Maria Angela Capello

Dr. Maria Angela Capello is an international leader in geoscience, sustainability, and energy governance, widely recognized for integrating technical excellence with human-centered approaches to energy development. She is president of Red Tree Consulting LLC and has held senior leadership roles across Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, including positions with PDVSA, Halliburton, and Kuwait Oil Company. Dr. Capello holds a PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Plymouth (UK), a master's degree in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines (USA), and a BS in physics from Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela). 

A strong advocate for equity and education, Dr. Capello co-chairs the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) initiative on Women in Resource Management and leads programs that engage students and professionals in forward-looking conversations about energy, geosciences, and society. Through organizations such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Geosciences Institute, she promotes inclusion and sustainability. 

Tim Gregory

Tim Gregory is a nuclear scientist working at the cutting edge of nuclear science and technology. He is also an author, a broadcaster, and a passionate science communicator. His new book, Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World (June 2025), outlines how nuclear technologies—from advanced reactors to medical and space applications—can help tackle global challenges. Through his research and public engagement, he advocates for informed conversations about the role of nuclear technologies in achieving a sustainable, low-carbon future. 

Elizabeth Corse

Elizabeth Corse has a background in climate, startups and tech at Tech Nation in the United Kingdom. She helps workplaces use sustainability to build trust through key stakeholder engagement on sustainability. With over a decade of experience in climate and five years at the heart of the UK climate tech ecosystem, she has built a curated network of more than 3,000 innovators and business leaders. 

Elizabeth calls for a shift from consumerism to collective wellbeing, emphasising the need for active citizens and strong internal champions to drive sustainability. She highlights how “business as usual” often stalls progress and notes that true commitment appears when leaders across an organisation—not just sustainability teams—speak and act on these issues. She sees SDGs as a valuable framework, pointing to the “Half Time Campaign” as a reminder that meaningful progress is still possible if we act collectively.

Jurgita Malinauskaite

Jurgita Malinauskaite is Professor of Law and Head of Brunel Law School, with more than 20 years of academic experience. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a strong advocate for gender equality, having led initiatives such as Brunel Law School’s Athena Swan Bronze Award. Her research focuses on competition law, energy law, and waste law, with a growing emphasis on circular economy and sustainable energy. 

She is passionate about equality, collaboration, and interdisciplinary research, believing these are key to solving today’s challenges. Jurgita encourages listeners to see the SDGs as both a global and personal call to action, and to combine their skills and values to help build a fairer, more resilient, and sustainable world.

Klaus Brun

Klaus Brun is an internationally recognized expert in energy systems and Vice President of Products and Technology at Ebara-Elliott Energy, a global leader in turbomachinery. He has advised the U.S. government, Congress, and major international companies on energy technology and infrastructure. Previously, he held leadership roles at Southwest Research Institute, Solar Turbines, GE, and Alstom, authored over 400 papers and seven textbooks, and holds 16 patents. An ASME Fellow and recipient of multiple awards, including the R&D 100 Award and ASME Industrial Gas Turbine Award, he has chaired major industry conferences and serves on several technical committees.

In this episode, Dr. Brun discusses how global peace and prosperity depend on reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Connecting his work to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, he emphasizes improving turbines, compressors, and pumps critical for transporting hydrogen, CO₂, and other clean fuels. 

Mandi McReynolds 

Mandi McReynolds is an award-winning author and practitioner with 15+ years of leadership experience in building corporate responsibility and ESG divisions across four different industries. She currently serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President External Affairs at Workiva. She helps companies and executives around the globe drive business value and societal impact through transparency, accountability, and innovation.

Mandi views sustainability goals as core business objectives closely tied to the UN SDGs. She highlights that true financial transformation starts with customers and requires moving beyond outdated tools to focus on strategic, high-value work such as scenario planning and risk analysis. She notes that this shift involves both technological advancement—through AI, automation, and centralized data—and workforce development, addressing global shortages in finance professionals.

Simona Bianchi

Simona Bianchi, Ph.D., P.E., is an Assistant Professor at the ReStruct Group in the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft. Her research focuses on risk assessment, climate and disaster resilience, performance-based design, and sustainable building technologies. She leads the Horizon Europe MULTICARE project, developing low-carbon, resilient solutions for buildings, and has been awarded prestigious grants including the EU Marie Curie Fellowship and NWO Veni grant.

