author of Governomics (MUP 2015), has contributed to several publications and co-edited the books Pushing Our Luck and More Than Luck. She has been a frequent guest on various TV and radio programs, including Q&A and The Drum. Earlier roles include Policy Editor for NewMatilda.com, researching freedom of speech in East Timor, and organising ideas festivals.

Nadja Hasenauer

HR Operations Manager

Nadja has worked across government, private and NFP’s in HR & project roles, with a preference for organisations focussed on environmental protection and conservation, including NSW National Parks & Wildlife and WWF. Nadja holds a Masters HRM and is deeply committed to supporting and empowering individuals, teams, and organisations.

When not working, Nadja is attempting to introduce regeneration & permaculture on a former small cattle property to contribute positively to the environment in the SouthWest – Australia’s only global biodiversity hotspot.

Nelson Aston

Research Lead, Corporate and Finance

Nelson has a finance and economics background spanning major banks and economic consultancies. He holds a bachelor degree and a master’s degree in economics but deep down wishes he did data science instead. He loves working with numbers, including data visualisation, creating spreadsheets and writing code.

Neo Nguyen

Finance Manager

Neo is a driven finance professional with 7 years of experience in commercial finance and business advisory across the professional services, higher education & research, performing art industry, within both for profit and non-profit organisations. His area of expertise includes management accounting, financial planning and reporting, project management, and system implementation and administration. Neo is genuinely dedicated to deliver exceptional financial services as well as supporting The Sunrise Project team in every aspects where possible. Neo holds a Bachelor Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Technology Sydney, and currently a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

Nichola Gardner

Global COO

Nichola has 18 years of experience across large multi-national, start up and state government organisations focusing on budgeting and forecasting, controls and compliance and financial operations. With extensive experience in systems and process refinement across corporate services, and an interest in data, technology and automation, Nichola is committed to supporting the operations team in enabling The Sunrise Project to focus on what matters most.
A qualified CPA with a Masters in Professional Accounting from the University of Sydney, Nichola also holds a bachelor degree in Physics from the University of Manchester.

Nicholas Kelly

Director of Legal Strategy

Nick practiced as a lawyer for 13 years, first as a solicitor with the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office and then as a barrister in NSW from 2012 and specialised in inquiries, planning and environmental law. Nick also worked as a judge’s associate in the Federal Court and as the Legal Research Officer at the High Court, as well as teaching public and constitutional law at the Australian National University and the University of Sydney. Nick acted for a wide range of clients in his environmental work, from Ministers to activist organisations, as well as various regulatory bodies prosecuting environmental offences.

Nicole Krause

Campaigner

Nicole is accomplished and passionate campaigner and strategist, and a strong believer in the importance and power of the Australian not-for-profit and social change sector. Nicole has over a decade of experience building, growing and managing campaigns, on issues including social and economic justice, international development, health and the environment. Most recently she worked with Essential, Australia’s leading social change communications and marketing agency, on digital, strategy and production for powerful campaigns like Rosie’s Batty’s Never Alone campaign to end family violence, Fight for The Reef, Save Our Marine Life, Put Education 1st, Protect Penalty Rates and Every Australian Counts. Strategic, inquisitive and driven, Nicole brings a wealth of knowledge on campaigning, digital strategy, communications and messaging to Sunrise’s Australia Energy Transformation Program. Nicole has a Bachelor of Applied Communications from RMIT University, where she graduated with distinction.

Nina Nguyen

Grant Manager

Nina has a strong passion for sustainable development and green growth. She holds a PhD degree in Environmental Management and has almost 20 years’ experience in business development, partnership development, and project management, including over 10 years working in the development sector for international non-government organisations in Asia. Before joining The Sunrise Project, Nina worked as a Senior Industry Engagement Coordinator at RMIT University where she connected students with industry partners to undertake sustainability projects.

When not at work, Nina enjoys gardening and reading. She also loves travelling.

Paul Sheehan

IT System Administrator - Help Desk Support

Paul brings over 20 years experience of IT support primarily supporting Apple products.  Camping, bushwalking and getting into the ocean are his pastimes along with music travel and sport.  A Cork, Ireland native who calls Sydney, Australia home.

Reece Turner

Senior Campaign Strategist

Reece has over a decade of environmental advocacy experience across a broad range of policy areas and organisations.
He has spearheaded campaigns for groups such as The Wilderness Society, Greenpeace and Solar Citizens on issues including over-fishing, land clearing, palm oil plastic pollution and renewable energy.
He has a passion for protecting nature which has seen him on the frontline defending Australia’s forests as well as spending many years investigating and exposing deforestation in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Reece has a practical understanding of the solar PV industry having spent three years assisting large energy users and households adopt solar and efficiency measures.
Reece holds law and politics degrees from the University of New South Wales.

Saada Khalil

Operations Manager

Saada is a dynamic professional with more than 15 years’ experience spanning across a multitude of industries including: retail, telecommunications, hospitality, fashion, PR and security services. She has been responsible for managing projects, implementing new systems, managing change, procurement, managing vendor relationships and commercial finance functions. With her ability to hold an overarching vision and execute on the detail, she uses her analytical mind coupled with a big bold collaborative heart to foster cohesive, collective and convivial working environments.

To balance out work, Saada itches to get outside and grow flower meadows (because she sows more than she can actually fit) and then sits in her garden watching the dragonflies, butterflies and bees turn up. She has a penchant for foreign films, food rituals and finding the appropriate music soundtrack for any occasion.

Sarasi Jayaratna

HR (People) Generalist

Sarasi has a strong academic background in Business Management and Administration, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Sarasi kicked off her career with a Global Software Development company called IFS based in Sri Lanka, and has worked her up and across the scope of Human Resources within a fast growth environment, most recently focussing on HR Information Systems. Sarasi describes herself as a motivated & collaborative team player and is excited to apply her skills and expertise to contribute to the success of The Sunrise mission. Sarasi’s free time is spent watching movies, going to restaurants, and loves food/food photography, as well capturing beautiful photographs of nature.

Saron Girma

Grants Administrator

Saron has worked in the field of social justice, community organisation and broadcasting over the past decade. Occupying both administrative and program management roles, Saron is dedicated to finding harmony between traditional cohesion and future development.
Saron spends her time watching tiktok compilations with her parents and grandparent. She enjoys humour, nature and education.

Samuel Dariol

Campaigner

Samuel Dariol is a campaigner, organiser and performer based on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/Melbourne. Samuel cut his teeth as a campaigner in the Fossil Free Universities campaign and has since remained active in various movements for social and ecological justice. He spent five years working in the refugee rights movement, including as the Campaigns and Digital Coordinator at the Refugee Council of Australia, where he contributed to and led high-profile movement-wide campaigns, as well as running activist training and development with a strong focus on working with people from refugee backgrounds. Most recently, he worked as an Organiser at the United Workers Union.

Samuel firmly believes in the power of people coming together to challenge structures of power that exacerbate inequity, erode important social services, and threaten the health of the planet and its inhabitants.

