Clim-Eat

Dhanush Dinesh, Chief Climate Catalyst

Meet Dhanush, a fearless visionary determined to shake up our food systems and take on climate change. He refuses to settle for the status quo, which is why he’s assembled a top-notch team at Clim-Eat. Together, they’re on a mission to disrupt the industry, challenge norms, and create a more sustainable future for all.

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, Policy and Impact Innovator

As Policy and Impact Innovator, Wiebe aims to accelerate climate action through meaningful partnerships with individuals and organizations that want to bring positive change to the world’s food system. He leads Clim-Eat’s efforts towards key global platforms such as the UN’s Climate COP and spearheads a groundbreaking climate action project in Kenya.

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 chaired the first ever UNFCCC COP Food System Pavilion and has served as Co-Convener of the Enabling Environment Action Group of The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA). He also worked for the NWO (Dutch Research Council)’s WOTRO Science for Global Development department.

Leanne Zeppenfeldt,
Collaboration and Learning Architect

Leanne is the driving force behind Clim-Eat’s institutional knowledge development, evidence-based communication, and partnership initiatives. With her expertise in both organizational and technological innovation, Leanne is strongly embedded in her field. She’s passionate about building strong partnerships and driving positive change through cutting-edge solutions.

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 Mamedkhova, Operational Mastermind

Evgenia is the glue that keeps the Clim-Eat team together. As the mastermind behind the organization’s day-to-day operations, she ensures that everything runs like a well-oiled machine. With a passion for solving complex human issues, Evgenia earned a master’s degree in sociology and followed it up with a master’s in human geography from Radboud University.

Before joining Clim-Eat, Evgenia worked as a finance and project management officer for an environmental NGO, where she worked on projects aimed at empowering women to lead and participate in forest conservation. Her dedication to promoting gender equality and environmental sustainability has made her a valuable asset to the team.

Evgenia is particularly interested in exploring the critical roles that women play in natural resource management. She is committed to creating positive change and is always on the lookout for innovative solutions to complex problems.

Ratih Septivita, Events Wizard

Vita is the ultimate ‘Events Wizard’ at Clim-Eat, where she brings her exceptional skills as a Global Events Professional to create unforgettable experiences. With her expertise in designing, organizing, and coordinating high-impact events, she wields her wand to make the impossible possible. From concept to execution, Vita is the mastermind behind Clim-Eat’s most unforgettable events that leave a lasting impression. There is no challenge too big or small for her to handle.

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

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. She is especially interested in 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 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 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.