Governance

An 11-member Board of Trustees is primarily elected by Think Global members with up to three co-optees.

Trustees are currently as follows:

Stewart Crocker has been Chair of Think Global since 8 November 2012. Stewart began his career in estate management. In the 1980s he was instrumental in creating a series of innovative farming and conservation enterprises which today form the centre piece of a thriving educational study centre, under the auspices of the Commonwork Land Trust. To further his research, Stewart was awarded a Nuffield Travel Scholarship. This enabled him to learn at first hand from leading practitioners throughout Asia and America the interconnection between environmental conservation and international development.

Inspired by this experience, Stewart has worked ever since for a succession of charities working in these twin fields. As a result, he is a firm believer in the importance of education in increasing awareness and understanding of the global challenges we face.

Over the last twenty years, Stewart has served as a trustee of FarmAfrica, the Soil Association and currently of Friends of the Earth where he is Chair of the Engagement Committee.

He has also worked as a CEO of two charities. In 1997 he was appointed as CEO of the Resource Alliance which is governed by a multi-national board and works with NGOs throughout the world to enable them to build their capacity for financial independence.

Subsequently he was appointed Executive Director of Waste Watch. Here he redirected the strategy from a focus on recycling to championing the sustainable use of resources. Refocusing the work on this pressing issue of our time broadened the scope of the programme helping schools, communities and businesses to live and work more sustainably.

Stewart simultaneously led the organisation’s culture progressively towards collaborative working and the creation of a strategic alliance. Latterly he initiated and negotiated the merger with Keep Britain Tidy, within which Waste Watch now operates as a semi-autonomous business unit. Today, Stewart works as a charity management consultant and mentor, specialising in organisational development and fundraising.

Chris Shiel is Vice-Chair of Think Global, an Associate Professor at Bournemouth University and a Visiting Professor at Glamorgan University Business School. She has championed global perspectives in education for over ten years and her approach is based on seeking to develop global citizens who understand the need for sustainable development. In 2005, Chris was awarded a Higher Education Leadership Foundation Fellowship for her work.

Following a career in banking, Chris moved into higher education with a focus on organisational behaviour and change management. She has over 20 years experience of business and management education, and has worked with the Association of Business Schools, HEFCE, the Leadership Foundation and the Higher Education Academy, to enhance business education, internationalisation and the sustainability agenda. She has published extensively and delivered keynotes at both national and international conferences. Current academic projects include: enhancing leadership for sustainable development; developing BU’s MSc Green Economy e-learning programme; analysing the relationships between green attitudes and values and green behaviour.

Chris is currently Chair of Bournemouth’s Fairtrade Town Steering Group and is also working with the Council and other stakeholders, to implement the Earth Charter. She is Chair of Avonbourne International Business and Enterprise Academy Trust and was formerly a Board Member of DEED and UYDO. She has substantial experience of governance, including establishment of charitable status, growth and development, strategic change and closure.

Mike Peirce, Treasurer, is Deputy Director at the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, where he leads a number of executive education programmes, including the World Bank Sustainable Development Leadership Programme for senior Bank staff. In May 2009 he directed the St James's Palace Nobel Laureates Symposium on climate change that concluded with a Memorandum now signed by over fifty Nobel Laureates. He is involved in a number of other initiatives, including as a member of the Steering Group of the Prince of Wales's Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S).

Taahra Ghazi has 20 years experience working on global and sustainability issues within the education and NGO sectors. A former teacher and now freelance writer, fundraiser and project manager for a wide range of NGOs, she has some several awards for her work including the GA Award for writing 'PowerDown: A climate change toolkit for schools'. As an associate consultant for QCDA she developed highly successful curriculum guidance on the 'The Global Dimension', 'Sustainable Development' and 'Community Cohesion'. From 2000 - 2007 she was Head of Schools and Youth at ActionAid and a member of their Senior Management team. Known for her creative and groundbreaking approach her most innovative project including driving a bus 1200 miles across 6 African countries to take thousands of messages to the G8 summit in Edinburgh!

David Lambert was a comprehensive school geography teacher for 12 years culminating in a Deputy Headship in 1985. He joined the Institute of Education in 1987, becoming Reader in Education in 1999. During this period he led the Geography PGCE and the MA Geography in Education also serving as Assistant Dean ITE (research). He played a leading role in introducing the Master of Teaching (MTeach), a programme which now has over 200 registered students. In 2002 he became full time Chief Executive of the Geographical Association, helping guide its development as a provider of CPD and a leader in funded curriculum development activity. From September 2007, he combined this role with a Professorship of Geography at the Institute of Education. Since 2012 David has returned full time to the IOE whilst retaining close links to the GA as an Hon Vice President.

