Meet The Team

Cooler co-founder. Having graduated in biochemistry, Dave began his career with Deloittes and then spent twelve years working in IT becoming a director of one of the North West’s top IT companies. He then founded a small consultancy and spent ten years working as a management trainer and coach in the commercial sector.

Having spent six years on the board of Friends of the Earth, he chaired the “Energy” writing group of “Manchester A Certain Future”, and now sits on its steering group, chairing the Low Carbon Culture aim.

Dave is an experienced public speaker and advocate and has appeared widely on BBC TV and Radio, ITV, C4 and Sky and in the regional and national press, and recent work has included management consultancy advising a corporate on product sustainability, developing a feasibility study for a sustainable business network, work creating, developing and leading The Carbon Literacy Project, and general advocacy, advisory and chairing work.

Cooler co-founder. Phil is a long-standing social entrepreneur, broadcaster and community activist based in Manchester. He wants to leave his children ‘a future, not an apology’.

Phil has been a long-time activist for sustainable development, moving from local work with Friends of the Earth in the 1980s to riding a tandem back from Sydney raising awareness of rainforest conservation in 1990. Having studied law at Manchester Polytechnic, Phil enjoyed a successful career in radio working as a presenter and producer of features and documentaries for BBC Network Radio and working for programmes as diverse as You and Yours and Mark Radcliffe. One of his proudest moments remains giving the first-ever radio airplay to The Inspiral Carpets. Between making programmes Phil delivered media training to a wide range of national and local clients, from the RSPB to Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

In 1999 he was the moving force behind setting up the leading community media charity Radio Regen (www.radioregen.org) working in community engagement and creating community solutions from the ground up. This work led to a place on the Board of the Manchester Local Strategic Partnership where he sits as an independent member, ensuring a high profile for sustainable development in the City’s overarching strategies. Phil was also a lead lobbyist in the successful campaign establishing legislation for community radio – working with ministers and civil servants to that end. He is still Director of Radio Regen, working part-time there as Cooler grows.

In 2007 Phil was one of the founders of the high-level climate change advocacy network The 100 Months Club, which in turn led to involvement in the drafting of the city’s climate change action plan: Manchester: A Certain Future, (www.manchesterclimate.com) as part of which he led the ‘Buildings’ writing group. He still contributes to the MACF Steering Group and is also a member of the Board of Manchester’s Local Strategic Partnership.

Emma is our Head of Project Development. She is tasked with driving the development of The Carbon Literacy Project; leads our Finance, Fundraising, and Communications teams; improves internal processes, for current and future demand; and identifies new opportunities for collaboration.

Emma has worked with The Carbon Literacy Project, in varying capacities, since 2015. She was one of the first accredited Carbon Literacy Trainers (via Manchester Metropolitan University), through which she went on to deliver CL training within organisations across England, France and Germany. Emma undertook an internship with us alongside the final year of her BSc Geography. And, upon completion of her degree in 2017, and shortly before graduating with First Class Honours, Emma was invited to join the team as Project Coordinator, before progressing to Project Leader and now our Head of Project Development.

Emma’s experience within the wider environmental and sustainability sector includes – work with Manchester Climate Change Agency; a year-placement as Sustainable Travel Plan Intern with Manchester Met Environment Team, in addition to being a Sustainability Ambassador; and, with Manchester Museum as part of Climate Exchange. Emma currently sits on the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC) in the role of Commissioner. Additionally, her public engagement on climate communication and action is wide-ranging, spanning youth development (GM100; MMU Careers); panels (MMU – Global Science, Local Impact: Smart Cities; YHCC Climate Action Plan); and festivals (Blue Dot; Kendal Mountain Festival; ARS Electronica).

Helen is our Head of Operations; she oversees the recruitment of our team, HR system, and management of our volunteers, as well as supporting and delegating responsibilities to our wider team. She also coordinates our external communications, maintains our customer relationship management system and supports advocacy.