Samuel is also a musical theatre child and maintains a performance practice today, including as ‘La Nonna’, a drag persona lovingly created in homage to his Italian migrant grandmother.

Samuel is a proud union member.

Tim Baxter

Research Lead, Climate and Emissions

Tim is a passionate climate communicator with expertise running across the length and breadth of climate and energy technologies, policy and politics.

Tom Swann

Senior Strategist

Tom has broad experience as a strategist, researcher and advocate. For seven years he was with The Australia Institute, becoming Senior Researcher in the Climate and Energy Program, where his research covered fossil fuels, renewable energy, subsidies, finance, climate impacts and much else.

He has a Masters of Climate Change and Honours in philosophy from the ANU, and was lead organiser in the Fossil Free ANU campaign. Previously he has worked as an organiser, staffer and bureaucrat. Tom got the word “Canbassador” into Hansard at the ACT Legislative Assembly.

Adreyauna Lewers

Recruiter

Adreyauna is a recruiting professional with 5+ years of experience as a business owner and career coach. She works with individuals, startups, and nonprofit organizations to amplify their authenticity and empower them to create equitable hiring practices that can be repeated in the future.

Adreyauna’s mission is to make sure that hiring is easier and gentler for the employer and the candidates!

She currently lives in Tennessee, USA where she enjoys trying new food spots, gardening, and spending quality time with her family.

Amanda Starbuck

Program Director

Amanda has extensive experience in campaigning, network building and organizational change, working for global organisations in Europe, North and South America. Prior to joining the Sunrise Project, Amanda was the programme director for Greenpeace in South America, responsible for setting the strategic direction and priority campaigns across the region. She also led the global finance team at Rainforest Action Network, pressuring the largest U.S. and European banks to address their role in the climate crisis and significantly reduce their financing of environmentally destructive fossil fuel extraction. With a professional background in the renewable energy and forestry sectors, Amanda holds a MA in Environmental Policy and has lectured at Yale, Berkeley and Leeds Universities.

Amy Galland

Senior Strategist

Amy has over a decade of experience providing strategy, analysis, research, fundraising, and communications services to clients in the US, EU, and Africa. Before joining Sunrise Project, Amy founded a consultancy in Nairobi, Kenya that provided sustainability expertise to NGOs, entrepreneurs, multistakeholder groups, and multinational corporations and wrote numerous publications analyzing industry performance on key issues of corporate responsibility, led successful shareholder engagements to reduce environmental impacts and protect human health, and created organizational and program strategies at As You Sow. Prior, Amy worked as a project manager and production coordinator in the music industry with a #1 song on the UK Singles Chart and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Binghamton University.

A certified yoga instructor, Reiki master, and Energy Medicine practitioner, Amy was awarded an MBA and a PhD in Art History from UCLA, an MA in Anthropology from Stanford University, and a BA in Philosophy and Art History from Tufts University. She is a recipient of the Business Ethics Network’s Path to Victory Award and a member of New Faces New Voices, Kenya.

Andrew Willis Garcés

North America Coordinator, Finance Action Organizers Network

During two decades as an organizer Andrew has worked on national and international labor union campaigns with teachers, janitors, transport and construction workers; helped renters in several US cities win full control of their building conditions; and designed successful campaigns to force wealthy taxpayers to pay higher income taxes and stop local sheriffs from working with immigration enforcement agents.

A lifelong Southerner now based in North Carolina, he founded and led Siembra NC during the Trump Administration, and draws inspiration from campaigners fighting to “vivir sabroso” in his maternal homeland of Colombia. He’s led trainings for activists across North and South America and hosts the Craft of Campaigns podcast.

Angie Holecko

Senior Digital Campaigner

Angie is a Digital Campaigner with the Sunrise Project based in Denver, CO who works on the asset manager team. An experienced digital organizer, Angie brings perspectives from a variety of gigs in electoral organizing and issue advocacy on both the federal and state level in the United States. She previously worked on organizing and digital teams at national progressive advocacy organizations and at several affiliates of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. As the digital expert on the asset manager team, Angie sets the digital strategy of relevant campaigns and helps to ensure that overall digital strategies are in line with the strategic priorities of each team she works on. She also helps advise and identify opportunities for collaboration among partners.

In her free time, when it’s safe to do so, she loves going to see live music and hiking, skiing, and camping in the great outdoors of Colorado.

Anita Nagpal Schwartz

Managing Director of Development

Anita Nagpal Schwartz is The Sunrise Project’s Managing Director of Development. She has three decades of experience in fundraising, marketing, and communications for nonprofit organizations. Anita was previously the Development Director for The Nature Conservancy’s India Program, guiding startup philanthropic efforts. Anita also worked as the Vice President of Development, Marketing, and Program Administration for Western Resource Advocates for twelve years. At Environmental Defense Fund, she managed fundraising efforts in a seven-state region.

Anita started her non-profit career at Conservation International in Washington, D.C., in 1990. She holds a bachelor’s degree from American University, Washington, D.C., with a double major in literature and American studies. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive, having secured an internationally-recognized professional credential. She also completed a Certificate Program in Authentic Leadership at Naropa University, Colorado.

Anita is an avid reader, enthusiastic world traveler, and collage artist. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and pup.

Bobbie Sta. Maria

Program Director, Sunrise Organizing Lab

Bobbie has spent nearly 15 years in corporate accountability and human rights non-profits, fighting alongside local groups in national and international legal campaigns.

She draws inspiration from social movements in the Philippines, where she got her start in social justice work as staff attorney for the NGO Saligan (Alternative Legal Assistance Center). She then joined the EarthRights International team in Thailand in building transnational legal strategies to challenge harmful projects in the Mekong region.

She most recently served in the management team of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre as Director for Labour Rights and Asia, where she grew and led the Asia, labor, and corporate legal accountability teams. She also helped kick off the merger between Global Labor Justice and International Labor Rights Forum as Deputy Director for Strategy and Partnerships.

Outside of the Philippines, Bobbie has worked in Nepal, Thailand, and Myanmar. She is currently based in the Washington DC area with her husband and daughter.

Candice Douglas

People & HR Associate

Candice joins The Sunrise Project as the People & HR Associate with previous experience in Operations Coordination. She holds a B.A. in Design and has a professional background in Hospitality, Government Operations, and Education as a former English Language Arts & Science teacher.

As an accessibility advocate, her goal is to support an equitable work environment with intentional consideration of the distinct needs of each team member.

Candice is a native of Detroit, Michigan USA and enjoys tending to her backyard floral garden, exploring vegan restaurants, and working to amplify the voices of marginalized citizens within her community.

Casey Harrell

Senior Strategist

Casey has two decades of experience directing successful international climate and corporate accountability campaigns for groups ranging from Greenpeace International to ForestEthics. He helped start the anti-sweatshop movement in the U.S. in the late 1990s, conducted the largest test for mercury exposure in U.S. history, and led campaigns that engaged the tech sector to eliminate toxic chemicals from its supply chains and move industry leaders (Facebook, Google, Apple) to invest in and lobby for 100% renewable energy.  He is a graduate of Duke University and lives with his family in Oakland, California.

