about us
about us
meet the team
Karla Battistella
Director of Operations and People
Karla has worked with organizational development, people, culture, and governance in Brazilian companies as well as nonprofit organizations such as Greenpeace Brasil and WRI Brasil where she developed and implemented several operations functions integrating global and local strategies, culture, policies, and standards. She also worked with public policies, having experience with associations and government agencies, serving as member of Ethics Committee, Legal Committees and Advisory boards at different institutions. Karla strongly believes in collaboration, sense of purpose, integrity, and openness as personal values.
Steve Campbell
Co-Director
Steve worked at the Oak Foundation from 2015-19 as Campaigns Leader for the Environment Programme focused on strategy development and movement building in the climate and marine programs. Steve has led several international organizations including as Director of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance and Campaigns Director at Greenpeace Australia- Pacific. Steve was the founding chair of the the U.S. based Plastic Solutions Fund, has served on the board of 350.org/ Australia, the general assembly of Greenpeace China and the advisory board of Oceans 5.
Himali Dave
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager
Himali is a firm believer in the power of MEL to serve as a community, capacity and movement building tool. She has worked with grassroots organisations across Asia, Africa and Latin America to design, evaluate and develop more impactful strategies across child protection, youth rights and community development programmes over the past 8 years.
Jessica Harte
Administration Manager
Jessica worked in office administration roles in London before going on to work in Switzerland and Peru. In Lima she joined Foro Ciudades Para la Vida, a sustainable urban development NGO whose work focuses on water resource management and urban innovations in the context of climate change. She continues to develop an interest in urban planning.
Anna Jones
Senior Programme Officer
Anna loves to weave magic – bringing together people, ideas, plans and strategies to make creative positive change in the world. Anna has spent the last two decades working with grassroots groups, and small and large NGOs - most recently with Greenpeace UK where she led multiple teams in their campaigns to shift away from the fossil fuel and industrial food systems. Anna looks at the world through the lenses of love, anti-oppression, the doughnut economy and all beings being interconnected.
Kiristie Lockhart
Partnerships Advisor
Kristie is a fundraising consultant and organizational strategists with a 15 year career in the international development sector. Having worked across a variety of philanthropic giving channels in more than 15 countries, she is committed to driving greater investments and resources to elevate the visibility and investments made to local organizations across the globe.
Kudzayi Ngwerume
Communications & Engagement Manager
Kudzayi's most excited about the ability to harness the power of storytelling and co-creation anchored in equity and justice to achieve breakthroughs. She joins UMI Fund from Greenpeace where she focused on building strategies for communications and creative partnerships as well as advocating for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in campaign design and delivery.
Marisa Gonzales Nordstrom
Programme Officer, Lifecycle Cluster
Marisa worked as a facilitator in the field of conflict transformation and equity, inclusion, and diversity while also leading a youth empowerment program for environmental educators. She has been an environmental educator in the Marin Headlands National Park for 15 years and a bilingual performer.
Robin Oakley
Co-Director
Robin worked across Greenpeace globally in the last 20 years with leadership roles in Greenpeace International’s forest campaign and as Greenpeace UK Programme Director. He supported projects in Indonesia and Congo and oversaw successful campaigns against new UK coal plants, Heathrow expansion, and Arctic Oil. Robin has worked in human rights, free speech and peace NGOs, in campaigns, media and fundraising.
Eileen Quinn
Operations Assistant
Eileen is a great believer in bottom-up strategies with a human rights’ approach. Over the past five years, she has worked for NGOs as project manager in the fields of refugees’ rights and youth social engagement, collaborating directly with local communities, campaigners and grassroots organizations in the south of Italy. Recently she worked for the European Union Agency for Asylum as assistant to operations, with a desire to bridge the gap between field-based movements and the institutional response to the refugee crisis. As a PhD researcher in Human Rights, Eileen has conducted extensive research about human migration and youth engagement in Tunisia, Turkey and on-board refugees’ Search and Rescue vessels in the Mediterranean.
Melissa Sangster Stein
Executive Assistant
Melissa is an experienced bilingual administrative specialist. Her background includes 9 years working as an Interpreter in the United States of America, supporting Latin American immigrants. Prior to joining UMI she worked as an office manager for international law firms in Lima and London, and for the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris. She strives to build a positive and collaborative team culture and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Coaching.
Aslihan Tumer
International Coordinator, Clean Mobility Collective
Prior to joining UMI, Aslihan worked as Head of Global Campaigns for WWF International. She led several successful campaigns for WWF International including overseeing the post COVID-19 response focusing on One-Health. She empowered several national and regional offices to lead their own campaigns, while building a collaborative campaigning culture in the organisation. She has 15 years of experience in campaigning and public engagement on national, regional and international levels on a range of environmental issues including climate & energy, conservation and disarmament.