Simona is passionate about bridging science and practice to create future-ready infrastructure. Through international collaborations with public and private partners, she advances innovations that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially in sustainable cities, infrastructure, and climate action. She encourages young professionals to pursue research with real-world impact and to embrace interdisciplinary collaboration as a path to building a more resilient world.

Mai Trinh

Mai Trinh is Head of Tax Risk, Reporting and Reputation at RELX. She leads initiatives to enhance tax transparency in Africa, including publishing consolidated tax laws, and collaborates with the World Bank to improve tax practices. Originally from Vietnam and a Cambridge graduate in development economics, her work is deeply influenced by her father's legacy as a former ambassador, focusing on sustainable growth in developing nations.

She is deeply committed to sustainable economic development, tax transparency, and mental health advocacy, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, fairness, and workplace well-being. She encourages listeners to pick a sustainable development goal that resonates with them, channel their passion and energy, and work together with others to create a happy, healthy, and harmonious world.

In this episode, she talks about Clean Start Africa’s three-month rehabilitation program focused on trauma healing, stigmatization, positive parenting, and reconnecting with children. The program raises awareness about incarceration challenges, supports reintegration, and advocates for systemic reforms. The organization addresses poverty and unemployment through economic empowerment initiatives, helping justice-impacted individuals achieve sustainable livelihoods while fostering family and community understanding and collaboration.

Catherine Neish 

Catherine Neish is a planetary scientist specializing in orbital radar observations to study planetary geology, particularly impact cratering. Her work focuses on planets with thick atmospheres like Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan, using radar to reveal surface features not visible with optical data. She is involved in several spacecraft missions, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Mini-RF, and was previously an associate member of the Cassini RADAR team. Catherine began her career at the University of Arizona, where she researched radar observations of Titan, Earth, and Venus. Her passion for exploration extends beyond space, as she also enjoys SCUBA diving. 

In this podcast, she explains how despite progress in gender representation, women’s contributions to research and innovation remain complex. Women’s representation has increased across all career stages, yet parity in participation does not equate to equality in opportunities like funding and senior positions. Women have gained more grants but not enough to match their growing numbers. They excel in multidisciplinary research, crucial for solving global challenges. However, fewer papers by women are published, and men’s publications are cited more, though this gap narrows with career advancement.

Michael L. Senna

Michael is an expert in connected and automated vehicles, digital map databases, and navigation, and holds degrees in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University. Since 1983, he has been running his consulting practice, serving clients globally. He has also been an expert delegate to the European and ISO committees on Intelligent Transport Systems. His efforts are focused on ensuring that everyone has equal access to transportation by implementing innovative vehicle designs that improve safety and affordability.

Michael emphasizes on recognizing the importance of the United Nations’ SDGs and prioritizing transportation-related goals. Transportation, according to him, enables access to food, employment, and medical services, and contributes to a decent quality of life. He therefore aims to address the most critical SDGs related to transportation. His approach involves optimizing multiple goals simultaneously, rather than maximizing one at the expense of others. This comprehensive strategy ensures a balanced focus on climate, poverty reduction, and gender equality, guiding our efforts to support the United Nations’ objectives.

Marty Odlin 

Marty Odlin is the founder and CEO of Running Tide, a global ocean health company. He is a systems engineer from a fourth-generation fishing family and founded the company in 2017 after witnessing the devastation caused by climate change in his own community. Running Tide, headquartered in Portland, Maine, creates and implements cutting-edge diagnostics and comprehensive interventions to help balance the carbon cycle, decarbonize global supply chains, restore marine ecosystems, and revitalize coastal communities. It aims to address some critical United Nations sustainable development goals, such as global hunger, by reducing ocean acidification and restoring ocean health. The company is expanding globally in partnership with leading investors, businesses, scientific institutions, and governments.

Ana Maria Porras 

Dr. Ana Maria Porras is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida and serves as an IF/THEN Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is well-known for creating crochet versions of microorganisms to reach a larger audience, particularly children in her native Colombia. She was named a UF International Center Global Fellow in 2021, a Cornell Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019-2022, and an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellow, 2015-2016. She co-founded the LatinX in Biomedical Engineering (LatinXinBME) community with Brian Aguado, a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego. Additionally, Porras has received the Society for Biomaterials Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award 2024, which recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions to the biomaterials field, mainly promoting anti-racism and fostering diversity in the STEM disciplines, especially in biomaterials. She has also been honored with the Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2024. 