Cayla Doweidt

Hiring & Onboarding Specialist

Cayla supports the Global Finance Team and started with The Sunrise Project in March of 2020. Aligned with her dual passions for productivity and creating a better world, Cayla’s role is ensuring each member of the team can focus on effecting change in the outside world while she manages & supports the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding of the growing organization.

Cayla currently lives in Colorado, USA. She holds a B.A. in Communications and has experience working in retail management, higher education, and banking.

When Cayla is not working, she is enjoying the beauty and rigor that Colorado outdoors has to offer, learning the banjolele, and working with her Women’s Circle.

Colby Sangree

Program & Operations Associate, Investor Program

Based in Baltimore MD, Colby is a passionate advocate for intersectional climate and healing justice. In their work, Colby has brought their love of systems, innovation, and deep creativity to further the impact of justice-centered organizations. Before and alongside their role at The Sunrise Project, Colby has served their community on the Baltimore City Trauma Informed Care Task Force, and as a health educator, doula, and racial justice advocate.

To unwind, Colby enjoys getting outdoors, making art, reading, and tending to their garden.

Courtney DeLong

Communications Associate

Courtney is a Communications Associate. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in Folklore & Mythology and History. Prior to joining Sunrise, she worked with environmental justice advocates in Cancer Alley, Louisiana.

Dana Affleck

Senior Digital Campaigner

Dana got her start organizing and campaigning after visiting people seeking asylum in government run detention centers in Australia. She founded Road to Refuge in 2012 and later joined Behind the Wire to lift up refugee voices in mainstream spaces. Dana volunteered at the Asylum Seeker Resource Center as a legal caseworker in the LGBTQ and women’s clinic before taking a job as an organizer and campaigner in 2015.

In 2017, America called and Dana moved to New York City where she worked as a digital campaigner at Everytown for Gun Safety and then on environmental and climate campaigns at NRDC. Some highlights at NRDC were working on stopping the Williams Pipeline, securing clean cars legislation in Virginia, blocking fossil-fuel friendly bills in Pennsylvania, and helping with the coalition win on #RenewableRikers in New York City. She has a degree in law and Arabic language.

In her spare time, Dana cooks often, volunteers with local campaigns, reads the many books assigned by her beloved book clubs, writes fiction, and tries to track down who’s stealing her New York Times subscription.

Danqing Li

Senior Strategist

As the Senior Strategist at China Program, Danqing has been working on decarbonizing China’s overseas energy finance, and accelerating the low carbon transition in domestic China.

Before joining The Sunrise Project, Danqing has worked at Greenpeace East Asia for 6 years as Climate & Energy Campaigner and Project Manager, focusing on decarbonizing China’s energy and power sector and overseas energy investment. With a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, she has strong expertise in power market analysis, economic assessment, as well as environmental modeling including air pollution and water stress for both domestic China and countries in Southeast and South Asia.

David Pinsky

Finance Campaigner

David is a Finance Campaigner working to move asset managers like BlackRock away from climate destruction. He has more than a decade of organizing, training, and corporate campaigning experience. Previously at Greenpeace USA, David led campaigns to shut down coal plants on university campuses, take on destructive fishing and human rights abuses in the global seafood industry, and demand corporations break free from plastic.

David has an MA in psychology from the University North Carolina Wilmington and BS in psychology from the University of Kentucky. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Diana Best

Senior Strategist

Diana has over a decade of organising and campaigning experience. Before joining the Sunrise Project team, Diana worked with Greenpeace USA to reform federal fossil fuel leasing policies, stop critical new fossil fuel infrastructure projects like export terminals and pipelines, and engage global financial institutions to restrict lending to new oil projects.

Diana works with a coalition of institutions and partner organizations to move Blackrock’s more than $6 trillion business away from climate and forest destroying investments.

She is a graduate of Vassar College and lives in Denver, Colorado.

Diana Pasquali

Global Director of Learning & Development

Diana is the Global Learning Director and has 18 years of experience with training, grassroots organizing, and managing teams and projects. Prior to joining Sunrise, she worked with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Movement Capacity Building program to build a national trainer network and design training and coaching for grantees working on immigration, criminal justice reform and housing. She has led large stakeholder engagement projects, including work for Paid Leave U.S. and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Other recent clients have included the One Project, Sierra Health Foundation, Swing Left, Change Walmart, and Greenpeace International.

Diana loves traveling, hiking, yoga, and she lives with her family in Oakland, California.

Dynica Greer

Hiring Coordinator

With 7 plus years in building high quality experiences and processes for clients, Dynica is truly passionate and dedicated to helping others. Her background consists of administration, management, client facing success, and a bulk of skills geared towards organization support and satisfaction. Beyond the office, she is also a proud licensed aesthetician and doula.

Dynica currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, USA and has always loved traveling and learning about the many cultures and practices of others. In her down time she enjoys being with her family, painting, completing crafting projects, and dance.

Emma Alaimo

Strategic Assistant

Emma Alaimo (she/her) is excited to join the Sunrise Project in such a unique capacity. Emma’s role is a hybrid role, but she spends her days fully embedded in Sunrise’s culture and within the Asset Manager team.

She was born and raised in California and has been working in non-profits for her entire career mostly in affordable housing, and food/farming education/justice.

Emilene Sivagnanam

Senior Digital Communications Campaigner

Emilene joins Sunrise Project’s insurance team after extensive experience working on environmental campaigns at the federal, state, and local level.

Prior to joining Sunrise Project, Emilene was a campaigner at Natural Resources Defense Council where she led the U.S. Eastern Region social media strategy ranging from stopping new fossil fuel projects to restricting toxic chemicals and more. Emilene holds a M.A. in Climate and Society from Columbia University and a B.S. in Earth Sciences from Oregon State University.

Emilene is based in New York City where she enjoys crafting with textiles and fibers, running, and traveling. She also loves fostering dogs and helping them blossom into confident city dogs and companions.

Eren Can Ileri

Finance Campaigner

Eren Can Ileri, originally from Istanbul and Boston, is a climate advocate, analyst, and storyteller.

Before joining the Sunrise Project, Eren worked at Reclaim Finance, campaigning to cut the financial sector’s support for climate-disruptive industries. He conducted policy analysis for the Insure our Future Scorecard, co-authored a comprehensive report on oil and gas financing in the Arctic, and contributed to exposing the fossil and finance sector’s lobbying operations.

In his volunteer time, Eren lobbies EU legislators to support an emissions fee and climate income regulation with Citizens Climate Lobby. He is a guest contributor for Açık Radyo/Open Radio, raising awareness of climate governance, energy, and finance issues. He also works to garner support for the Fossil Fuels Nonproliferation Treaty from Turkish thought leaders.

Eren recently completed his MPA in International Governance and Diplomacy at Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs. He has two undergraduate degrees from Brown University, in neuroscience and theatre arts/performance studies. His thesis focused on the role of story-telling in social/democratic/environmental movements, focusing on the 2013 Gezi Resistance, in which he participated as a medic.

