Dr. Dhanush Dinesh, Founder
Dr. Dhanush Dinesh, Founder
Dhanush is the founder of Clim-eat. Prior to founding Clim-Eat, Dhanush worked as Head of Partnerships and treach of CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) to scale up Climate-Smart Agriculture. He is a Trustee of Plan Vivo Foundation and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Leeds. His previous work experience includes roles within the private sector, NGOs, and the UN system, in China, India, Thailand, and the UK. He has worked on a range of issues including forestry, environmental policy, climate change adaptation, and advocacy, at the national, regional, and global levels.
Dhanush has an interdisciplinary academic background, combining an MBA from PSG Institute of Management and an MSc in Carbon management from the University of Edinburgh and has a PhD in Environmental Governance from the Universiteit Utrecht.
Wiebe Smit, Program and Policy Specialist
Wiebe Smit, Program and Policy Specialist
As Program and Policy Specialist, Wiebe works on the institutional development of Clim-Eat as an organization, and leads Clim-Eat’s efforts towards key global platforms such as the UN’s Climate COP. Previously, Wiebe worked as Program Management Officer for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) with experiences in programme development and management, policy engagement, and administration. He studied the Master International Development at Wageningen University & Research, with a specialization in Sociology of Development and Change, and is passionate about climate change and development challenges in Africa. He has served as Co-Convener of the Enabling Environment Action Group of The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) and worked for the NWO (Dutch Research Council)’s WOTRO Science for Global Development department.
Leanne Zeppenfeldt,
Knowledge and Partnerships Officer
Leanne Zeppenfeldt,
Knowledge and Partnerships Officer
As Knowledge & Partnerships Officer Leanne works on several of Clim-Eat’s partnerships, as well as developing the general partnerships, knowledge and communications approach. Leanne previously worked on communications and knowledge management at the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). She has studied the Master International Development at Wageningen University & Research, specializing in evaluation, knowledge management, and innovation at the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation group. She holds a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Governance, Economics and Development from Leiden University College. She is passionate about exploring creative ways to look at today’s challenges around food systems, climate change and development, including rethinking how we see and approach learning & failure.
Evgenia Mamedkhanova, Program Management Officer
Evgenia Mamedkhanova, Program Management Officer
Within the Clim-Eat team, Evgenia’s focus is the day-to-day operation of the organization. Evgenia directs her effort toward effective administration of Clim-Eat’s financial processes and execution of events.
With a passion for a multitude of human issues Evgenia earned a master’s in sociology followed with a master’s in human geography from Radboud University. Prior to joining Clim-Eat, Evgenia worked in an environmental NGO as a finance and project management officer on projects aimed at strengthening women’s leadership and participation in forest conservation.
Evgenia has a particular interest in women’s roles in natural resource management.
Ratih Septivita, Events Wizard
Ratih Septivita, Events Wizard
Ratih Septivita is a Global Events Professional and currently working as the ‘Events Wizard’ for Clim-Eat – where she ‘magically’ tries to design, organize and coordinate high-impact and experiential events.
With 15+ years of experience in events planning, coordination and project management, she has organized different kind of events from small to medium-scale meetings, workshops and seminars — to large scale conferences and exhibitions around the world.
Prior to joining Clim-Eat, she worked as Global Events Manager for CCAFS where she led the organization of several high-profile events such as the Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD), the 5th Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and also the ‘around-the-world’ virtual Launch event “A new Era for Food and Climate”. She was also a Program Officer for the Forest and Livelihoods Programme, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) where she assisted the Director of the Programme and also helped with the planning and execution of several events, locally and internationally.
Aside from her work experience in the International Development sector, she also has experience working in the private-sector, for IBM Indonesia (2005-2008) as an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Specialist, where she specialized in marketing and organizing events for IBM.
Annebelle Rombach, Innovations Trainee
Annebelle Rombach, Innovations Trainee
As Innovations Trainee Annebelle predominantly works as a research assistant to horizon scanning for highly impactful and disruptive technical innovations to catalyze the transition to a sustainable and just food system. Meanwhile, she is also dedicated to learning about how behavioral science can improve the science communication of organizations such as clim-EAT and cultivate action in our society.
Annebelle previously completed her Bachelor’s degree (Hons) Earth, Energy & Sustainability with a minor in Psychology at Leiden University College, during which she specialized in quantitative and methodological subjects, with a focus on environmental sciences. Her Bachelor’s thesis studied the impacts of microplastics on agricultural crops including lettuce, carrot, barley and wheat, highlighting the broader implications of microplastic pollution on the food system and human health. She is especially passionate about how we can use our understanding of the intersection between the natural world and technology as an advantage in protecting and enhancing environmental systems and services.
