People & Planet Board of Trustees
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.
This is your portal to finding out all about the Board of Trustees (also known as the BoT) — who we are, what we’re currently doing, and how you can get involved. 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.
- Find out more about how the BoT is democratically involved in the network.
- Read the Meetings Minutes And Papers for past and upcoming meetings.
Student trustee elections
Elected student representatives make up over half our Board of Trustees. Elections take place every year in February. Nominations to be a student trustee are open all year round.
Current Trustees
People & Planet's trustees in random order.
Annie Pickering
Jon Dawson
Jonathan has worked within the not for profit sector for over 20 years mostly in the youth and community sector. His working life includes a variety of different operational roles including 11 years at the Princes Trust managing differing projects & teams as part of the their education, employment and training programmes. This included heading up the Talent Match project, which was a youth led, consortium project over 5 key areas of the country worth £14 million over 5 years, this supported long term unemployed young people into sustainable meaningful employment.
Jonathan now works as the Chief Operating Officer at NWG Network which as a membership organisation supports, informs and guides professionals in tackling Child Exploitation in the UK.
Cora Morris
Hi everyone! I’m Cora, a mature student studying Politics and Social Anthropology at Cambridge (focusing on the anthropology of care work). I have been involved in community campaign spaces for the last seven years, and since starting at Cambridge, have organised with People & Planet to launch an Undoing Borders group at the university. I’m so thrilled to be part of an organisation that has student activists at the helm!
Ruth Taylor
Ruth is a campaigner and public engagement strategist, with specific interest in youth mobilisation. Previously at Restless Development and Amnesty International UK, Ruth now works with a range of organisations as a consultant. She loves disruptive education, storytelling and people-led campaigns. Ruth graduated from the LSE with a Masters in Human Rights and is currently studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Media, Campaigning and Social Change at the University of Westminster.
Ria Patel
Hi, I’m Ria, a second year Psychology student at King’s College London. I’ve people involved with the Undoing Borders campaign at KCL P&P, as well as the Divest Pride campaign. I’m involved in fighting for climate action, migrant rights and Queer rights, as well as ending the hostile environment. I’m passionate about community organising and grassroots activism, and am so excited to be a trustee at People and Planet.
Christina Laird
Hello!! I'm Christina, I am so excited to introduce myself as a new student trustee for People and Planet! I am currently in the 4th year of my undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University, studying English Literature. I got involved with People and Planet Edinburgh last year, it has been a busy year with us making some serious headway with our Undoing Borders Campaign, and continuing divestment strategies. I've thoroughly enjoyed working alongside passionate and hardworking student activists, and I cannot wait to get involved further as a trustee. I have learnt so much in such a short time, and I'm so proud to be part of such an impressive organisation which strives for impactful social and environmental justice.
George Buskell - Vice Chair & student trustee
"Hello! My name is George Buskell, I’m a Master’s student studying Global Political Economy at Goldsmiths, University of London! I’ve been involved with People and Planet for three or so years and was previously Vice-President of Surrey People and Planet. In my spare time I enjoy vegan home cooking and playing guitar. I love People and Planet, and I hope to represent activists to the best of my ability on the board of trustees."
Maddie Bromfield
Hi I’m Maddie, a fourth year music student at the University of Edinburgh. I’ve been a member of People and Planet Edinburgh for 3 years and have previously been a regional organiser for Scotland. I’m involved in climate activism, staff-student solidarity and campaigning against the hostile environment. I’m really passionate about non-hierarchical organising and the importance of grassroots activism.
Paula Lacey
"I'm Paula, and I'm a final year linguistics student at the University of Edinburgh. I've been campaigning with People & Planet Edinburgh for over 3 years now, and I was also the regional organiser for Scotland in 2018. I've been involved in housing activism, refugee solidarity work, and climate justice campaigning, and I really believe in collective grassroots organising as a vehicle for change."
Claire Kelly
Claire has many years experience working in the not for profit sector campaigning on social justice, environmental and human rights issues. She worked for Campaign Against Arms Trade from 2008 – 2019 responsible for financial reporting, office management and HR matters. She was also a Steering Committee member during this time involved in organisational decisions that guide the campaign, reviewing policies and procedures and addressing issues of long-term strategy planning. Claire now works for Abianda, a not for profit organisation that works to improve the wellbeing of marginalised young women who have been exposed to violence and sexual exploitation through gang culture, by offering one-to-one, group work and employment opportunities.
Ellen Carter
I'm a new student trustee, studying a Master's in International Development and Diplomacy at SOAS. I've just finished my undergrad degree at Loughborough University and I've been actively campaigning with the Loughborough P&P group since 2018. I'm a huge advocate for grassroots activism and I've loved watching P&P achieve so much over the past few years.
Che Ramsden
Ché works in the NGO sector as an innovations expert, leading on strategy, impact, and service development. She currently works for Amnesty International UK, where her work has focused on strategy, community organising, and supporting the development of campaigns by running innovation sprints. She is also a proud trade unionist, and has served on Unite the Union’s LGBT+ Committee. Her main interest is ensuring that people’s lived experience is at the heart of the pursuit of social justice. In her free time she enjoys singing and attempting to parent a (very cute) toddler.
Trustees: How We Work
Our Jobs
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.
Our Membership
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.
Our Processes
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.