Advisory board

Alex Evans

Executive Director, Collective Psychology Project

Alex Evans is founder of the Collective Psychology Project, which explores how we can use psychology to reduce political tribalism and polarisation. Its report A Larger Us is here. He has also been a Senior Fellow at New York University since 2006. He is the author of The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren’t Enough? (Penguin, 2017), a book about the power of deep shared stories to unlock social and political change, which was described by The Economist as “very short, very sharp”. Until March 2018, Alex was a Campaign Director at Avaaz, the 50 million member global citizens’ movement, where he led campaigns on Brexit, tax havens, the war in Yemen, and securing the release of an Avaaz team member from prison in Turkey, among other areas. He has been Special Adviser to two UK Cabinet ministers (Hilary Benn and Valerie Amos), worked on two occasions as a climate expert in the UN Secretary-General’s office, and was Research Director for the Business Commission on Sustainable Development as well as a member of Ethiopia’s delegation to the Paris climate summit. He has also consulted for organisations ranging from Oxfam and WWF UK to the UK Cabinet Office and US State Department. Alex lives with his wife and two children in Yorkshire.

Bohdana Dock

Data Evaluation & Insights Manager at The Mix

Bohdana has been working in research roles and evaluation in the charity sector since 2011 in charities such as Charities Aid Foundation, Rethink Mental Illness or British Heart Foundation. Since 2018, she has been working at The Mix, the UK’s leading digital support service for young people providing services such as helpline, counselling or website that help young people to take on any challenges they face.

She is currently focusing on building robust service data sets to maximise the Mix impact through partnering with other organisations to join data sets to better inform research into young people’s mental health and to improve services. She has a strong interest in developing innovative digital mental health services. She also leads on The Mix research and evaluation activities to better understand the challenges young people are facing, their experiences and priorities – one of which is climate change - to inform The Mix strategy and improve services.

Britt Wray

Author, Broadcaster and Researcher (with a focus on climate change and emotional wellbeing)

Britt Wray, PhD is a science writer and broadcaster researching the intersection between the climate crisis and mental health. She is the author of Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics and Risks of De-Extinction (Greystone Books 2017) and is currently working on her second book Generation Dread (Knopf-Random House, 2021). She also runs a newsletter called Gen Dread (gendread.substack.com), which dispatches weekly analysis about emotional responses to the climate and wider ecological crisis such as eco-anxiety, eco-grief, and how to build resilience. She has been a contributing host on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s national science TV show The Nature of Things, co-host of the BBC podcast Tomorrow’s World, and contributing host to Canada’s national science radio show CBC Quirks and Quarks. Britt holds a PhD in Science Communication from the University of Copenhagen. She is a 2019 TED Resident, a 2019 Logan Nonfiction Fellow, a 2020 Mesa Refuge Writer in Residence and has been a Visiting Scholar at NYU’s Arthur L Carter Institute for Journalism. She is also a TED speaker. Her TED Talk is called “How climate change affects your mental health.

Clover Hogan

CEO, Force of Nature

Clover Hogan is a 21-year-old climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety, and the founder of Force of Nature - a youth-led organisation empowering Gen Z to step up, rather than shut down, in the face of the climate crisis. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted within the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, and mobilised mindsets within classrooms across the UK. In June, Clover launched the Force of Nature podcast - a 9-part series with ordinary people doing extraordinary things to save the planet. Clover also serves as a trustee to Global Action Plan, and is on the advisory boards of the National Community Lottery’s Climate Action Fund; the Teach the Future campaign; and the COP26 President-Designate Civil Society and Youth Advisory Council.

Elly Hanson

Clinical Psychologist and Researcher

Elly Hanson is an independent Clinical Psychologist and researcher who aspires to be part of the collective effort to prevent and alleviate suffering and injustice. She works across diverse sectors, including education, child protection, policing, and voluntary, applying psychology to some of society’s pressing problems (including abuse, trauma, climate change & tech practices conducive to harm). She has undertaken a variety of research studies with young people and worked with stakeholders to apply their insights to policy and practice. Elly is a consultant to the PSHE Association, supporting evidence-based life education that foregrounds autonomy, values and good relationships.

Ivor Williams

Lead for End-of-Life Care, Institute of Global Health

Ivor Williams is a Scottish designer dedicated to transforming our relationship to life, death and loss. He leads the End-of-Life Care group at the Institute of Global Health Innovation and Helix Centre at Imperial College London, leading cross-functional teams of designers, developers, academics, clinicians and policy analysts. He previously co-founded the mental health start-up Humane Engineering and created the NHS-approved music therapy app, Cove. He is an advisor to start-ups and venture groups including Zinc VC and other organisations such as End Well and The Collective Psychology Project, and is a visiting lecturer at Imperial College London. In 2018, he was named a New Radical by innovation foundation Nesta and the Observer newspaper for “pioneering a human-centric approach to the experience of dying, bereavement and grief”.