Grace Regullano

Program Director, Private Banks

Grace Regullano has spent nearly 20 years working in the American labor movement. She has been an organizer, communications specialist, and researcher and is passionate about supporting the power of working people to advance policies for the common good.

Most recently, she was part of United Teachers Los Angeles senior leadership team as the Strategic Research and Analytics Director. In that role she facilitated a strategic plan that led to a supermajority 6-day strike that saw 70,000 people marching on the streets of Los Angeles in the pouring rain. Her research and campaign work has been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, and NRK Norway.

Grace obtained her CPA (inactive) while working for a Big 4 accounting firm as a forensic accountant. She is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Jacey Bingler

Senior Communications Campaigner

Jacey is a communications specialist with over ten years of experience in digital media and public relations. Prior to joining the Sunrise Project, Jacey led international media relations at Urgewald, conducted research for Avaaz’s anti-disinformation campaign around EU und US elections, and headed communications at the tree planting search engine Ecosia. Stints in her earlier career include working for a travel guide publisher, a record label and the city of Hamburg’s online presence. She has a degree in Journalism.

Jacey is half British, half German and recently relocated from Berlin to the United States, where she now lives in a coastal town in Maine. She has a fondness for New Wave music, senior dogs, Bavarian beer and trail running.

Jamie-Claire Chau

Operations Associate

Jamie-Claire joins The Sunrise Project from a social activism, community organizing, and educational justice background. Most recently, Jamie-Claire’s leadership and project management has been exercised at Vietlead, Coins for Change Vietnam, and currently at Chili Crisps 4 Spicy Lips, which they founded and co-operate.

Outside of working hours, they enjoy singing/songwriting, watercolor painting, latin dancing, and cooking food with beloveds.

Jane Chu

Research Manager

Jane is the US-based Research Manager for Global Finance campaigns. Prior to joining Sunrise,

Jane was a Senior Analyst at the Climate Policy Initiative, where she led sustainable cities research for the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance. Jane has a decade of experience in international energy and environmental advocacy with organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Energy Foundation. Jane started her career in China, where she contributed to national eco-city and eco-industrial park policies and was deeply involved with the grassroots network that created China’s first Toxics Release Inventory.

Jane holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management, an MEM from the Yale School of Environment, a Master’s in City Planning from MIT, and a BA in Economics from UC San Diego. When not at work, Jane is plotting to earn the Triple Crown of Hiking some time in her lifetime.

Jane Li

Chief Operating Officer

Jane Li joins the Sunrise Project from TakeRoot Justice, where she was a senior staff attorney and managed the organization’s launch into an independent organization. She has a decade of experience of working with community-based organizations to provide legal services to marginalized individuals and communities. She received a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and a B.S. from Georgetown University.

Jane lives in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys eating her way through New York City’s diverse neighborhoods, being outdoors, and spending time with her family.

Jason Schwartz

Senior Communications Strategist

Jason is a strategic communications strategist with a career spanning movements workers rights, and climate, economic, and racial justice. Prior to joining The Sunrise Project, he led communications for Greenpeace USA’s campaigns on pipelines and the financial sector, Change to Win’s strategic and investor campaigns, Athena, the coalition to counter the power of Amazon, and numerous other movement organizations and coalitions.

Jason works on TSP’s campaign to leverage federal and state financial regulation and policy toward the transition away from fossil fuels and to a more equitable and stable system

Judith Crosbie

Senior Communications Campaigner, US Banks

Judith Crosbie has spent over 20 years working in journalism and communications, focusing on social justice and workers’ rights. She worked as a journalist in Dublin, Brussels and Sydney for The Irish Times, European Voice, RTÉ and BBC before joining the labor movement in Australia.

She was director of communications at the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia working on successful campaigns to organize workers to hold wealthy corporations at the top of supply chains to account for unfair and unsafe conditions. She holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University.

Justin Guay

Director for Global Climate Strategy

Justin Guay is the Director for Global Climate Strategy. He has a decade of experience in nonprofit advocacy and foundation strategy development.

Prior to joining Sunrise he managed grant-making and strategy development for global coal campaigns at the ClimateWorks Foundation and Packard Foundation. At the Packard foundation he oversaw a $40 million grant making portfolio across all climate and energy priorities in India, China, the US, the EU and South East Asia. He also assisted in leading the Foundation’s Innovation in Climate Solutions strategy and energy focused Program Related Investments (PRIs).

He has also run the Sierra Club’s International Coal Campaign as the Associate Director for the International Climate Program.  The program focused on global efforts to transition energy systems beyond coal to clean energy with a special focus on international finance. He worked for the Sierra Club since 2009, in roles involving lobbying, media relations, policy research and advocacy.

He has lived and worked in Mumbai, India where he supported local community groups advocating for clean energy solutions and partnered closely with distributed solar companies serving poor communities. Justin received a Master’s Degree in International Development from the University of Denver and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

Kalin Jordan

Senior Communications Manger

Kalin joins Sunrise Project after spending the last ten years leading communications strategy for political campaigns, environmental causes, and unions.

Before joining Sunrise Project, Kalin was Senior National Organizer at Mothers Out Front for their Beyond Gas campaign. She started Vertive Campaigns in 2018, a political consulting firm focused on supporting first-time BIPOC and LGBTQIA candidates. Kalin is co-founder of UnKoch My Campus, where she led media efforts to combat corporate influence in higher education. While still in college, Kalin ran for state representative and is always happy to support first-time candidates.

Kalin received her B.S. in Political Science from Suffolk University. She lives in Chicago and enjoys opera, classical music, and jazz.

Kathleen Brophy

US Climate Finance Senior Strategist

Kathleen leads work on US financial regulation for Sunrise where she focuses on regulatory interventions that help move money out of fossil fuels. Kathleen joins Sunrise with a decade of experience challenging the oil, gas, and mining industries. Most recently, as the Director of Publish What You Pay-US, Kathleen led SEC strategy focused on fossil fuel sector financial transparency for the 40-member coalition. Previously, Kathleen worked as a Senior Program Advisor at Oxfam America where she supported partners all over the world to design advocacy campaigns related to fossil fuel sector taxation, macroeconomic policy and financial regulation.

Kathleen believes deeply in the power of social movements and also pursues her passion outside of work as an activist and organizer in the Baltimore/DC area.

Leslie Fulbright

Senior Communications Strategist, Private Equity

Leslie is a writer and communications strategist with over 20 years of experience working for racial and social justice. Passionate about storytelling, she has used her skills to support voting rights, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and LGBTQ equality.