Lucas Rutting, Futures Researcher
Lucas Rutting, Futures Researcher
Lucas Rutting is a Futures Researcher with a background in ecology, natural resources management and social-ecological systems. After working as a lecturer at sustainability BSc, and MSc programs at both the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University, and as a researcher-practitioner for the Scenarios Project of the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), he did his PhD research at Utrecht University, which focused on the political dimension of participatory foresight for governance of social-ecological systems.
Lucas joins Clim-Eat as a scenarios expert and is currently involved in a number of projects, including the new CGIAR initiative ClimBeR: Building Systemic Resilience Against Climate Variability and Extremes. For ClimBeR, he focuses on sustainable, bottom up-niche practices—or disruptive seeds—that challenge the current, unsustainable food system in Guatemala, with the potential to transform the Guatemalan agricultural sector in the face of accelerating climate change.
Neil Palmer, Communications Consultant
Neil Palmer, Communications Consultant
Neil is a strategic communications specialist with 15 years’ experience in the sustainable food and agriculture sectors. With a background in economics, journalism and photojournalism, he has undertaken assignments in over 60 countries, across Africa, Asia and Latin America. He has an MA in International Public Relations and Global Communication Management from Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture. He is also an NCTJ-qualified journalist.
Neil spent 10 years working for CGIAR, most notably as a Senior Communications Officer at the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), at its headquarters in Colombia. He was also Head of Communications of the Crop Trust, one of the three parties involved in running the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Neil currently counts Clim-Eat among a list of clients to whom he provides a range of consultancy services.
Our experts
Dr Bruce Campbell,
Chief Innovation Strategist
Dr Bruce Campbell, Chief Innovation Strategist
As Chief Innovation Strategist, Bruce will bring crucial thought leadership to fulfil our ambition of catalysing a transformation in food systems under climate change. Bruce has four decades of experience working with rural development, agriculture, climate change, rural livelihoods and forestry in 30+ low and middle income countries. He previously directed the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which under his leadership reached 60 million people with its ideas, 19 milllion farmers with climate-smart agriculture, informed over USD 3.5 billion in investments and resulted in over 70 policy wins in just the last two years.
Previously based in Zimbabwe, Indonesia and Australia, Bruce has worked extensively in agricultural and forestry research for development. His work has spanned social-ecological systems, the link between poverty alleviation and forest goods and services, and Aboriginal natural resource management, among other topics.
He has served as Director of the Forests and Livelihoods Program at CIFOR – Center for International Forestry Research, inaugural Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, and inaugural Director of the School for Environmental Studies at the Charles Darwin University in Darwin. Bruce has a PhD in Ecology from the Universiteit Utrecht, and has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and more than a dozen books.
Dr Lini Wollenberg,
Futures Pathmaker
Dr Lini Wollenberg, Futures Pathmaker
As Futures Pathmaker, Lini will bring the latest thinking around food and climate to Clim-Eat, helping us identify priority topics and develop solutions for our impact partners. She will focus on issues including low emissions development, alternative protein pathways, agroecological approaches, regenerative agriculture, digital tools, and governance.
Next to being part of the founding Clim-Eat team, Lini is Research Professor at the Gund Institute for Environment and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont. Previously Lini was the Flagship Leader for Low Emissions Development for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); Director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Vermont (2007–2009); Principle Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (1994–2005); and Program Officer for Asia’s Rural Poverty and Resources Program at the Ford Foundation (1991–1994). Lini is a member of the Forest, Trees and Livelihoods and Frontiers’ Climate-Smart Food Systems editorial boards.
Dr Philip Thornton,
Research and
Innovation Strategist
Dr Philip Thornton, Research and Innovation Strategist
As Research and Innovation Strategist for Clim-Eat, Philip combines horizon scanning and futures thinking with the latest research on food and climate, helping to identify new opportunities for our impact partners. He will focus on the environmental, social and economic impacts of technological innovation in food systems and the enablers of transformative change in food systems.
Before he became part of the founding Clim-Eat team, Philip was the Flagship Leader for Policies and Priorities for Climate Smart Agriculture for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), and a Principal Scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. He has 38 years’ experience in agricultural research for development. He is a member of several journal editorial boards and a lead author for Working Group II of the IPCC’s AR6 assessment round, to be published in 2022. Philip is an Honorary Professor in the School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, and listed as the 39th most influential climate change scientist on Reuters Hot List.
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