Dr. Porras has authored academic papers on the human microbiome, tissue engineering, biomaterials, global health, and infectious diseases. She intends to use her engineering expertise to create more complex models in the lab, bridging the gap between cells in a petri dish and animal models to test hypotheses and better understand tropical diseases through biomaterial-based approaches.

 Marco Richter 

Marco Richter is the Head of Global Customer Success and Managing Director of LexisNexis® PatentSight®, a LexisNexis Intellectual Property subsidiary. He has over 15 years of experience in the IP space, starting in the IP consulting business and running projects for DAX 30 and Fortune 500 companies. He established the Data Harmonization Team and the Consulting & Customer Success Team at PatentSight, a German start-up, into a global software provider. Moreover, he also helped integrate the PatentSight application into LexisNexis IP Solution's SaaS and DaaS offerings. He has strong ties to academia and international patent offices and actively engages with intellectual property leaders and practitioners. He believes that SDG-related patent analytics can assist policymakers in understanding the involvement and identifying gaps in sustainable technological development, allowing them to develop strategies to foster and incentivize investment and innovation in these areas.

Karin Sempf 

Karin Sempf is the CEO and Founder of Innova Nation, an educational lab that motivates and empowers the next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators, and sustainability advocates. They provide interactive learning opportunities for children and teenagers, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities while also encouraging them to pursue their interests and ideas. Innova Nation has created its own methodology to nurture young minds' talent and potential while incubating ideas about entrepreneurship and sustainability. This framework enables children to identify the most pressing issues confronting our planet today and work toward achieving goals that will result in solutions.

Diana Mbogo

Diana Mbogo is the Founder and Managing Director of Millennium Engineers – a 100% women founded and led social enterprise that specialises in renewable energy. Their primary focus is identifying untapped energy poverty markets across various sectors. They excel in creating tailored and innovative business solutions by analysing the requirements of specific industries, communities, or business value chains. Currently, Millennium Engineers is implementing the “Sardine Fishing Industry” business project which aims to transition the low-income sardine fishing industry in Lake Victoria, away from pressurised kerosene/LED lead acid powered batteries lamps and conventional methods of sardine drying towards more climate friendly solar drying facilities to ensure sustainable fishing practices in the region.

About Lene Bjorn Serpa 

Lene Bjorn Serpa is the Director of Head of Corporate Sustainability & ESG, A.P. Moller – Maersk. She leads Maersk's worldwide initiatives in sustainability and environmental, social, and governance strategy, encompassing reporting, governance, stakeholder engagement, and trend analysis. She earned a master’s degree from the Copenhagen Business School. With a remarkable 25-year track record in corporate sustainability, she serves on corporate boards and holds the Chair of the Global Compact Network Denmark. Lene is also a co-author of the insightful book 'Squaring the Sustainability Circle,' which delves into integrating sustainability seamlessly into corporate strategies. 

About Judy Kuriansky 

Dr. Judy Kuriansky is an academic, a world-renowned clinical psychologist, a Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University Teachers College, a certified sex therapist, and a popular speaker. She is also the founder of radio call-in advice, a former television reporter, and a newspaper columnist. Dr. Judy, a humanitarian and philanthropist, is a first responder who has provided psychosocial support worldwide in the aftermath of major disasters such as the attacks on the US World Trade Center, school shootings, the tsunami in Japan, floods in St. Martin, and earthquakes in Iran and Haiti. She is the Policy Advisor to Sierra Leone's Mission at the United Nations and has been representing NGOs for over 20 years, advocating for mental health and well-being. She is a strong supporter of women's and girls' rights, having founded a Girls Empowerment Camp in Lesotho, edited a book called "Women Around the World," and backed the Sierra Leone First Lady's "Hands Off Our Girls" initiative.