Helen began volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in March 2018, before joining the team as Project Administrator, later in the year, after graduating from a BA Human Geography. Prior to this Helen had undertaken Carbon Literacy training, and then become certified as a Carbon Literacy Trainer in 2017, at Manchester Metropolitan University. Helen has delivered multiple days of training to students at Manchester Met, as well as the world’s first Carbon Literacy for Labs session at The University of Manchester.

Helen is passionate about communicating to, and enlightening individuals about their potential to mitigate climate change within the various aspects of their lives, whether that be in a personal, social, professional or political capacity. Helen has also engaged the public in carbon reduction at Blue Dot Festival, and undertook a year of study at California State University San Marcos.

Fiona started volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in November 2017 and joined the team as our Certification and IT Coordinator in May 2019. Now our Head of IT & Systems, Fiona works to develop and maintain our IT and email systems.

Natalia began volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in June 2018 and joined the team as our Public Sector Coordinator in May 2019, with Natalia’s work focuses on coordinating the development of the BEIS (Government Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) funded suite of Carbon Literacy Public Sector Toolkits, then the piloting and wider roll-out of the materials.

Now our Head of Sectoral Development, Natalia leads our Sector Toolkits Team which has expanded from the initial five Public Sector Toolkits to incorporate further Public and Private Sectors. Natalia’s work involves supporting the Sectoral Coordinators with the continued outreach and support for their sectors, and working with our partner organisations to pioneer Carbon Literacy Toolkits in new sectors.

Louise is our Healthcare and Bluelight Coordinator and has been coordinating this sector since May 2020. Louise joined the Sector Toolkit team after spending a year volunteering for The Carbon Literacy Project and delivering Carbon Literacy as a certified Trainer to students at Manchester Metropolitan University. Louise is tasked with advocating for and supporting Healthcare (NHS) organisations and Blue Light services to roll out Carbon Literacy training.

Since joining the team, Louise has led in the research, development and dissemination of the NHS and Blue Light toolkits. Her experience in working with sector professionals and relevant healthcare stakeholders has allowed her to build a base of specialist expertise in the development and delivery of Carbon Literacy for healthcare. Louise’s role has expanded her understanding of the relevance of healthcare and climate change and how our healthcare systems will be affected by the impacts of climate change.

Louise’s personal experience as a certified Carbon Literacy Trainer, alongside her experience working with healthcare trainers, has allowed her to better understand the support and guidance trainers require within the sector. The organisation and running of trainer support events and guidance documents has allowed Louise to support sectoral trainers in effective ways.

Louise hopes to continue to engage the NHS and other Blue Light services in climate education to see greater emission reductions and mitigation approaches.

William started volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in August 2019, completing a summer internship before continuing to volunteer remotely alongside his studies. Whilst volunteering, he assisted with reviewing and updating the Carbon Literacy Knowledge: E-Learning framework, developed Carbon Literacy resources, and supported the creation of the BEIS-funded Carbon Literacy Public Sector Toolkits. He holds a BSc in Human and Physical Geography from the University of Reading. His thesis for his MSc in Climate Change and Development involved investigating how UK businesses are responding to the climate emergency. After completing his MSc at the University of Reading in October 2020, he joined the Public Sector Team.

Catherine is our Action Day Coordinator and Communications Officer. After being introduced to The Project in February 2020, Catherine volunteered as a Social Media Assistant upon completion of her degree in Marketing, and then worked as part of the Criteria Checking team. Since then, Catherine has begun working full-time coordinating the Carbon Literacy Action Day – the largest ever climate education training event, which is taking place in November 2021 to coincide with the first day of COP26. Additionally, as a Communications Officer, Catherine enjoys assisting in writing press releases and sharing environmental focussed communications, while liaising with a range of media outlets to promote Carbon Literacy.

After a change in career direction and much time spent undertaking online courses related to environmental matters, Ruth began volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in January 2021 and joined the team as Project Officer in June of the same year. Ruth’s work focuses on helping to develop a new toolkit for the automotive industry alongside organisational partner Auto Trader.