Prior to joining The Sunrise Project, Leslie was VP of Strategic Communications at Freedom for All Americans, where she worked on state and national campaigns to pass LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws. She also worked as a Communications Strategist for the ACLU of Northern California, and as a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Times. She lives in Tucson, Arizona

Mary Sweeters

Senior Strategist

Mary brings over 13 years of organizing, activist training, and campaigning experience to her work at the Sunrise Project. She was most recently at Greenpeace US, where she managed a team of field organizers working to shore up support for climate action in key Congressional districts, became the Grassroots Training Director for a few years, and then worked as a campaigner on iconic oil fights including Arctic drilling and pressuring banks to stop lending money to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

As Outreach Manager, Mary works with cities, businesses, and other actors to pressure their insurance companies to divest from fossil fuels and stop insuring coal and tar sands projects.

Mat McDermid

Program Director, Autos

Mat brings over a decade in impact strategy spanning corporate sustainability and social impact campaigning across a wide range of issues.

Prior to joining Sunrise, he worked at Purpose leading diverse client and partner projects—including Everytown to Gun Safety, UN Human Rights, and Oak Foundation’s prevent child sexual abuse programme—and progressed to become Global Head of Strategy shaping Purpose’s strategy practices, skill-sharing, mentorship and growth, and then Co-Head of the New York office. Previously in corporate sustainability, Mat worked across sectors, including the power sector and apparel, pushing clients’ climate and sustainability ambitions.

His career began with the Australian Foreign Service: working daily with local officials on his posting to Baghdad, Iraq, then on the Afghanistan desk, it was a quintessentially formative experience.

Mat received his M.S. in Environment & Energy Policy at New York University and Bachelors from The University of Queensland. Born and raised in Australia, Mat is based in New York City and enjoys practicing photography and woodworking, rock climbing and hiking, and pursuing a lifelong land stewardship endeavor in the Gunks.

Megan Amaral

Operations Manager

Megan Amaral has decades of experience in mission-driven organizations. Her professional and volunteer work has spanned the arts, education, community development, and sustainability, often at the intersections of these fields and with a social justice lens. Prior to joining The Sunrise Project she was manager of UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group for eight years.

Outside of work she loves to dance, craft, dabble in various digital media, and help others tap their sense of play and creativity. She is also interested in how the arts contribute to climate change response.

Megan is American–born in Minnesota and longtime resident of California–now living on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. She holds a BA from Goddard College and MS in Community Development from UC Davis.

Milap Patel

Deputy Director

Milap has worked at the intersections of climate policy, global human rights, and economic justice with an overarching commitment to civil society, internationalism, and to our natural world. Prior to joining the Sunrise Project, he was Research Director at MSI Integrity which was exploring mechanisms to challenge the dominant shareholder-led, inequality-fueling corporate form. He has also worked as a Senior Program Officer at the Open Society Foundations on an individual grants portfolio and as a researcher at the World Resources Institute, looking into multilateral development bank lending for climate-compatible projects.

Milap is originally from Nairobi, Kenya of diasporic Indian heritage and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York where he is an avid, if uneven jogger, museum and theater aficionado, and board member on several national and international LGBTQ nonprofit organizations.

Minnie Shin

Senior Strategist, Global Sustainable Finance

Minyoung “Minnie” works across the global investors, insurance and Asia-focused campaigns at the Sunrise Project. She is a sustainability impact catalyst with a decade of experience advising C-suite executives and policy decision-makers across many sectors and regions. She started her career in corporate sustainability, climate policy and international development consulting, where she spearheaded myriad cross-sector, multi-stakeholder projects on a broad range of issues including sustainable finance, carbon pricing, corporate sustainability, and clean technology. She fell in love with the nonprofit sector in 2016 and since then is on a mission to amplify the good works of the people and organizations making our world a better place. Before joining the Sunrise Project, she has worked for global organizations including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Environmental Defense Fund and Asia Society Policy Institute.  

She holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and MA in International Cooperation from Seoul National University. She is also a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential-holder. 

Minnie is originally from South Korea and now lives in Texas. She is a savvy retail investor, loves to learn about different cultures, and hopes to one day publish a vegan Korean cookbook.

Myriam Fallon

Campaign Manager

Myriam has a decade of experience in environmental campaigning and communications. She started at Greenpeace US where she worked as a Grassroots Organizer, a Program Coordinator and Trainer, a Media Officer, and Global Communications and Mobilization Coordinator. She also spent time campaigning at sea aboard Greenpeace’s ships. Myriam is based in Chicago, IL and has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, and Photography. In her spare time she likes to take long bike rides around her home city, rock climb, travel, and play music.

Nic Carroll

IT Support & Systems Administrator

Nic is based in the United States and is an experienced IT professional from the financial technology industry. With a deep passion for technology and a keen understanding of the evolving needs of the modern workforce, Nic has consistently demonstrated their ability to adapt and excel in a rapidly changing IT landscape.

Nic is also an experienced rugby union player, aspiring to professionalize women’s rugby in the United States. On their free time, they enjoy home DIY, roadtrips, antiquing, and the occasional odd project as a “jack of all trades.”

Phoebe Hall

Executive Program Associate

“Phoebe joins the Sunrise Project as a member of the operations team. She has several years of experience developing, coordinating, and supporting programs in the education and nonprofit sectors. Phoebe has also worked as a facilitator and educator, focusing on global studies and intersectional, consent-based sexuality education.

Passionate about creating a more just world, Phoebe has lent her skills to initiatives that protect voting rights, promote anti-oppressive education, and support cross-cultural communication.

Phoebe lives outside of Philadelphia with her very chatty cat.

Risalat Khan

Senior Strategist

Risalat is an activist and intrapreneur from Bangladesh, with nearly a decade of experience driving campaigns on climate and intersecting social justice issues across the world.

From campaigning to stop the Rampal coal plant near the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh, mobilizing for youthful climate marches on the streets of 4 continents, advocating in the halls of power for the Paris Agreement, and supporting indigenous communities from the Maasai Mara to the Maōri heartlands — Risalat is grateful to have found a career nurturing the common spirit of people-powered resistance worldwide. And he is committed to partnering with communities as they deploy diverse strategies to better their lives.

Risalat’s academic background is in environmental science and policy, with degrees from Amherst College and Columbia University. He has campaigned with the global campaigning organization Avaaz for the past several years.

In his spare time, Risalat enjoys traveling, watching movies and documentaries, traveling, reading futurist non-fiction books, and having a delicious meal with his (new!) wife.

Roberta Giordano

Finance Campaigner

Roberta, born and raised in Rome, has over seven years of project management, development, and campaigning experience. While in college at the University of California, Berkeley, Roberta worked to pressure the UC to move its money out of fossil fuels investments, and once graduated, Roberta continued to work with coalitions in California to help cities and counties cut their ties with Wall Street Banks.

Prior to joining the Sunrise Project, Roberta worked with Amazon Watch where she helped launch a campaign to expose BlackRock’s investments in oil and gas companies operating in the Amazon basin and directly threatening indigenous communities and territories.

Roberta currently lives in El Cerrito, CA. During her free time, she loves to spend time in the outdoor rock climbing and backpacking. She also volunteers with Sunrise Movement, a youth led organisation working on implementing a Green New Deal in the US.