About Nicholas Murdock 

Nicholas Murdock is NASA's Sustainability Program Manager, in charge of developing and implementing the agency's sustainability initiatives across all centres. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil/environmental engineering and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Central Florida. At NASA, Nicholas recognizes the importance of pursuing and achieving the current administration's goals. He is passionate about problem solving, building strong teams, and creating a safe, collaborative, and inclusive environment. Prior to his current position, he worked in a variety of roles supporting environmental functions, engineering, construction, and operations and maintenance 

About Filip Neele

Filip Neele is the TNO's subsurface team's lead scientist on carbon dioxide (CO2) transport and storage. He holds a doctorate degree in Seismology and has been researching CCS technologies since 2006. His research focuses on the creation and management of CCS networks, as well as regional screening studies for CO2 storage capacity and detailed storage feasibility assessments. He is especially interested in the evolution of CCS networks, ship transport, and multi-asset storage networks. Dr. Philip is currently working on methods for monitoring operational CO2 projects that are both efficient and effective 

About Gaythri Raman  

Gaythri Raman is the Managing Director of LexisNexis Southeast Asia, responsible for the adoption of online solutions for litigation across government and corporate segments throughout Southeast Asia. She is a strong advocate for the transformation of the legal business by leveraging legal innovations, and her vision has led the way for the legal industry in Southeast Asia. As a changemaker, Gaythri has led the print-to-digital transformation of a 90-year-old business in the last five years. Under her leadership, her team have successfully created and launched multiple award-winning AI-powered solutions for legal professionals in Malaysia and Singapore, enabling the use of cutting-edge Large Language Model on premier local legal content.  

Gaythri is passionate about advancing the rule of law. She believes technology can be a powerful enabler in providing access to justice, improving She and her team have worked on multiple rule of law projects, notably with Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Laureate and State Counsellor of Myanmar in the nation’s democratisation process prior to the coup in 2021, working with the United Nations Global Compact to launch the Business for the Rule of Law Framework and key projects across Asia to provide transparency in laws. She and her team have been supporting the Mobile Court of Sabah and efforts to address statelessness and enabling access to justice in the jungles of Borneo since 2018.  

Gaythri is a purposeful leader and believes in leveraging the skills and passion of her followers to make a positive impact in society. She welcomes all opportunities to collaborate to change the world for the better and sees herself as a lifelong student with the world as her inspiration.  

David Emmett

For the past two years, David has been a driving force at the Hempel Foundation, where he has helped champion the protection of some of the world's most precious ecosystems. David is also involved in management of a pipeline of Impact Investment Fund opportunities. Prior to his move to Europe, David held the role of Senior Vice President for Conservation International, Asia-Pacific, from 2011 to 2019. From teaching biology and tropical agriculture in rural Malawi to conducting biodiversity surveys in Tanzania, Madagascar and Cambodia, he has explored many places to learn about and safeguard their complex ecosystems. As a public speaker, published author, and esteemed advisor, David Emmett embodies the ideals of conservation and sustainability.

Robert Skinner

Robert Skinner is the Deputy Director and Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement in the Outreach Division of United Nations Department of Global Communications. Prior to this, Robert was the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Washington, DC. He has also held the posts of Senior Special Advisor in the UN’s Department of Global Communications, focusing on the UN’s COVID-19 Communications Response Initiative, and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

Prior to joining the UN, Robert was the Executive Director in the New York Office of the United Nations Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 2006, Robert held several positions in the United States Department of State. Before starting his diplomatic career, Robert was an attorney in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, Chicago, Illinois.

Gabriel Filippelli

Dr. Gabriel Filippelli is a Chancellor’s Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director of the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute. Filippelli is a biogeochemist with broad training in climate change, exposure science, and environmental health. Filippelli has published broadly, including publications in Science, Nature and Geology as well as in specialty journals and in popular press. He is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal GeoHealth,. a Fellow of the International Association of Geochemistry, a 2022 Fulbright Distinguished Chair, and former National Academy of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow, where he served as a Senior Science Advisor for the U.S. Department of State.

Christian Leitz

Dr. Christian Leitz is Managing Director, Secretary of Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee, and Group Historian and Lead for Long-Term Archives at UBS. He is the firm's first corporate historian. He coordinates UBS's sustainability reporting and regularly gives workshops and presentations on the topic of sustainability, both at UBS and the broader world. He also serves as a center of competence for questions relating to historical concerns at the firm. Before joining UBS in 2003, Christian taught history at universities in the UK and New Zealand. He has written and edited a large number of articles and essays, as well as six books. 

