Steering Group
Our Steering Group’s role is to provide expert support, challenge, strategic direction and oversight to the Climate Ambassadors project.
Steering Group members offer their time on a voluntary basis and come from a wide range of sectors including education, early years, business and academia. The Climate Ambassadors Steering Group meets quarterly.
- Gayle Boulton is Head of Climate Action at DfE. She played a key role in the development of the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the education system and is now responsible for providing support to education settings to embed sustainability in all they do and make evidence-based decisions. Gayle is a skilled strategist and experienced project and change practitioner, leading large-scale government change programmes ranging from corporate reform, customer improvement to digital delivery. She is a graduate of the University of Leeds and Civil Service Future Leader Scheme through Coventry University. Gayle is passionate about people and the planet.
- Emily is the senior sustainability lead at United Learning, the largest multi-academy trust in England. Her role involves driving school engagement and action to help reduce the environmental impact of their operations. She manages a network of champions in 104 schools, providing support to align their sustainability efforts with the overall strategy. This also extends to building capabilities across Estates, HR, Finance and Compliance departments which supports delivery in schools. United Learning are a key partner to the DfE commissioned Sustainability Support Hub, and Emily leads their work on this.
- Bio coming soon.
- Arta Dedaj-Salad is a Policy Specialist for Climate Change Education (Curriculum) at the National Education Union (NEU). The Union believes that there should be a review of the National Curriculum, asking for sustainability and environmental education to be embedded throughout the whole curriculum and not be limited to STEM subjects. In addition, climate education should be included in teacher training, to ensure that the young generation is equipped with the knowledge and skills they require for a sustainable future. In her role, Arta engages in regular discussions and works collaboratively with all stakeholders for a better environmental education and to influence policy making.
- Maddie Dinwoodie is Director of Engagement Programmes at Engineering UK, and responsible for expanding the portfolio of programmes and growing the collective impact of the engineering and technology careers outreach activities to encourage more, and more diverse, young people into engineering, technician and tech roles. With over 20 years’ experience, Maddie has led the design and delivery of programmes and strategic partners to drive social and environmental change, working in the charity sector and advising companies on their social purpose strategies, as well as advocating for the power of young people to lead positive change. Prior to Engineering UK, Maddie was Chief Programme Officer at UK Youth leading the youth development programmes.
- Emma is ASCL’s Business Leadership Specialist in the policy team. She represents all ASCL’s business leader members in various government meetings and working groups on all business matters and is currently leading on ASCL’s inaugural sustainable futures conference. Emma was the Chief Operating Officer at a large Multi Academy Trust in the North East of England, serving three Local Authority areas. She was with the Trust since it was established, implemented the central services provision and has overseen the rapid trust growth from one to 30 schools.
- Annamarie Hassall is Chief Executive of nasen – the National Association for Special Educational Needs – a leading membership charity of over 150,000. nasen exists to champion, connect and support those working in the education community – from the early years through to all phases of statutory education and post-16. Reaching local authorities, allied professionals in health and social care and wider community settings. Annamarie has a career spanning the breadth of education, children’s social care, early years and SEND. Regularly invited to join advisory panels, including chairing the National SEND Reference Group (specialist sector) and adviser to the Inclusion Expert Advisory Group. Awarded an MBE in 2011.
- Dom Higgins is Head of Health and Education at The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts where he leads their policy and campaigning work in these areas. He chairs Wildlife and Countryside Link’s ‘Nature and Wellbeing Strategy Group’, is a member of the Green Prescribing for Mental Health Programme Board and has recently joined The Health Foundation’s strategic advisory board for their Health Equals campaign. He also has a deep interest in changing our education system so that it is fit for the 21st century with a view to what is taught, and how, in schools and other settings. He sits on Oxford, Cambridge, and RSA’s Strategic Advisory Board.
- Following a career in finance which culminated in him chairing the Finance Industry Standards Association, Neil was asked to volunteer his skills to what was then the Pre-School Learning Alliance and in 2008, he was appointed as CEO. Neil has been a strident leader of the largest early years membership organisation in the country, overseeing its rebrand to the Early Years Alliance in 2019 – a change that reflected its ambition to give a united voice to all involved in caring for and educating young children. Neil has fronted numerous sector campaigns on fair funding and – notably – the mental health of the early years workforce, Minds Matter.
