People & Planet Management Committee

The Management Committee (also known just as “the MC”) is the team of people who oversee all the work that the People & Planet does and tries to keep the organisation working in the best interests of the network.

This is your portal to finding out all about the MC — who we are, what we’re currently doing, and how you can get involved. Read about how-we-work to find out more about how the MC is democratically involved in the network. Read the Meetings Minutes And Papers for past and upcoming meetings. Check here regularly, and watch out for announcements, to find out about which consultations we’re currently running on our work, so that you, as part of the network, can continue to be involved in how People & Planet is run.

Student Members

Lewis White

Lewis was elected to the MC in 2013.

Hello! I’m in my fourth year of a psychology degree, and have been involved with People & Planet for the past three years now. I’ve been one of two Regional Organisers in Scotland this year and have been involved with the Scotland steering group. With the MC I hope to be able to continue the excellent work representing the Scotland region and building a strong network. As a student member, I aim to continue to keep People & Planet radical and student led. Please do get in touch

Joanna Wilson

Joanna was elected to the MC in 2013.

I have been an active member with the People & Planet society, Shared Planet, for some time in Aberdeen, but since being elected Environment and Ethics Officer I have taken a larger role more nationally. People & Planet is an organisation that has completely taken over my heart. I feel very passionately about each and every one of the campaigns and I admire that an organisation of its size can run so effectively, and to promote student voices in such a successful manner. I feel strongly that one of the biggest and best parts of my own University experience has been involvement in ‘making the world a better place’ and People & Planet has enhanced this in a way I would never have imagined. This is my vision for People & Planet, an organisation that is fundamentally student-led, one which targets real, and exceptionally important, issues and is enjoyable and rewarding to be a part of. I want to help make People & Planet as important to each and every student as it is to me!

Phoebe Taylor

Phoebe was elected to the MC in 2013.

Phoebe is a third-year student at the University of York. She has been involved in People & Planet throughout her studies and is currently Regional Organiser for the North. She loves the community aspect of People & Planet and wants to strengthen this by supporting groups and encouraging them to strengthen networks between themselves. She likes growing things, recycling and bicycling. Phoebe wants the network to inspire and create solutions for sustainable living, as well as ensure People & Planet remains a strong and significant organisation for the student body.

Tom Wragg

Tom was elected to the MC in 2012.

Tom is studying ‘Civil & Energy Engineering’ at the University of Birmingham, having changed from Chemical Engineering last year. He first got involved in People & Planet after the Summer Gathering in 2010, and has been hooked ever since. Having been part of People & Planet’s ‘Beaver Lake Tar Sands Solidarity Exchange’, he wants to put social and environmental justice at the centre of broad solutions for the ‘energy crisis’ we’re facing. He’s interested in co-operatives - working with students and local communities around his university to encourage cycling and good food. Tom wants to strengthen the Green League, encourage wide debate around difficult topics, and ensure People & Planet is a stalwart, relevant organisation to the student movement as a whole.

Rosie Rawle

Rosie was elected to the MC in 2012. Profile coming soon.

Roya Shahrokni

Roya was elected to the MC in 2012. Profile coming soon.

Non-Student Members

Joe Saxton

Joe was the Chair of the Institute of Fundraising till July 2008 and runs a market research company for not-for-profit organisations called nfpSynergy. For the last four years he has been voted the most influential person in UK fundraising. He has also been a trustee of the RSPCA and sat on the finance committee of Friends of the Earth for 6 years. He is now also working on a campaign to reduce the charges for giving by text message. joe.saxton@peopleandplanet.org

Lucy Russell

Lucy Russell has worked on national campaigns and to deliver local strategies to secure gender equality, social justice and poverty reduction. She is currently Senior Campaigns Co-ordinator at the Howard League for Penal Reform, leading on a project that supports children and young people in the criminal justice system to secure their legal rights and have a say in policy and practice. She used to run the University of Hull P&P group and be an Amnesty International student rep. She worked as a campaigns intern before joining the People & Planet Trust. Lucy is now Chair of the P&P Trust and represents it on the MC.

Rhiannon Horsley

Rhiannon graduated last year and is now President of Reading University Student Union. She remains an active member of Reading’s People & Planet group. In the past she has been a campaign advocate and a regional rep. Rhiannon was co-opted onto the management committee in September 2008, and will be focusing on fundraising. rhiannon.horsley@peopleandplanet.org

Rob Saunders

As Treasurer Rob is reviewing our funding basis and forward planning. He has worked for Oxfam for 10 years, 6 years on campaigns and then in different roles working with the CEO and more recently with the Oxfam shops - the common theme throughout has been managing finances and planning processes, asking sensible questions and making sure the right things are considered before making decisions. He has managed teams of accountants for 8 years in different and quite complex contexts, more recently in a 700 strong shop network turning over £80M pa with a volunteer workforce of 22,000 people.

Ric Lander

Ric Lander has been appointed as a non-student member of the MC representing Scotland. Ric is an environmental researcher based in Edinburgh, particularly focusing on the impacts of fossil fuels on society. As a student Ric took part in the York and Edinburgh Uni People & Planet groups. He went on to work with transition universities at the University of Edinburgh with the green film festival ‘Take One Action’. He has been temporarily co-opted to the Management Committee for his experience working with civil society and voluntary groups in Scotland.