I am a nature and sustainable finance specialist with expertise in sustainability risk and ocean-related sectors. I am passionate about mainstreaming biodiversity and nature and have worked for the public and private sectors in the developed and developing world to support finance and development for a healthy ocean. My focus has been on financing the transition to sustainability, particularly in the context of integrating social and environmental pressures into risk management, and finding ways to unlock capital for the transition to a nature positive and sustainable economy.
I have been incredibly fortunate to work for and with a wide variety of stakeholders, developing skills and experience spanning the public, private and NGO spheres. My work has taken me across the world, with time spent in Vietnam, the UK, across the European Union, Colombia and Indonesia, among other places.
As an independent consultant, I have worked for a variety of leading NGOs, development banks and intergovernmental organisations, as well as governments and the private sector. Take a look at my portfolio for some of my recent work.
Advisory Board Member, ASN Impact Investors Biodiversity Fund
2024 - present
As a board member, I provide ASN Impact Investors with advice and expertise on nature and ocean-related sustainability topics to support the strategic direction and growth of their biodiversity fund and its investment decisions.
Independent Consultant, Ocean Fox Advisory
2019 - present
I work as a nature and sustainable finance consultant. With more than a decade of experience in ocean sustainability and the blue economy, I provide a unique skill set and point of view at the intersection of conservation, finance and policy expertise. As an independent consultant I have:
Developed and authored Setting Sail, a manual for impact management and target-setting for financial institutions for ocean sectors;
Co-authored Turning the Tide and Diving Deep, seminal sector guidance for financial institutions on risk and materiality in the ocean;
Co-authored market-first guidance on blue bond issuances;
Developed seafood sector ESRM policies for leading financial institutions;
Contributed to the development of governing principles and M&E framework for the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR);
Created country-specific blue economy financing guidance for Mozambique;
Authored The Ocean Finance Handbook, a key resource on finance and investment for the sustainable blue economy;
Developed training materials for blue economy practitioners to understand and incorporate fundamentals of financing, including risk and return profiles into their work.
Deputy Director, World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group
2017 - 2019
As deputy director of the Wold Ocean Initiative, I was responsible for setting the strategic direction and implementing activity around the World Ocean Initiative, a strategic initiative for The Economist Group focusing on sustainable development of the ocean. Through my work, the Initiative identified three key strategic areas of focus in the realms of governance, financing and innovation for a sustainable ocean economy. I worked with colleagues to develop and package three projects within these areas of focus that both served to foster a sustainable ocean and help differentiate The Economist Group as a driver of change. Specific areas of work included:
Plastic waste, waste infrastructure financing and the circular economy transition
Understanding sustainable coastal infrastructure investments
Fostering innovation in the sustainable ocean economy through blue clusters
Fisheries Finance & UK Fisheries Manager, Environmental Defense Fund
2015 - 2017
I held two complementary roles at EDF. At the national level, I focused on both the specifics of fisheries management and national policy through my role as UK Fisheries Manager, wherein I became well-versed in the science of quota management and the art of quota transfer and allocation. At a global level, in my role as Fisheries Finance Manager, I was a key driver in the push for investment in sustainable fisheries management worldwide, and served as a co-author on Principles for Investment in Wild-Caught Sustainable Fisheries as well as Financing Fisheries Reform: Blended capital approaches in support of sustainable wild-caught capture fisheries. In this latter role, I interacted regularly with investors, fund managers, multilateral finance institutions and the broader sustainable finance community.
Senior Programme Officer, The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit
2011 - 2015
During my time working for HRH The Prince of Wales as part of his International Sustainability Unit, I acted as a global convenor of stakeholders on some of the greatest sustainability challenges we face. During my time at the ISU, my core areas of focus were on plastic waste, sustainable fisheries management and sustainable financing. Highlights of my time at the ISU included:
In 2015, working with the Global Ocean Commission, I was one of the first to bring together representatives from the marine plastic waste and the circular economy communities of practice to identify common ground and potential areas of collaboration.
Throughout 2014, worked with colleagues at Environmental Defense Fund to author a seminal report on the opportunities for investment in sustainable fisheries, entitled Towards Investment in Sustainable Fisheries
In 2012 and 2013, building on a report written for His Royal Highness on the challenges of implementing sustainable fisheries management, convened successful workshops in Colombia and Vietnam raising awareness of the opportunities inherent to sustainable fisheries
Education
London School of Economics and Political Science
M.Sc Environmental Policy and Regulation, merit
University of St Andrews
B.Sc (Hons) Ecology & Conservation, 1st class