Estelle Gautier is a South African artist dedicated to influencing attitudes and behaviours that contribute towards climate change. Through her art, work and studies, she discovered the extent of the devastating effects of climate change, particularly in developing countries where people are living in conditions of poverty and inequality. Estelle…
Andrea Marais-Potgieter is a Conservation Psychologist who recently completed post-doctoral fellowships at the School of Human and Community Development, Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand with Prof. Andrew Thatcher, and at the Global Change Institute with Prof. Laura Pereira. Her research explores the role of the human psyche in…
Theresa Züger is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). She investigates how AI systems can be designed to serve a common good. AI for the public interest means that the development and deployment of AI systems should not primarily aim to maximise profit, but to benefit…
Karen O’Brien is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway and co-founder of cCHANGE, a social enterprise that promotes a conscious and collaborative approach to sustainability transformations. Her research focuses on the human and social dimensions of environmental change, particularly climate change. She promotes integrative approaches…
Ioan Fazey is Professor of the Social Dimensions of Environment and Change and Director of Strategy for the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York, UK. His research, teaching, and facilitation focus on helping individuals, businesses, organisations, and society develop an understanding of, and capacity for, stewarding…
Laura is a Professor at the Global Change Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Her work focuses on sustainability transformations in developing country contexts, tipping points, future thinking, and food systems. She leads the “Seeding Transformative Futures for People and Nature…
Kyla Tienhaara is an associate professor and Canada research chair in economy and environment at the School of Environmental Studies and the Department of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston. Her research currently focuses on the role of public and private investment in the energy transition. One area of her work has examined how private investors can use international treaties to block and delay the energy transition. Another area focuses on public investment through green stimulus/recovery programs and efforts worldwide to launch a Green New Deal.
Chris Riedy is a Professor of Sustainability Transformations and the Associate Director of Learning and Development at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. He is a transdisciplinary action researcher, focusing primarily on energy transitions. Chris served as Co-Chair of the Transformations Conference 2023 and is an Advisor…
Mariana Zafeirakopoulos is a Social Design Lecturer at the University of Sydney. Mariana is a transdisciplinary scholar-practitioner, who works with other researchers and practitioners, combining different disciplines – like Social Sciences: International Relations, and Public Policy, with Design – to create new knowledge for intervening in our ever-evolving and complex…
Etrit Shkreli is fascinated by how human beings frame their challenges, the assumptions they make, how this impacts their interactions, and the stories they tell about themselves, others, and their relationships. She studied psychology and politics. Etrit wrote her doctoral thesis on Hannah Arendt’s political thought and then went on…
Julianna Gwiszcz is a transdisciplinary, transboundary scholar-practitioner, activist, and transformations catalyst focused on sustainability, human rights, and global health. She’s passionate about creating a just and sustainable future for all. Her work combines hands-on learning and leadership development to drive global change. Two critical programs within the Transformations Community have…
Julia Leventon leads the Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change at the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe). The department as a whole looks at the responses of people, policy, and politics to global environmental change. Julia’s research focuses on transformative change towards sustainability,…