His writing and research are concerned with curriculum development, assessment and his goal is to advance understanding of the role of geography in schools.

Steve Miller is a community activist, social entrepreneur, consultant, researcher and trainer. He founded Tzedek in 1990 as a Jewish response to global poverty - an organisation which aims to integrate educational and campaigning activities with support for project partners in Africa and Asia. Steve also played a leading role in the creation of Restore Community Projects (a London-based furniture recycling project) and North London Action for the Homeless (a drop-in for street homeless), and is currently Co-Chair of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, a national campaigning coalition of local activists and national agencies. As a Fellow of the Faiths & Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths College one of Steve's interests is building bridges between academic and practitioner communities.

David Murrayis Chief Executive of the Green Party, and joined the Think Global Board in November 2011. He has a background in campaigns management and policy development in the environment sector, having worked for the Ramblers and the Campaign for National Parks. Prior to his time in campaigns and policy, David worked for StudentForce for Sustainability (now Change Agents); an environmental education charity that drives young people, graduates, business and communities towards working and learning together for a sustainable future. David has also worked on projects on Community-led Environmental Education in Indonesia, is an Associate Member of the Institute fo Environmental Management and Assessment and holds an MSc in Environmental Conservation Management. David is a voluntary director of Life Squared, a not-for-profit organisation helping people to live happier, wiser and more meaningful lives within the pressure and complexity of the modern world.

Karen Northey became a trustee of Think Global in 2009. She is a lawyer and government affairs professional and currently works for the FSA where she is responsible for the organisation's International Stakeholder Engagement and relationships with non UK governments and regulators. Prior to joining the FSA, Karen held a number of legal and regulatory roles and most recently was the Vice President for Global Government Affairs for BT plc. Karen has a passion for international issues having lived and worked in Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and the UK. She was previously a director for Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights.

Karen is a qualified solicitor in England & Wales and a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario). She holds a BA and an LLB from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and an LLM from the London School of Economics (UK).

Brian Walton has 17 years experience working in a range of schools and has been a Headteacher for the past 9 years in London and Bristol. He is currently Headteacher at Headley Park school in Bristol, serving a community of over 400 children. Brian is also a Local Leader of Education (developing system leadership across Bristol including developing head teacher induction and coaching) and the Vice Chair of the Bristol Headteachers Association. He is passionate about leadership and sustainability in schools and how this can be used to improve the lives of others.
Brian was actively involved in supporting and advising the organisation for 18 months prior to becoming a Think Global trustee in early 2012.

Colin Crooks is a Social Entrepreneur and author. He has a track-record as an award winning social entrepreneur; he has just finished his first book “How to make a million jobs – A charter for social enterprise” which links his experience over 22-years of social enterprise with one of our most intractable social problems. Colin has recycled and re-used more than 60,000 tonnes of materials and in doing so has helped nearly 2000 vulnerable and disadvantaged people to get work. He is setting up his sixth social enterprise, Tree Shepherd, which is designed to help local authorities tackle endemic unemployment. He is currently Executive Chair of the London Community Resource Network and is a regular witness for the School for Social Entrepreneurs. Colin's first business was Papercycle, a successful office paper recycling business that he set up and ran for five years, employing up to 15 people, primarily long-term unemployed and ex-offenders. In 1994, he founded 3Re to provide environmental auditing services in the business sector. Between 1998 and 2003, Colin researched, developed and established Renew North East, an organisation that provides white goods repair and training for long term unemployed people. He was also responsible for a computer recycling and training charity called Cybercycle that operated in the Angell Town estate in Brixton.

His best known achievement was in setting up GreenWorks in 2000, a social enterprise and charity creating employment through the reuse, re-manufacture and recycling of redundant office furniture. Colin was CEO of GreenWorks from 2000-2011 and now sits on the board of its successor London Re-use Ltd.

Think Global also has an Advisory Council of up to 20 members, also elected by Think Global members. Advisory Council members are currently as follows:

George Anang’a, Plan UK
Rob Bowden, Lifeworld Learning
Tom Burke, Y Care International
Vic Craggs, Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council
Pete Davis, independent consultant
Vandana Desai, Institute of Development
Trevor Higginbottom
David Hudson, UCL
Sally Issler, independent consultant
Celia Mather, Development Education Centre South Yorkshire
Nigel Rayment, Magnified Learning
Ian Richards, Lincolnshire Youth Service Entry to Employment (e2e) Project
Roy Smith, Nottingham Trent University
Hilary Thornton, Verulam Associates
Stuart Wroe, independent consultant
Matt Baillie Smith, Northumbria University
Shelley Swift, Winterbourne Academy