Rob Brierley

Rob Brierley is Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Rob studied molecular and cellular biochemistry and clinical pharmacology at the University of Oxford, and clinical oncology at the University of Birmingham. Rob has worked in the publishing industry since graduation, first as a technical editor for the Journal of Molecular Biology, before working on a series of viral hepatitis textbooks for a book publisher. Rob joined The Lancet Group in 2004, first at The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet, before joining The Lancet Oncology as Senior Editor in 2008 and then Deputy Editor in 2012. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology launched in 2016. Rob’s interests include gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary cancers, viral hepatitis, and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Lora Fleming 

Professor Lora Fleming is the founder of the European Centre for Environment and Human health and Chair of Oceans, Epidemiology and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School. Professor Fleming  is an occupational and environmental health physician and epidemiologist with more than 30 years of experience and expertise in environment and occupational exposures and human health research and training. She is the recipient of the 2013 Edouard Delcroix Prize and the 2015 Bruun Medal of the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and an ASPIRE principle fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Lota Creencia 

Professor Lota Creencia is the organization lead for Western Philippines University, Philippines. holds a PhD in Fisheries Science and MS in Fisheries Science from Kagoshima University, Japan and MS from Siliman University, Philippines. Western Philippines University. Her experience spans various programs and projects in line with fisheries management and aquaculture. She has served as a principal investigator/project leader/coordinator with funding from USAID-STRIDE, Malampaya Foundation Inc., Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCIEERD), Commission on Higher Education (CHED-DARETO & NAFES), Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR). She specializes in abalone biology and culture, marine biology, mangrove ecology and management, integrated seaweed farming and community-based fisheries management and aquaculture.

Helena Solo-Gabriele 

Helena Solo-Gabriele is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Miami. She is an environmental engineer who evaluates problems that relate to the domains of public health and environment. She focuses on environmental measures and actively engages with epidemiologists and other public health professionals to get to know the possible links between environmental exposures and illness. 

Jake Keast 

Jake is a medical student at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. In addition to being a medical student, Jake is also an elite athlete and an oceans and human health researcher who spends time over performance improvements and exercise physiology. He has recently co-authored a textbook on Oceans and Human Health, and is working with local projects to bring young people and vulnerable adults to the sea for sports and education.

Eric Altschuler, MD, PhD is Associate Chief and Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Metropolitan Hospital and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York Medical College. Dr. Altschuler is also an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Simone Emmons is a Veteran, PTSD/SA/MST/DV/Addiction Survivor, blessed Mom of three children and one service dog. She has gone from surviving to thriving as a mental health advocate, author, innovator and Co-founder of Service Dog Strong. SDS is one of the first non-profits in America to pair rescued Service dogs with SA and MST Survivors diagnosed with PTSD from their assault.

Eric Altschuler is the editor of the book Animal Assisted Therapy, and Simone Emmons is the author of Chapter 8.

Prior to joining ICIS Helen has developed supply demand database for recycled PET markets, including forecasts for collection, reclamation, and end use of recycled PET products. Helen has been responsible for monthly coverage of recycled PET market including price discovery, analysis of market developments and regulatory developments.  Helen has generated price forecasts for recycled PET flake and food grade pellets by key regions.  Helen has delivered multiple custom studies in the recycling area, assisting investment and strategy development for parties within the recycled PET supply.

Alan Berkowitz is an independent consultant with expertise in culture change, gender issues, behavioral health, ending men’s violence, and fostering social justice. He has received five national awards for his scholarship and innovative programs on substance abuse and sexual assault prevention, men’s role in ending violence against women, gender issues, sexual harassment prevention, bystander intervention theory and skills, and social justice issues. 

Lindsay Orchowski, Ph.D. is a Staff Psychologist in the Adult Outpatient Division in the Department of Psychiatry within Lifespan Physicians Group and Associate Professor (Research) at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Corey Peterson is Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He specializes in holistic institutional sustainability initiatives, which has resulted in University of Tasmania recently ranking number one globally in Sustainable Development Goal 13 - Climate Action in the Times Higher Education Impact rankings and number 25 overall. The university also recently won the 2022 RELX Customer SDG Impact Awards competition.