Ross Hammond

Senior Advisor

Ross has extensive experience working on critical policy issues like opening up the UN & World Bank to civil society, promoting strict regulation of the tobacco industry, and challenging the political power of the fossil fuel industry.

At the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids & the Framework Convention Alliance he helped usher in the world’s first public health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. He then created & program to fund & support citizen groups as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.

At Friends of the Earth, he used FOIA to publicly expose conflicts of interest in the environmental review of the
Keystone XL pipeline leading to an official State Department Inspector General inquiry.

Most recently, he served as US Campaigns Director at Stand.earth where they successfully defeated multiple West Coast oil train terminal proposals and pressured Starbucks to recommit to making a recyclable cup. A native of Buffalo, he holds a BA in African Studies from UC Berkeley & an MA in Applied Economics from American University.

Sarah Vázquez

Operations Specialist

Sarah supports the Operations Team as Sunrise continues to grow in size across the globe and develop their network culture. She is a deep generalist that connects the dots with smooth systems, thorough attention to detail, and a sense of humor to facilitate the climate justice warriors at work.

Before joining Sunrise, Sarah led an international youth empowerment organization while pursing her Ph.D. in Anthropology and Education at Columbia University. Prior to this, she was a classroom teacher and community organizer for a decade. She began her social justice work as an ally in the farmworker, labor, and immigrant rights movements in the United States.

Sarah was born in the Midwest, grew up in California and now calls the Great Garden State of New Jersey home. She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University and her M.A. in Teaching from John’s Hopkins University.

When not working, Sarah enjoys adventuring near and far, spending time in nature, and pretending to be one of those cool moms who does yoga with her sons when really they just wrestle together on the carpet.

Umme Hoque

Global Hubs Organizing Manager

Umme has spent over a decade organizing and campaigning, with extensive experience building powerful movements that transform individual struggle to broader fights that address systemic challenges.

Through deep and wide organizing strategies, building powerful alliances and networks, and strategic campaigning, Umme has led and supported campaigns in the US and Australia for labor and workers’ rights, environmental justice, and social policies that benefit all.

She holds an MA in International Politics and is currently based in New Mexico with her husband, two dogs, and cat. If she’s not organizing, she’s probably hiking in the mountains.

Vanessa Pierce

Global Chief of Staff

Vanessa Pierce has over a decade of experience building and leading teams, starting and scaling winning campaigns, management coaching, organisational development, and strategy development. She has a track record of bringing greater operational excellence to the groups she works with, listening and leading with empathy, and has a canny ability to connect with stakeholders from a diverse array of backgrounds. Most recently, Vanessa was a consultant and advisor to the Climate Breakthrough Project where she supported visionary climate leaders in developing and launching high-risk, high-impact climate mitigation strategies. As a consultant, Vanessa has worked with a variety of clients as a facilitator, coach, and strategic advisor.

Prior to her consulting work, Vanessa was the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Citizen Engagement Lab, she served as the Sierra Club’s Eastern Region Director for the Beyond Coal Campaign, and was the Executive Director of HEAL Utah, an NGO working on nuclear waste and energy policy issues. Vanessa is an alumna of Green Corps, the field school for environmental advocacy, and has a B.A. from Grinnell College.

Xiomara Chingate

Organizer

Xiomara Chingaté, AfroIndigenous Muysca woman from Colombia(she/her), is a founder of the grassroots groups Brasil Solidarity Network and Real Talk: Colombia.

She is a community organizer focused on the intersection of climate justice and Black and Indigenous rights, primarily in Colombia.

She is standing for a healthy, beautiful, free future for all people where we can drink out of every river and live in balance with the sacred system of life. She lives in occupied Ramaytush Ohlone Territory.

Alex Wilks

Senior Strategist

Alex has spent 25 years bringing citizens and civil society groups together to scrutinise and challenge powerful institutions. As Coordinator of the Bretton Woods Project, and then of the European Network on Debt and Development, he helped bring pressure to bear on the World Bank, IMF to cancel megaprojects, and debt.

Then he helped build Avaaz to become a global movement involving 60 million people. He led many Avaaz campaigns. including several to get governments to forge the Paris Climate Agreement, and two to stop Rupert Murdoch taking over Europe’s biggest independent broadcaster. At one point he led thousands of people at a massive climate rally in a silent gratitude meditation.

When not working you may well find him juggling or cycling. Alex studied at Oxford University, and lives in Bristol, UK.

Alice Delemare Tangpuori

Bonds Campaign Strategist

Alice has 13 years experience of creating change on issues of social and environmental justice, both globally and in the UK. Alice has previously led campaigns that influenced big multinational companies on a range of issues including nutrition, plastic pollution and sustainable seafood. Across her carer she has worked on topics spanning food and nutrition, to the sustainable development goals and the effectiveness of aid, and gender equality and electoral reform. Alice holds a degree in Ancient, Medieval and Modern History and a Master’s in Development Studies and Gender. When not working she enjoys cooking, yoga, and spending time with her family.

Andrea Harden

Senior Strategist Canada Banks

Andrea has over fifteen years of experience in social justice and environmental campaigns, from developing digital and grassroots mobilization strategies, to implementation.

Most recently, Andrea worked as a Senior Strategist with Emdash – a communications agency providing strategy, design and content to progressives. This saw her project lead campaign and communication strategies for national campaigns on a range of topics including Indigenous rights, public education, water justice, and mental health.

Andrea has worked in the non-governmental sector challenging the fossil fuel industry, including the failed Energy East pipeline, and advocating for climate solutions. She has traveled to UN Climate Change Conferences, hosted workshops, and worked collaboratively with Indigenous communities and multi-sector coalitions.

Andrea is also a busy parent of two kids, a cyclist, local volunteer, and violinist.

Andrea Rowe

Global People Director

Andrea Rowe is the Global Director of People, she is a values – led people professional with extensive experience of leading and coaching teams, organisational development and developing people strategies, with a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion. She has experience of leading and scaling people functions in mission driven, non- profit organisations. She brings a range of experience from social and youth work, education and global women’s health.

Andrea was previously Director of People and Organisational Development at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, a charity that focuses on improving the standards of care delivered to women. She also held Head of People roles at UK Youth and Frontline, a charity focussing on systemic change in the social work profession.

Andrea holds a BSc. degree in Psychology from the University of Westminster and an MSc. in Human Resources Management from London Southbank University. She also holds a voluntary trustee role at Working Chance, an employment charity that supports women with convictions.

Andrea enjoys travelling and sketching and she lives in Liverpool, UK with her family.

Becky Jarvis

Managing Director, Financial Regulation

Becky has spent the last decade building people power and people-powered movements to hold the most powerful to account for a fairer, more just, and cleaner future.

She helped build 38 Degrees UK into a movement of over 1 million citizens and led many of the biggest campaigns, including the campaign to protect the NHS from privatisation and the campaign to ban fracking.  Most recently as part of OPEN’s senior team, she helped build and sustain a network across 19 different countries, by supporting, coaching, and building fast-growing digitally facilitated organisations.

She’s on the board of Skiftet, Sweden’s biggest online campaign community and Left Foot Forward in the UK.

