Advisory Group
The Advisory Group at the Centre for Climate Engagement (CCE) at Hughes Hall provides strategic input and guidance to shape the development of CCE’s programmes and projects. Comprising key Fellows of Hughes Hall, the group serves as ambassadors, representing and promoting CCE’s mission at key events. Their responsibilities include advising on the CCE’s strategy, ensuring alignment with climate governance and policy developments, and facilitating connections to advance best practices. By leveraging their expertise, the Advisory Group aims to amplify CCE’s impact in promoting academic excellence and accelerating the transition to net zero emissions.
Co-Chair: Professor Harro van Asselt
Professorship in Climate Law at the University of Cambridge
Professor Harro van Asselt (PhD, cum laude) is the Hatton Professor in Climate Law at the University of Cambridge, and is a Law Fellow at Hughes Hall. He is also a Professor of Climate Law and Policy at the University of Eastern Finland Law School, and an Affiliated Researcher with the Stockholm Environment Institute.
Co-Chair: Ron Zimmern
Chairman of the PHG Foundation
Ron has a distinguished career in human genomics and is also Chair of the PHG Foundation, successor to the Public Health Genetics Unit, which he established in 1997.
John Barker
Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
Dr John Barker is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge University and founding Director of Cambridge Governance Labs, based at Hughes Hall where he has served as Vice-President, Law Fellow and Tutor. Formerly chair of the Foreign Compensation Commission, he contributed to the International Law Commission’s work on State Responsibility. With over 35 years’ experience supporting justice sectors in Africa, Dr Barker has advised major organisations, including the UN, EU, and DFID, on justice reform, human rights, and rule of law.
Nigel Brook
Partner at Clyde & Co and By-Fellow at Hughes Hall
Nigel Brook is a partner at the London office of Clyde & Co, an international law firm, where he specialises in insurance and reinsurance law. He also leads the firm’s global climate risk practice and is co-author of several reports on climate litigation. He frequently gives presentations on the topic.
Dr Markus Gehring
Expert in the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS), Director of Studies in Law at Hughes, and a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
Before joining the Law Faculty, Dr Gehring was Tutor in Sustainable Development Law and Fellow in Law at Robinson College (2005-2012). He has served as Visiting Professor globally and held a Jean Monnet Research Chair in Sustainable Development Law at Ottawa University. He is also an affiliated Lecturer in Cambridge’s POLIS and Land Economy departments and a Founding Fellow of the C-EENRG.
Dr Natalie Jones
Policy Advisor, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Dr Natalie Jones is a policy advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), where her work focuses on phasing out oil and gas production. She holds a PhD in international law from the University of Cambridge, and did postdoctoral research at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk where she remains an affiliate. Natalie is a By-Fellow of Hughes Hall.
Mahnaz Malik
Barrister and Arbitrator at Twenty Essex Chambers
With over 23 years in cross-border trade and investment law, Ms. Malik serves as an arbitrator and counsel to investors, organisations, and states. She is a Fellow and Trustee at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, where she earned her MA in Law. A member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators for over a decade, she has also served on the ICSID ad hoc Annulment Committee and ICC Commissions on Arbitration and Anti-Corruption.
Dr Aga Iwasiewicz-Wabnig
Director of the Maxwell Centre
Dr Iwasiewicz-Wabnig is a Cambridge super-connector and knowledge broker who facilitates forging new links and collaborations, often interdisciplinary, between Cambridge academics as well as with external partners. She is interested in broader context of academic research – innovation and technology transfer, evidence-based policy, sustainability, public outreach and impact.
Professor Antje Wiener
Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Hamburg and By-Fellow at Hughes.
Antje Wiener FAcSS MAE is a Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Hamburg and By-Fellow at Hughes. Her research on International Relations won 2020 Best Book Prize of the International Law Section, ISA for Contestation and Constitution of Norms in Global International Relations (CUP 2018). She is a member of the Hamburg Cluster of Excellence ‘Climate, Climatic Change & Society’ and edits Global Constitutionalism (CUP since 2012) and Norm Research in International Relations (Springer since 2019).