Professor Rickey Yada has been Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia since 2014. Prior to UBC, Dr. Yada was at the University of Guelph where he held numerous leadership roles, including Chair, Department of Food Science, Assistant Vice President Research, Canada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure, and Scientific Director of the Advanced Foods and Materials Network (Networks of Centres of Excellence).

He is currently one of the co-editors of Trends in Food Science and Technology, and serves on the editorial board of several journals. Dr. Yada is an advisor to many research and industry organizations, serving on the Board of the Canadian Food Innovation Network; Board of Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network; and, the Board of Bioenterprise Inc., to name a few. Other position include External Advisory Committee Member – Arrell Food Institute; Member of the Scientific Advisory Panels – Riddet Institute (New Zealand) and AgResearch (New Zealand); Global Innovation and Partnership Advisor, Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, Singapore.

Dr. Yada is the Past President of the Deans Council of the Faculties of Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Medicine in Canada; Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and the International Academy of the International Union of Food Science and Technology; as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists. Dr. Yada has an honorary DSc from the University of Guelph.

Richard Mankin

Richard is a research entomologist with the US Department of Agriculture. He uses crutches to get around since his legs are missing several muscles and require braces. His research focuses on detecting and controlling hidden insect infestations. He also works on questions about how insects use the senses of smell and sound in communication. As a person with a physical disability, he has endeavored to make persons aware that disabilities do not preclude societal contributions nor career success. They merely make such contributions more difficult. He serves on the governing board of the Entomological Society of America and is the President of the Foundation for Science and Disability.

Kate Nash

Kate is the world's leading authority in 'Networkology' - the science behind the growth of workplace networks and resource groups. Most known for her work with disability networks, she set up an independent hub of best practice in the establishment of Disabled Employee Networks publishing the first best practice guide in 2009, with a Ministerial launch. In April 2014 her book 'Secrets & Big News' was published tackling the issue of 'disclosure' of disability and what employers can do to help people be themselves at work. 2,511 disabled employees from 55 employers took part in the research, sponsored by BT, Fujitsu, Metropolitan Police Service, Post Office and PWC. Kate launched PurpleSpace in October 2015 as the world's first professional development hub for disabled employee networks bringing together the 850,000 disabled employees from across employee networks. In 2007 she was awarded an OBE for services to disabled people. In 2013 she was appointed Ambassador to Disability Rights UK.

Ruzanna Tarverdyan is an expert in international economics and sustainable development. She is Founding President and CEO of The Geneva Consensus Foundation, which under her leadership gained Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Social and Economic Council. She is an economist-mathematician with 30 years of professional work. She served the government of Armenia, holding senior positions in the ministries of finance and economy (Trade and Investment Department, Audit Department, Armenian Aid Coordination Center, Government's Tender Board) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a research economist in Moscow and at the Geneva headquarters. She has taught at the ILO International Training Center at Turin, Italy, and she is a member of the editorial board of several international journals.

Ruzanna has recently joint Municipal Council of Geneva City, as Municipal Councillor. As a Member of the Parliament of the Geneva City she will be serving on the Liberal and Radical Party List as a Member of Sports and Housing Commission for 2020-2025 Legislature. She is also the Representative of Switzerland in the Policy Advisory Group on Climate and Sustainability of ALDE- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Ruzanna is also one of the authors of the book Measuring Sustainable Development Goals Performance which was launched in February 2022 at the ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) Partnership Forum which focused on the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

Michael Sheldrick is a Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer at Global Citizen. Over the past decade, Global Citizen’s campaigns have led to over $35 billion distributed to anti-poverty efforts around the world.

Michael leads Global Citizen’s campaigns to rally support from governments, businesses and foundations to get the world on track to end extreme poverty. Michael has worked on campaigns globally with artists including Beyoncé, Coldplay, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Priyanka Chopra, Rihanna, Usher, and world leaders including Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and former Australian Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.

Michael was one of the four Co-Founders who spearheaded the first major Global Citizen advocacy campaign - The End the Polio - in 2011 which raised $118 million with the support of John Legend and then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Most recently, Michael served as an Executive Producer of Vax Live, co-chaired by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan. The campaign focused on vaccine equity and acceptance, which resulted in 26 million vaccines committed for developing countries.