Ruth’s academic background is in chemistry, in which she holds a Masters.

Vydune’s Carbon Literacy Project journey began volunteering, mainly focussing upon evidence processing. Her work now revolves around coordinating accreditations for trainers, organisations and CL courses, supporting our volunteers and placement students while also managing customer relationships.

Vydune graduated in BSc Psychology and later went on to complete a Masters in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. This combination has fuelled a wide breadth of interests ranging from Individual and neuropsychology to mental health and climate action.

She is an outdoor enthusiast and a keen adventurer, having travelled and volunteered across the globe. She has creatively engaged numerous audiences in England and Bangladesh with sustainability topics, via community events and workshops. Having learnt Spanish just before joining the team, she has played a key role in the accreditation of the first-ever Spanish CL course. She is excited about the international growth of Carbon Literacy and the prospect of working together to find solutions to mitigate the climate crisis.

Jack began volunteering for The Carbon Literacy Project in August 2020 whilst completing a Master’s in Environmental Governance at the University of Manchester, joining the Sector Toolkits team as Museums Coordinator a year later. Since joining, Jack’s work has included overseeing the development of a new Carbon Literacy Toolkit for the museum sector with partner organisation Museum Development North West as part of the Roots and Branches project.

Jack started his career in third sector and arts marketing, but decided to return to university to explore his interest in the environment. He retains a keen interest in the intersection between culture, social justice, and environmental issues.

Lucia is our Communications Officer. Lucia began volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project alongside her studies in April 2021 as a part-time Social Media Assistant, organising the creation of content and copy across all our social media platforms to grow awareness of, and engagement with, Carbon Literacy. With her interest in the use of communications to foster climate action across communities and organisations piqued by the position, Lucia joined the Carbon Literacy staff team in August 2021 as our Communications Officer. She continues to manage our social media channels and also works on our wider communications, including press and media.

Katherine is one of our Certification Officers and was first introduced to Carbon Literacy through one of our peer-led courses at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2019. Katherine began volunteering with The Carbon Literacy Project in May 2021, working on evidence and certification and then joined the team as a Certification Officer in March 2022. As a Certification Officer, Katherine processes evidence sent in by our trainers and produces certificates for our learners.

Having joined the team as a placement student in September 2021, Nicole has followed her passion for Carbon Literacy and joined the staff team in January 2022. As a Project Officer, she has built on skills gained throughout her placement year to assist with evidence processing and course accreditation.

Lucas joined the team in July 2022 to undertake an academic placement with The Carbon Literacy Project. As a part of his degree in Politics and International Relations from Bath University, he is spending his placement year working as a Project Intern and is supporting the team across a variety of operational aspects. His main responsibilities focus on processing learner evidence and the accreditation of new courses, and he also enjoys contributing to blog writing.

Ellie is the Finance Officer for The Carbon Literacy Project; she is responsible for several duties related to managing financial records, keeping the books, invoicing and payments.

Ellie joined the team as Bookkeeper in 2020 on a part-time basis, to help further her experience in the wider environmental and sustainability sector, alongside interning at the Manchester Climate Change Agency, after graduating with a BSc Geography from Manchester Metropolitan University. She moved into the role of Finance Office in 2022.

Ellie’s experience within the wider environmental and sustainability sector includes: Work with Manchester Climate Change Agency – Ellie is currently the Programme and Finance officer at MCCA, where she is responsible for the smooth running of the day-to-day operations of the Agency and working all workstreams to strengthen climate change action across the City. Ellie also took part in the Uprising Environmental Leaders Programme over 2021.

Since Ned’s introduction to Carbon Literacy in 2015 on a student-focused course, he became one of the first certified Carbon Literacy Trainers. He also volunteered with The Carbon Literacy Project, in 2016, alongside his studies towards BSc Environmental Management & Sustainability at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having since assisted on Carbon Literacy delivery for a number of Manchester-based courses, and then earned his MSc Sustainability, Culture & Development from Durham University, Ned’s passion for environmental outreach and sustainability education has only grown. With The Carbon Literacy Project team and scope of work continuing to grow, Ned joined the team in July 2020.

