The Board of Trustees 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.
Elected student representatives make up over half our board and elections take place every year.
Find out more about the 2025 student trustee elections
Here are our current trusees, listed in random order.
I am an Environment and Sustainability Consultant with a strong passion for driving positive environmental change. I hold a Master's degree in Energy Transitions and Sustainability from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. My journey in environmental protection and sustainability has been shaped by both passion and purpose, with a steadfast commitment to making a meaningful impact. Throughout my career, I have actively contributed to organisations and initiatives aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, gaining valuable experience in sustainability strategy, climate action, and environmental advocacy. At Robert Gordon University, I served as Head of the Climate Action Network for RGU Go Green and was a member of the university's Sustainability Committee where I worked on initiatives to foster a more sustainable campus. Beyond my professional work, I am deeply engaged in community-driven climate action. I currently volunteer with Aberdeen Climate Action and People & Planet, contributing to projects that promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices. My dedication to sustainability has led me to serve as a Board Member for People & Planet—an organisation whose mission I greatly admire. I am excited to collaborate with like-minded individuals as we work towards a more sustainable and just future.
Hi, I’m Lavanya Rajendran – wellbeing and community officer in the East London Students’ Union. I graduated with MSc in Information security and digital forensics at the University of East London in 2021.
I have been working to make sure that the university is a safe space to take care of students’ wellbeing. I’ve been elected by the students to represent them for two years. I have been campaigning on issues that affect students nationally including the cost-of-living crisis, sexual violence awareness, environmental sustainability, etc.
I have been working together with People and Planet constantly for two years working on the Fossil free campaign. I’m super excited to be on their board!
Damon has held various roles within the non-profit sector, including Oxfam and the Aga Khan Development Network, as well as an Associate Lecturer at several universities in the UK. He has campaigned locally on environmental issues and previously ran for Parliament for the Green Party. He holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Warwick, and studied Climate Change at UEA.
As a trustee, Damon is dedicated to ensuring that People and Planet continues to thrive as a leading student network fighting for social and environmental justice and supporting the next generation of activists in building a more sustainable and equitable future.
Will (he/him) is a geography student. He has a decade’s experience in campaigning and youth democracy, originally as part of his local Youth Council. He has been a member of Cambridge Climate Justice since joining in first year of university and has helped organise campaigns for Fossil Free Research and Fossil Free Careers. He was also part of the team that published the 2024 ranking of Cambridge colleges by the Climate League of Oxford and Cambridge. Will is very happy to be contributing to the work of People & Planet because systemic change is only possible if we work in solidarity with students and other campaigners, and with those affected by injustice.
Kate has been volunteering or working for charities for almost two decades, and picked up a few skills along the way. Her roles have given her experience in campaigning and advocacy, communications and marketing, HR, operations, policy, and governance. She currently works as Operations Manager for The National Appropriate Adult Network. She thinks a lot about how workplaces can balance the effectiveness of their work with enabling a diverse staff team to work in a way that best supports their health and wellbeing. Kate organised with People & Planet as a student at York University, later was part of the staff team, and now is proud to contribute to the work of the organisation as a member of the board.
Diana is a student trustee and a migrant justice campaigner. She is a DPhil Candidate in International Development at the University of Oxford, where she focuses on the ethics and politics of migration control in Italy and its cooperation with Libya. She has been involved in campaigns and activist communities around migrant and asylum rights, reproductive justice, and LGBT rights for eight years. She has campaigned with People and Planet and in 2020 founded the Oxford chapter of the Divest Borders campaign.
My name is Floyd Codlin and I am a mature student doing an MA in Art History in London, and I've been the SU Environmental and Ethics officer here at Birkbeck for the last two years. I am also a member of the Climate Action Network (CAN) at Birkbeck and have worked with trade unions and community groups on making climate action a social/political issue.
Poppy (she/her) is a student trustee and climate activist with a strong belief in the power of students to drive change. Having spent three years campaigning for Fossil Free Careers and climate justice at Durham University, she has a keen awareness of the challenges student activists face and the critical support that People & Planet can offer. Her passion for community organising and her experience working in national and local government, as well as sustainable business, means she has a broad range of perspectives to bring to the board.
Sam (he/him) is a science student and campaigner. Having campaigned through his teens with Friends of the Earth and the school strike movement, he now organises with Cambridge Climate Justice, and sits on the Finance and Operations Committee of the Campus Climate Network. With the Fossil Free Careers and Fossil Free Research campaigns, Cambridge Climate Justice is working towards an end to the University of Cambridge's relationship with the science-ignoring fossil fuel industry, which is harming people around the world. He is a firm believer in the power of student and community organising to help build a world where everyone can live a happy, fulfilling life
The Board of Trustees has a lot of responsibility for making sure People & Planet is fulfilling its aims: it approves our accounts and annual budgets, and comments on and approves staff plans, ensuring that the office is working on the best projects to support your campaigning.
It’s also involved democratically with the network: student members are elected every year to represent the student network on the Board of Trustees, and it works to be open with the network about the work it’s doing — both keeping the network informed about the decisions being made and providing spaces for the network to be involved in decision-making.
The Board of Trustees is made up of democratically elected student members and also non-student members drawn from other organisations such as Oxfam, Friends of the Earth or ActionAid, who are chosen for their areas of expertise. The elected student members always make up more than half of the Board of Trustees, and meetings are chaired by the student members in rotation.
The Board of Trustees currently meets four times a year, and all members try to attend. Office staff are also invited along to meetings in an advisory capacity when needed. You can find summaries of our meetings and important information about what we’re discussing below.