Michael has written on development issues in Forbes, the Guardian, Huffington Post, The Diplomatic Courier, The Diplomat Magazine, The South China Morning Post, The West Australian, and Fairfax Media. He has been interviewed by ABC, BBC, The New Yorker, Forbes Magazine, VICE Impact and Sky News among others. Michael’s efforts, and those of the team he leads, was profiled in National Geographic’s Activate series aired in 2019. He was named by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth as a finalist for 2017 Young Commonwealth Person of the Year. He is also a board member for the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and the Advisory Board of Parliamentarians for the Global Goals. Michael holds degrees in law and political science from the University of Western Australia, and was 2013 Young Western Australian of the Year.

Kariuki Ngari is an accomplished career banker with over 29 years of banking experience. He earned his recognition through successfully transforming the consumer banking divisions of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and Standard Chartered Regional Africa.

A seasoned financial professional, he has held various senior leadership roles across the industry. Prior to his current role as Chief Executive Officer at Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Kariuki was the Global Head, Retail Distribution for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. There he was instrumental in formulating global strategies in building the future of Retail Branch and Voice & Virtual landscapes through digitization of the physical channels, as well as revision of branch models and standards.

Prior to his Global role, Kariuki was the Regional Head of Retail Clients Africa between 2013 and 2015, and the Executive Director Kenya and East Africa from 2009 to 2013. He has also held senior positions in Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited.

Tessy is the Founder of Finding Butterflies Consultancy Ltd, a global strategic communication firm which aims to support governments, institutions and business leaders with impact projects, educational campaigns, gender inclusion, and conference attendance and organisation. Tessy is also an associate at LSEideas at the London School of Economics, a globally recognised educational institution in London. 

Tessy is the Co-Founder of an investment vehicle which focuses on tech startups and renewable energy. She is the President and Co-Founder of Professors Without Borders, a charity that seeks to develop talent by bringing top-level educators and global experts to the doorsteps of students worldwide. She is also the Co-Founder of Human Highness, a sustainable fashion brand. 

Moreover, Tessy is an ambassador for UNAIDS (Global Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls) and is a patron for UNA-UK along with the creator of the UN Millennium Development Goals, Lord Malloch Brown. Previously, she spent five years in the Luxembourg military, during which she was deployed to Kosovo as a peacekeeper and was the only woman in her draft.

Tessy actively promotes a number of issues, including global health and women’s rights, and is passionate advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. She was bestowed the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau by HRH Grand Duc Henri of Luxembourg. Moreover, she received the Woman of the Decade award from the Women Economic Forum, the Humanities medal for spreading humanistic ideas worldwide and the Global Empowerment Award for her work in Africa. She was named “Leader of the Year 2019” by the Leadership Academy in Luxembourg. 

In May 2019, Tessy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Paris College of Arts for her work in education. She is currently working on her medical doctorate and PhD in integrative medicine.

Irina Bokova, born in Sofia (Bulgaria), has been two terms the Director- General of UNESCO from 2009 to 2917. Having graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Irina Bokova was a Fellow at the University of Maryland, Washington, and followed an executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. As Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova was actively engaged in the UN efforts to adopt Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 4 on “Achieving Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promoting Life-Long Learning for All”, as well as science and new technologies for sustainable development, protection of cultural and natural heritage and biodiversity, and gender equality. Since 2010 till 2017, Irina Bokova was vice-chair of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, established by UNESCO and ITU (International Telecommunications Union), serving as a large platform for Governments, private sector and academia to support and promote connectivity and sustainable development. During the time of the work of the Broadband Commission, Bokova was chairing the Working Groups on Education and ICTs, and Gender and ICTs. Irina Bokova was also chairing from 2014 till 2017 the UN Secretary General’s Scientific Advisory Board on Sustainable Development with a focus on science-policy interface.

Irina Bokova was on the Forbes List of the world's most influential women for 2016. She has received academic distinctions from leading universities across the globe such as King's College, London, the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Paris Sud Saclay, France, Tongji University, Shanghai, Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, among others. In 2020 was elected International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the category of Educational, Cultural and Non-profit Leadership.

Currently, she is Member of the Board of “Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens”, Member of the Senate of FIA and of the High Panel on Road Safety, Member of the Concordia Leadership Council, New York, visiting lecturer at the Paris School of International Affairs /PSIA/, Sciences Po, and at the University of Geneva, among others.

Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a New York Attorney and Solicitor of England & Wales with broad expertise in the financial services industry, writer, public speaker and political commentator featured in mainstream and online media.