Nicola is a Project Officer with The Carbon Literacy Project, working within the Sectoral Toolkit Team. She researches and develops Carbon Literacy training resources, and has overseen the development of a new Carbon Literacy Toolkit for Elected Members alongside supporting the creation of the BEIS-funded Carbon Literacy Public Sector Toolkits.

Nicola has a background in science communications and studied physics at the University of Manchester. She went on to become a project manager in various sectors, ultimately focusing on the environmental issues surrounding land use and agriculture after becoming acutely aware of climate change as the defining issue of our time. She also works as a Carbon Literacy trainer within the food sector working with organisations like Proper, Fairtrade Manchester and Quorn.

Annie trained as a Carbon Literacy Trainer in her first year of BSc Ecology & Conservation at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). She went on to have various roles facilitating the delivery of Carbon Literacy to MMU students, staff and others in the community, including providing admin support for the evidence review and certification process.

After graduating in 2020, she wanted to continue her involvement with Carbon Literacy so started volunteering on the Certification Team in February 2021. In August 2021 Annie began working part-time as a Project Officer, and since then, has joined Carbon Literacy as the full-time Certification Coordinator. She is responsible for overseeing the certification process, and supporting and developing the volunteering team.

Sojan joined in September 2022 as a Placement Project Officer, and is currently working in the Healthcare sector. He manages day-to-day tasks including client engagement, sector toolkit management, certifications and E-learning which is under development for the sector. Having previously lived in Oman and India, Sojan has completed his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and worked for a couple of years as a Site Engineer for a Hospital project in Oman. He is working towards his MSc in Construction Project Management at Sheffield Hallam University and is expected to graduate in September 2023. Sojan has had the opportunity to be certified as Carbon Literate during his MSc which has promoted him to take over the sustainability side of things, which is a growing concern in his field of study. He looks forward to spreading awareness and involving maximum public engagement for the worries and immediate climate emergency.

Christopher started working for The Carbon Literacy Project in August 2022 but completed his Carbon Literacy Training in 2017. During his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, he decided to become a Carbon Literacy Trainer and now also works as a Project Officer assisting with evidence processing and course accreditation. Lastly, Christopher graduated with an MRes in Biodiversity, Evolution and Conservation and continues to pursue his interests in climate advocacy, sustainability and science communication.

Alongside studying for his BSc in Environmental Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, Connor was a Carbon Literacy Trainer – in this role he led and facilitated Training for students, community groups, and the University’s Senior Leadership Team.

Throughout his degree, Connor largely focussed on nature-based solutions to carbon reduction and contributed to research into the carbon storage capacity of English salt marshes. Along with this, he has co-created a playful workshop which educates and motivates audiences to support climate resilience from their own back gardens.

Connor is now a Project Officer at The Carbon Literacy Project. In this role, he uses his Environmental Science knowledge and experience as a Trainer to support with learner certification and evidence processing. Connor retains a keen interest in coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems and the role of communities in supporting climate resilience – he finds the ambition, creativity, and scale involved in learners’ pledged actions provide him with regular bursts of hope for the future of our planet.

Tega joined The Carbon Literacy Project in September 2022 as a Project Intern as part of his placement year at the University of Plymouth. He has a great interest in sustainability and working towards achieving an equitable future, and therefore decided to study Environmental Management & Sustainability BSc. Tega is a member of the Certification team where his role involves reviewing evidence from learners who pledge new actions to reduce their carbon emissions after receiving Carbon Literacy training. He has also been introduced to new tasks such as managing contacts in the Salesforce database and reviewing Carbon Literacy Toolkit materials, ensuring that teaching material is suitable for prospective Carbon Literacy learners.