Julia Kagunda

Chief Psychologist, Inuka Wellness

Julia Kagunda, PhD is a Counseling Psycholigist and Communication Expert involved in promotion of mental health in Africa through various platforms. Julia provides professional support in stress management, trauma management, anxiety disorders, depression, marriage and family therapy, among others. She has served the UN office in Nairobi, Amani ya Juu, ILRI, Save the Children, and Full Circle among others.

Katie Hayes

Policy Analyst, Health Canada

Dr. Katie Hayes is a policy analyst at Health Canada’s Climate Change and Innovation Bureau where she leads the HealthADAPT program. She is also the lead author for the mental health and climate change chapter for the upcoming National Climate Change and Health Assessment Report being led by Health Canada. She completed her PhD at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto (UofT). Her doctoral research explored the mental health consequences of climate change, with a specific focus on addressing the inequitable risks and impacts on marginalized groups. Katie has published a number of recent articles exploring the public health consequences of climate change. She holds an M.A from Royal Roads University in International Communications and a B.A in Sociology and Intercultural Education.

Oliver Harrison

CEO, Alpha Health

Dr Oliver Harrison is CEO of Koa Health, a digital mental health company spun-out of Telefonica Alpha - a corporate incubator. He has a life-long passion for healthcare and technology. With a first degree in neuroscience at Cambridge, he qualified as a medical doctor and practiced in psychiatry and public health for six years, with a research fellowship in cognitive neuroscience (Queen Square). Oliver combined his interests in health and tech with five years at McKinsey. In 2006, he was recruited to help build a modern healthcare system in Abu Dhabi, UAE. There, he spent seven years as Director of Public Health, building systems to collect health data to improve outcomes in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental health. Since moving back to Europe in 2013, Oliver has worked as an advisor to the WHO, World Bank, and NHS England. He created two UK-based start-ups in healthcare data systems.

Renzo Guinto

Chief Planetary Doctor, PH Lab

One of the staunchest, most exciting, and most innovative voices for the new discipline of planetary health, Ramon Lorenzo Luis (Renzo) Rosa Guinto, MD DrPH is Chief Planetary Doctor of PH Lab – a “glocal think-and-do tank” for advancing the health of both people and the planet. He is an Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader, Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, and Climate Reality Leader. Renzo received his Doctor of Public Health degree from Harvard University. Now back in the Philippines, Renzo will be joining the faculty of the St. Luke’s College of Medicine in the Philippines to lead the design and launch of the school’s future initiatives in global health education, research, and innovation. Renzo has traveled to and lectured in nearly 50 countries; published more than 100 articles in scientific journals, books, and popular media; and directed and produced short films that communicate the message of planetary healing to the world.

Robbie Parks

Post-doc Research Fellow at the Earth Institute

Dr. Robbie M. Parks is an environmental epidemiologist. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Earth Institute, mentored by Dr. Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou at the Mailman School of Public Health. He is primarily interested in understanding the impact that climate, weather, and air pollution has on mortality, nutrition and disease outcomes, and how these impacts may be different in sub-groups of a population. He is also interested in developing new (particularly Bayesian) statistical methods, relevant to these concerns. He aims to use his research capacity to pursue linked goals of social and climate justice. In 2019, he earned his PhD from Imperial College London, where he was supervised by Drs. Majid Ezzati and Ralf Toumi. Robbie holds an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Oxford. As the PI of a complementary EI Frontiers-funded research project, ‘Social and environmental determinants of heat vulnerability in NYC’, he will advise on intersections of health disparities and inequality. He is also chairing an AGU 2020 session this December with keynote speakers Drs. Katie Hayes and Marshall Burke ‘Exploring the ‘Hidden Burden’ of Climate Change and Pollution on Mental Health and Conflict’.

Sarah Niblock

CEO, UK Council for Psychotherapy

Sarah Niblock PhD is a chief executive, academic, journalist, broadcaster and author. She became chief executive of UK Council for Psychotherapy in 2017, providing operational and strategic leadership to the leading body for education, research, innovation and public engagement in psychotherapy, alongside its regulatory and membership function. She continues to teach, research and do public engagement with Imperial College, London and other HEIs. With a 30-year academic career in visual culture, psychoanalytic theory and media, Sarah was previously Professor and Associate Dean (UG) at University of Westminster’s School of Media, Arts and Design in London. Prior to that, she was Head of Department of Social Sciences, Media and Communications at Brunel University, London where she founded and led industry-accredited undergraduate and post-graduate journalism education. Sarah is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, academic books and chapters. She has given evidence based on her research to governmental Select Committees as well as participated in influential policy impact networks. Passionate about public engagement, Sarah is a frequent public speaker on visual culture, the arts and media. She has appeared at the ICA, South Bank Centre, Latitude Festival and is a regular contributor to broadcast, print and online journalism in the UK and internationally.

Zoe Papadopoulou

Designer (specialising in grief)

Zoe Papadopoulou is an artist who doubles as a tour guide at Highgate Cemetery. Her practice aims to engage a wide range of audiences in ethically challenging issues through workshops and direct participation. Her work takes many forms from installation and writing to performance and has been shown at the V&A Museum, the Wellcome Trust, the ICA, the National Museum of China, the Science Gallery in Dublin and Van Boijmans Museum, amongst others.