A political and women’s rights activist, she has taught intersectional feminism to female refugees and asylum seekers; scrutinises government policies from a gender and diversity inclusion perspective; and co-organises women's marches and social campaigns. She founded the Women in Leadership publication as a platform to drive positive change on topical issues that impact women globally through inspiring personal leadership journeys; and established She@LawTalks to promote women & BAME leadership in the legal profession through universities and secondary schools.

An academic enthusiast, she has an Executive MBA (Cambridge); PhD (Birkbeck); LLM (London School of Economics & Political Science); MA (Westminster) and LLB Hons (Buckingham University).

The Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens’ co-chairman Heinz Fischer was President of Austria from 2004 to 2016. In April 2010, Dr. Fischer was re-elected as President, winning a second six-year term in office with almost 79% of the votes. From 1963 to 1975 Heinz Fischer was Secretary, from 1975 to 1983 Executive Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in the Austrian Parliament, and from 1971 to 2004 a member of the Austrian National Assembly. Dr. Fischer served as Minister of Science of the Republic of Austria from 1983 to 1987 and as President of the National Council of Austria from 1990 to 2002. Between 1992 and 2004 Heinz Fischer was also Deputy Chairman of the Party of European Social Democrats (PES). From 1995 to 2002 he was President of the National Fund of Austria for the Victims of National Socialism. Apart from being a politician, Fischer also pursued an academic career and became a professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck.

After completing two terms as head of state Dr. Fischer was proclaimed Chairman of the Council for the Commemorative Year 2018 by the Federal Government of Austria. Furthermore, in June 2016 Heinz Fischer was named president of the Association of Austrian Adult Education Centres. Since September 2016 he occupies the position as president of the Austrian Society for Chinese Studies and as of January 2017, he is president of the Board of the Institute for Human Sciences.

We are grateful to all our fascinating podcast guests for taking their time to share their thoughts and hopes with us.  Inevitably, given remote working, there may be occasional sound interference – which does not detract from our speakers’ insights.

Mary Robinson is Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice in Trinity College Dublin and Chair of The Elders.  She served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and from 1997-2002. She is a member of the Club of Madrid and the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States Barack Obama. Between 2013 and 2016 Mary served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in three roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa, then on Climate Change and most recently as his Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate. Her Foundation, the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, established in 2010, came to a planned end in April 2019.

A former President of the International Commission of Jurists and former chair of the Council of Women World Leaders she was President and founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002-2010 and served as Honorary President of Oxfam International from 2002-2012.

Mary Robinson serves as Patron of the International Science Council and Patron of the Board of the Institute of Human Rights and Business, is an Ambassador for The B Team, in addition to being a board member of several organisations including the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Aurora Foundation. She was Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1998 to 2019. Mary’s memoir, ‘Everybody Matters’ was published in September 2012 and her book, ‘Climate Justice - Hope, Resilience and the Fight for a Sustainable Future’ was published in September 2018.

Georg Kell is Chairman of Arabesque, an ESG Quant fund manager that uses self-learning quantitative models and big data to assess the performance and sustainability of globally listed companies. Arabesque was launched in 2013 following a management buyout from Barclays Bank. It is dedicated to taking sustainability into the mainstream by using finance as a catalyst for change.

Georg is the founding Director of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative with over 9,000 corporate signatories in more than 160 countries. Under Georg’s leadership, the UN Global Compact became the foremost platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible and sustainable corporate policies and practices.

Georg also oversaw the conception and launch of the Global Compact’s sister initiatives - the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE).

Georg started his career as a research fellow in engineering at the Fraunhofer Institute in Berlin. He then worked as a financial analyst in various countries in Africa & Asia before joining the United Nations in 1987. Georg holds advanced degrees in economics and engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.

Georg’s latest book Sustainable Investing: A Path to a New Horizon, co-edited by Herman Bril and Andreas Rasche, was published in September 2020. It brings together high-level practitioners and academics to reflect on the most recent insights and trends in the world of sustainable investing, with a foreword by Mark Carney.

We are grateful to all our fascinating podcast guests for taking their time to share their thoughts and hopes with us. Inevitably, given remote working, there may be occasional sound interference – which does not detract from our speakers’ insights.