- Judy is a painter, poet, and environmentalist, probably best known as the Honorary President of Black Environment Network (BEN). She is recognised as a visionary advocate for diversity and equality, and a major voice on policy and practice towards social inclusion. She is included in the Forbes List of 100 Leading Environmentalists in the UK 2021. Awards include OBE for pioneering multicultural environmental participation in 2000; CBE for services to heritage in 2007; Vanity Fair International Women’s Day Challenger Award 2021; Earth Day Green Plaque Award 2021; RHS Elizabeth Medal of Honour 2023.
- Working for ITV News, Manali Lukha is head of their Millbank Studios based in the heart of Westminster. The studios support ITV’s political and weather output. Manali leads a team of political correspondents, weather presenters and broadcast engineers. Prior to her role at ITV, Manali worked for the Met Office, starting her career as a software programmer and progressing to Business Development Manager. Manali graduated from Keele University in 1996 with a degree in Geography & Geology, and completed a Master’s in Information Technology in 1997. She is also Chair of ITV’s International Ambassador Network, member of council for the Royal Meteorological Society and member of the Climate Ambassadors steering group.
- Sarah Lyons is Lead Officer for Health, Safety and Environment at the National Education Union (NEU). She has worked in health and safety for the NEU, and previously the NUT, for over 30 years and more recently her role has encompassed environmental and climate change issues. Our aim is for schools to be safe, healthy and sustainable – aspirations which of course overlap. Sarah’s role involves work on policy development, guidance for members/reps, delivering training, and supporting campaigns, with current big issues including the state of school buildings, stress, mental health, and Covid aftermath. We are currently developing a network of green reps and rolling out a new training programme. Sarah is also lead NEU negotiator for E-ACT multi-academy trust.
- Liz Moorse is the Chief Executive of the Association for Citizenship Teaching, a charity, membership and subject association. She works with the Board, Teaching Council and staff overseeing key programmes including the Active Citizenship in Schools Programme and the Five Nationals Network in the UK and Ireland. She has a MSc Politics and Public Policy from Birkbeck London and a BA Hons Geography with Archaeology from Manchester University. Liz has worked in education for over twenty-five years and led the development of Citizenship as a new curriculum subject in previous roles for central government. Liz is a Director of the Council for Subject Associations. She is also the Department for Education’s UK representative to the Council of Europe Education Policy Network on Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights and a member of the Advisory Board on Sustainable Development. Liz is a regular speaker at conferences and has written extensively on Citizenship education in the curriculum.
- As a Project Lead for green skills initiatives with the AoC, I stand at the forefront of the construction industry’s transition towards sustainability. As an author of green construction qualifications with City & Guilds, I have been able to craft educational frameworks that integrate sustainability principles with practical trade skills. I hold teaching credentials including MSET, ATS, CTeach, and hold Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching. Over forty-plus years of experience spanning plastering artisanry, classroom instruction, assessment design, internal quality assurance, and curriculum management has provided me with a combination of practical trade knowledge and educational leadership.
- Bio to come
- Since mid-2023 Rachel has been Executive Director at the Aldersgate Group, a cross-sectoral alliance of businesses and other organisations championing a prosperous, environmentally sustainable economy. Rachel has 20+ years’ experience of working in environment and climate policy, as a civil servant (including as policy lead on the Climate Change Act) and in other sectors, with her most recent role being in KPMG’s energy transition team. She draws on this experience to work with Aldersgate Group members on developing robust policy recommendations and press the Government for change in vital areas, including climate skills and education.
- Kate is an experienced geography teacher and Head of Department currently working as Trust Lead for Geography for Future Academies. In this role, she works across 7 different secondary schools working to improve the geography provision. More broadly, Kate is involved with the geography education community through her blogging, writing and presenting. She is particularly interested in climate change education- both in geography classrooms and beyond and recently co-wrote a textbook titled ‘The Climate Crisis’.
- Dr Jessica Tipton is Head of the National Education Nature Park at the Natural History Museum, a project commissioned by the Department for Education as part of its Sustainability and Climate Strategy. In 2020 Jess founded the UK Schools Sustainability Network (UKSSN) as Head of Youth Networks at Global Action Plan alongside teaching secondary modern languages. With UKSSN she led a delegation of students to the COP26 global climate summit and instigated the annual online Youth Climate Summit. Previously Jess worked as a policy adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and has researched Russia and international climate policy.