Camilla Schramek

Senior Communications Officer

Camilla is a communications professional with extensive experience in the climate movement. Before joining The Sunrise Project, Camilla was Head of Climate Change Communications at CARE International where she helped to lead CARE’s initiative to connect climate change and social justice, focusing on issues such as gender, finance and disasters. She is passionate about addressing the climate crisis, forging strong relationships with partners, and finding solutions to some of society’s most complex problems.

Camilla holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and environmental science from Emory University, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Copenhagen where she completed her master’s degree in climate change at the University of Copenhagen.

Camille Barbagallo

Senior Strategist, Sunrise Organizing Lab

Camille has spent over two decades campaigning and organising in Australia, Britain and the United States, with a wealth of experience gained from participating in transnational feminist networks, migrant rights campaigns, the labor movement and radical social movements. She has been an organiser of the women’s strike in Britain since 2017.

Before joining Sunrise, she was the COP26 Coalition Coordinator where she worked to cohere and strengthen the British climate justice movement and delivered mass mobilisations in Glasgow and around the world to pressure world leaders to take the necessary action to tackle the climate crisis.

She completed her PhD at the University of East London in 2016. Her research focused on how neoliberalism has transformed motherhood, childcare and the home. She is the editor of Women and the Subversion of the Community: Mariarosa Dalla Costa Reader (2018 PM Press) and Commoning with George Caffentzis and Silvia Federici (2019 Pluto Press). She currently lives in the English countryside with her partner, two children and an ever growing menagerie of animals.

Chris Alford

Senior Strategist, Auto Supply Chain

Chris has over a decade of experience leading campaigns for social and environmental justice across Latin America. Before joining the Sunrise Project, he worked with Amnesty International’s Regional Office for the Americas managing regional and national campaigns on economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights. He led Amnesty’s work on the campaign to ratify the Escazú Agreement, a historic regional treaty on environmental democracy; on toxic contamination affecting indigenous communities; on the human rights and environmental impacts of lithium mining; and on sexual and reproductive rights.

Before working with Amnesty, he lived in Guatemala for five years supporting and coaching grassroots groups to lead advocacy strategies on issues such as indigenous rights, food sovereignty, gender justice, anti-corruption, and the right to water.

He is based in Mexico City and in his spare time he loves hiking up Latin America’s mountains and volcanoes, cycling, cooking up tasty food, discovering new music and trying to keep all his plants alive.

Diana Sánchez Carrillo

Senior Strategist

Diana has over 12 years of experience driving change as part of different organisations and as founder of her own ventures.

During her career in the world of social impact, she has worked on the implementation of social impact strategies, projects, and campaigns for organizations and companies such as Techo, the Hult Prize Foundation, Red Concero, among others. She worked for several years on the development of human rights campaign strategies for Amnesty International, and has developed human rights campaign trainings for other international organisations.

Diana has a Bachelors degree in Marketing and a Masters degree in Social Entrepreneurship. She is an expert in the use of communication tools and participatory design and is certified in design thinking.

Diana lives between Mexico City and Naples with her family and her dog Canica.

Grace Cheong

Senior Programme Associate

Grace supports the programme team based in Europe to ensure its smooth and efficient functioning.

Prior to joining The Sunrise Project, Grace has spent almost a decade working on responsible business initiatives both in the nonprofit and commercial sector. She holds a BA in Business Management from King’s College London and an MA in Corporate Social Responsibility from the University of Nottingham.

Grace lives in London, UK where she was born and raised. When not working, Grace enjoys traveling, baking, and taking long walks.

Hilal Atici

Strategy Director

Hilal has extensive experience in movement building, energy sector, finance and story-telling. Before joining Sunrise Project, she has been Greenpeace International’s global campaign strategist for finance work for 3 years and helped build various projects around the world .  

Before she started working for Greenpeace Mediterranean in 2005 as a Climate & Energy campaigner, Hilal had studied Political Science in Istanbul and conducted research on social movements at EHESS-Paris. She led the GP Med campaign team in Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt between 2010-2014 and helped build strategies in coal, nuclear, oceans, GM and toxics and addressed issues around peace, having been part of significant moments like the Gezi protests in Istanbul. Between 2015-2017  she has been leading the Climate and Energy campaign in Nordic where she focused on finance work in particular, enabled the campaign for Norwegian Oil Fund’s coal divestment and helped build European energy strategies.

Isabelle L’Héritier

Finance Campaigner, Insurance

Isabelle has spent over a decade organizing and campaigning on social and climate justice issues in Canada, France, Tunisia, Nicaragua and Europe.

Before joining Sunrise as a Finance campaigner and organizer in Europe, she was at Greenpeace, 350.org and Alternatives Montreal working mainly on blocking fossil fuel expansion, stopping corporate impunity, mass mobilizing and building international alliances.

Isabelle is passionate about building people power and powerful networks to catalyse system change.

Jason Mogus

Senior Advisor Directed Networks

Jason is Special Advisor, Directed Networks at the Sunrise Project, where he’s helped co-create campaigns including StopAdani, BlackRock’s Big Problem, UK Finance (Bank on our Future), Canadian Banks, Vanguard SOS, and a new campaign targeting Private Equity.

Jason was previously co-founder and principal strategist at NetChange Consulting, one of the world’s first digital agencies focused on social change. Over 25 years Jason led digital transformation and designed campaigns for NGO’s and networks including the Tar Sands Campaign, UN Foundation, Human Rights Watch, TckTckTck, Center for American Progress, RAVEN Trust, and the David Suzuki Foundation.

The co-author of the popular Networked Change Report, Jason is passionate about how new forms of organizing and mobilizing have changed how social change is made. He was the founder and for 14 years manager of the Web of Change conference, a Leadership Fellow at the Broadbent Institute, and co-founder of a hyper-local affordable housing advocacy organization.

Jason lives on unceded Coast Salish territory on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, with his courageous wife and passionate young son.

Josephine Doyle

Operations Associate, Europe

Josephine supports the Operations team Europe at The Sunrise Project.

Prior to joining Sunrise, she worked as part of a Legal team with a focus on driving client discussions and contract management in both English and German. Academically, Josephine comes from a climate science background, having studied Climate Dynamics and Physical Oceanography at the National Oceanographic Centre Southampton.

Josephine grew up in Germany and now lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In her free time, she enjoys time outdoors, swimming, cycling, and hiking. She is an avid reader and always looking for a new book recommendation.

Lindsay Keenan

Senior Strategist

Lindsay has campaigned on environment and community issues for a number of decades. Prior to joining the Sunrise Project he worked on sustainable fisheries policy in the EU and Baltic. Before leaving Scotland to live in Sweden he was development director of the Kinning Park Complex, a vibrant cultural and community centre in Glasgow.
In the previous decade he was a senior campaigner with Greenpeace International leading global corporate work on the genetic engineering campaign and with Greenpeace Nordic where he variously led the oceans campaign, volunteer department and Arctic project development. Prior to that, working with GreenCity Wholefoods he coordinated the UK Wholefood trade genetic food alert food campaign in which he represented a large number of small and medium sized retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and exporters.
In his youth Lindsay opened a wholefood shop and catering business, set-up Greenpeace volunteer groups, participated in local community campaigns against toxic waste dumping and in UK and EU campaigns about climate change and the dangers of nuclear weapons.

