Director: Jeffrey Barbee

Jeffrey Barbee is the director and founder of Alliance Earth, an independent not-for-profit environmental and scientific reporting initiative which funds science reporting for the world’s media.  He is also the director of Alliance Earth’s  Dung Beetle Project. The project drives science education that is fun, fiery and unforgettable from a plastic-powered mobile stage that converges art and education. He is also an award winning writer and film-maker with over 18 years of reporting experience in 27 countries. He has worked on assignment for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The LA Times, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, The Chicago Tribune, The Telegraph, The BBC and many others. His specialty is cross-platform multimedia and event-based projects that converge art, print, web, television and mobile delivery to drive awareness about global environmental issues. He is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Communications Officer: Kerry Nash

Kerry Nash is a communication and strategy development expert with more than twenty years of experience shaping and driving the public outreach of non-profits, governments and companies throughout the world. Her work with the United Nations Environment Program has helped that organization drive environmental and scientific education in countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and many others. As chief communications officer with Alliance Earth she is responsible for developing strategic communication materials and short and long term planning for the organization as well as our partners.

Visuals/editing and field work: James Jamu

James Jamu is a Multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker interested in topics such as post colonial identity, environment, human rights and politics. He is a member of the African Photojournalism Database, a joint project of World Press Photo Foundation & Everyday Africa. He is a graduate of DW Akademie Constructive Journalism Lab Fellow 2022 and a One World Media Fellow 2021. James has produced content for National Geographic, Al Jazeera, Open Society Institute of Southern Africa, One World Media Foundation UK, UNESCO, National Art Gallery of Namibia & Free Press of Namibia”

Research and Writing: Laurel Neme

Laurel Neme is a freelance journalist and author. She contributes regularly to National Geographic and Mongabay.com, and is the author of ANIMAL INVESTIGATORS: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species. She also writes for children. She has contributed to New York Times for Kids Magazine, Muse Magazine and others and has written two non-fiction picture books ORANGUTAN HOUDINI, and THE ELEPHANT’S NEW SHOE from Scholastic. Learn more at www.LaurelNeme.com.

Development Consultant: Lisa Cochrane

Lisa Cochrane is a Nova Scotia-based communications and marketing strategist working in the environmental space and not-for-profit culture sector. She is also a writer, documentary filmmaker, visual artist and project developer.

Accounting: Sonya Greywolf

Haley Jackson

Haley Jackson helps visionaries take their stories from imagination to reality across multiple platforms, from large screen 3D to Virtual Reality to Mobile. She inspires and engages the public through exploration and visual storytelling. She has produced and directed dozens of complex and award-winning projects from the edges of space to deep beneath the ocean for clients such as Lightstorm Entertainment, The Climate Reality Project, The X PRIZE Foundation, Al Gore, James Cameron, The Mojave Air and Spaceport, The Discovery Channel, NASA, The Science Channel, The United States Olympic Committee and many others. She recently won ten outstanding Telly Awards for her work with 24 Hours of Climate Reality. Learn more: http://www.haleyjackson.com

Caty Batten

Caty is a sustainability professional and entrepreneur with 20 years of experience working across international development, environmental conservation, events and enterprise education. Having notably launched the Oxfam brand in Switzerland, and raised finance for ocean protection in Mozambique, Caty holds an extensive network of collaborators across the sustainability ecosystem. She is co-founder and Director at Intaconnected, a next generation consultancy that is empowering organisations to accelerate their Pathway to Net Positive impact, and co-creating innovative solutions to contribute to a regenerative global economic model.

Simon Willcock

Prof Simon Willcock, PhD is a Principal Research Scientist at Rothamsted Research and a Professor of Sustainability at Bangor University, UK. Prof Willcock did his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Oxford University before finishing his PhD in Geography at the University of Leeds. He is an interdisciplinary scientist who focuses on producing real-world outputs that are applied in policy and business contexts, like harnessing the power of smartphone technology in Cambodia. His research spans numerous subjects in natural and social sciences and includes resilience, climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, migration and more. His particular interest is focused on how people interact with nature in the tropics. Through his research he hopes to create positive influences through collaborations between all sectors of government and the societies they represent.

Louise Bezuidenhout

Louise Bezuidenhout, is a senior researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), University of Leiden. Louise is a passionate Open Science advocate and educator. Her special area of interest is facilitating the inclusion of low/middle-income researchers to global research resources, and expanding engagement in science to previously marginalized communities around the world.

Ana Alecia Lyman

A native of California and resident of Mozambique since 2005, Ana Alecia is an environmental entrepreneur and management systems specialist working at the intersection of conservation, public administration and socio-economic development in emerging economies. She has over ten years experience in the development of sustainable, community-based natural products value chains in challenging business climates and unique experience in the development of business strategy, product design, human resources, internal systems, fundraising and innovative North-South partnerships.