Marijke van Liemt

Chief Operating Officer

Marijke van Liemt joins the Sunrise project as the Chief of Operations for Europe. She brings a broad range of international experience: she started her career at ABN AMRO Bank in the Netherlands, in corporate finance. After leaving ABN AMRO, she worked for 13 years internationally as a coach and trainer in intercultural communications & leadership. She lived and worked in Brazil, the USA, Austria and Egypt, before moving back to the Netherlands in 2016. She worked as manager operations at KidsRights, an NGO advocating children’s rights before joining NLinBusiness as Manager Operations and Partners in October 2017, where she was responsible for setting up the operations.

Marijke holds a MA in Economics (Groningen University), and a MA in Intercultural Competencies (Donua University Austria). She is a certified leadership and organizational systems coach.

Melanie Mattauch

Senior Communications Campaigner

Melanie is a communications professional working for social change with a focus on climate justice. Before joining the Sunrise Project, she has spent seven years leading the communications of 350.org in Europe.

When not working to dismantle the fossil fuel industry, Melanie enjoys gardening, playing handball and long-distance hikes.

Peter Bosshard

Program Director

Peter has worked at the intersection of environmental justice and finance for over twenty years, including in senior leadership roles with International Rivers and the Berne Declaration. Starting in 2006, he pioneered engagement of western NGOs with Chinese state-owned financiers of major projects, helping to prevent Chinese investment in destructive dam projects. He has strong international network experience and helped initiate the World Commission on Dams, the Public Eye on Davos, and several NGO networks including ECA-Watch and Banktrack. Peter is a Swiss national and lives with his family in Berkeley, California.

Rachel Mander

Programme Associate, Private Banks & Insurance

Rachel studied philosophy at Cambridge before working in politics and then transitioning into the climate and conservation sector. She lives in Sheffield, a city she has made home.

Rachel loves to meet new people and is always up for adventure, made-up traditions and cups of tea.

Renuka Saroha

Senior Strategist

Renuka has been working in the climate domain for more than a decade. She has provided technical support to various government programs on integrating climate impacts with public health, reducing the health impact of air pollution and creating sustainable livelihood options while improving environmental conditions. She has closely worked with communities to implement projects aiming at collecting evidence on the impacts of climate change, health impacts of air pollution and other climate disasters. Before Sunrise has worked in organisations like World Health Organization, 350. org.

In her free time, she likes to talk to her friends, tend to her balcony garden and make edible skin care products.

Rie Aso

Finance Campaigner

Rie, pronounced similar to “Leah”, is a Finance Campaigner at the Sunrise Project. She has experience working across non-profit and government sectors. She previously worked at Greenpeace, campaigning to raise awareness of Japanese people to stop tropical forest destructions by palm oil industry. In Ise-Shima National Park, Mie, she worked closely with park volunteers on environmental education and endangered species conservations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tasmania, Australia.

Rie is born and raised in Japan, and currently lives in Mie, Japan. In her free time, she is attempting to create a local NPO to clean up and protect the last remaining of untouched beaches for Loggerhead turtles and other oceanic life.

Shannon Lawrence

Director, Global Finance Program

Shannon has more than 20 years of experience addressing climate change and campaigning for environmental justice, living and working in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Previously, Shannon was a Managing Director at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, where she led strategy development, program design and funder engagement for major urban climate action programs.

Prior to joining C40, Shannon spent over a decade campaigning on finance, energy and water issues with global NGO networks and community groups in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Shannon has a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, with concentrations in international environmental policy and development economics. She has a BA from Georgetown University. She lives with her family in London.

Siman Li

Finance Strategist

Siman has worked for the China program since April 2021, focusing on decarbonizing China’s overseas energy finance, and accelerating green investment by China. Before joining the Sunrise Project, Siman had four years of experience in CSR consulting and project management. She led one overseas investment project of the Belt and Road Initiative in Germany. Siman holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University and a bachelor’s degree in Finance Accounting and Management from the University of Nottingham.

Originally from China, Siman has lived in Malaysia, Sweden and Germany. She is a nature lover and hiking enthusiast. Her current goal is to be a better climber and to try the awesome via ferrata routes in the Alps.

Tiba Fazeli

People Specialist, International PEOs

Tiba works with The Sunrise Project’s international employment and payroll partners to provide staff with top-tier onboarding and ongoing HR support. She comes to The Sunrise Project with five years’ experience in supporting the management of ISEAL – an international NGO focused on improving and scaling up sustainability systems. There she held various roles in fundraising, governance, executive office and finance. She has also worked in other sectors, including travel, education and public relations/marketing.

She is deeply passionate about sustainability with a particular interest in regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. Her other great passions include swimming, spending time outdoors and cooking vegan food.

Tiba holds a BA in Communications and Spanish from UCLA and an MA in Transnational Studies from University College London. She lives in London, UK.

Tonny Nowshin

Finance Campaigner

Tonny Nowshin is a Degrowth and Climate Justice activist. She encountered the IPCC reports in-depth for the first time while writing her master’s thesis in International and development economics in 2017. Reading the reports, the urgency of climate change mitigation hit her, and she decided to become active in the climate movement.

Tonny grew up in Dhaka Bangladesh and was an activist for social causes from her middle-school years. She mobilized with her student organization protesting privatization efforts of the World Bank’s structural adjustment program in Bangladesh. In undergrad, Tonny studied economics in her lifelong search to understand societies better and be able to have a positive impact on them. She started her career in the international development sector with the world’s largest non-profit BRAC. She has later worked with other leading NGOs like ActionAid and 350.org. Professionally at the moment, Tonny is working with the Sunrise Project focusing on fossil fuel finance to tackle the climate crisis. In her activist work, she focuses on centering the concept of climate justice at the core of the climate movement by putting forward antiracist and decolonial perspectives.

In a perfect world, we would find Tonny reading books with three cats, all day.

Usman Mohammed

Senior Digital Campaigner

I’m born and bred in South London, where I spent three years teaching after university. I moved into campaigning and started growing Organise, an online workers’ rights campaigning network. Four amazing years later, I’m jumping into climate campaigning.

Come and talk to me about any musical instruments you play, any weird hobbies you’ve got, and your favorite biscuit.

Yossi Cadan

Senior Strategist

Yossi is a long-time environmental and peace activist. Before joining Sunrise, Yossi spent 30 years of his life in various positions in the environmental movement. Among those, as global finance campaign manager at 350.org, leading Greenpeace’s Canada programmes, serving as the Executive Director of Wildsight and as a regional conservation director at the SPNI. Yossi also represented Israel’s environmental NGOs at the multilateral peace talks between Israel, Palestine and Jordan.