Dr Alexis Willett
Impact Director and Governing Body Fellow
Dr Willett joined Hughes Hall as Impact Director in June 2024, bringing over 20 years in strategy, communications, and external affairs. Previously an independent consultant for health organisations across the UK and Europe, she has extensive experience in multi-stakeholder engagement and steering complex projects towards impactful outcomes. She has served on multiple influential committees, and as a Trustee of CPSL Mind, and authored a broad range of publications for health professionals, policy makers, and the public. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Centre for Climate Engagement
Emily Farnworth
Director, Centre for Climate Engagement
Emily has over 25 years of experience working with businesses, governments and non-profit organizations to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Emily was previously the Head of Climate Initiatives at the World Economic Forum where she was involved in setting up the Climate Governance Initiative.
Dr Karen Barrass
Senior Researcher
Karen is a Senior Researcher, working as a technical co-lead on a project to develop a ‘locally determined contribution’ framework for Cambridgeshire. Karen has been working on climate issues for over 20 years. Her extensive experience lies is research and advocacy – developing tools and leading campaigns to affect positive change. Until 2023, Karen led the research and policy team at UK100. Working across a raft of sectors that need decarbonising, she has pioneered the understanding of policy approaches that can deliver multiple co-benefits. Prior to Brexit, she advised European parliamentarians on climate, air quality and transport. Karen’s doctorate explored the policy implementation processes necessary to decarbonise transport. In 2023, she established Climate Insights, an organisation which offers bespoke research and policy analysis
Sophy Bristow
Senior Researcher
Sophy is a Senior Researcher, working within the Knowledge Brokering team to provide strategic insight and research to support content outputs for the CCE and Climate Governance Initiative. Sophy has nearly twenty years experience working across climate change and clean air policy for a range of academic, non-profit and international organisations.
Kate Coghlan
Head of Communications
Kate has worked for in communications for over 20 years in retail, charity and education, including 3 years as Head of Communications at Lucy Cavendish College and 2 years as Editor of Publications at Jesus College. She is passionate about climate action, and has recently installed solar panels, a storage battery and an air-source heat pump at home. She is a voluntary Non-Executive Director and Sustainability Lead for Goalball UK, a paralympic sport for blind and visually impaired players.
Judith Hannan
Project Manager, CANFFUND Project
Jude is Project Manager on the Innovate UK funded project which aims to provide a template for local authorities to ascertain their Locally Determined Contributions to Net Zero. She has a Master’s in Education from the University of Cambridge and was for many years a primary teacher both in the UK and abroad. She loves working with the CCE team and is excited to be involved in a project which has local and national relevance.
Dr Eldrid Herrington
Head of Academic Engagement
Eldrid works with colleagues internally and internationally to translate academic insight to climate action. She has published on climate and the sustainable development goals as well as in a variety of other disciplines. An academic for 30 years at universities in the US, the UK, and Ireland, she has been a US National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow and a Government of Ireland Fellow. She has a BA from Princeton University and an MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Claire Ng
Academic Engagement Manager
Claire has a background in strengthening international partnerships and research networks. She previously served in Singapore’s public agencies, where she worked with a diverse range of stakeholders from governments, academia, and industry. Claire holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Zhen Ren (Jane)
Centre Financial Accountant
Zhen is a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant with 20 years of accounting experience across various industries, including biotech, food, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and blue-chip companies. Zhen holds a Master’s degree in International Consultancy and Accounting from the University of Reading and a first degree in Law from the University of Dalian, China.
Nick Scott
Manager, Law for Climate Action
Nick leads the Centre’s ‘Law for Climate Action’ programme, which engages academics, legal practitioners, and corporates to determine legal solutions to the climate crisis. This includes finding ways to leverage existing legislation to address climate change, and also investigating emerging climate law and policy measures, particularly those relevant to business. Nick has law degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley.
Sofie Surraco
Junior Content Lead, Law for Climate Action
Sofie is a Junior Content Lead on the Law for Climate Action programme. Sofie is an experienced sustainable development practitioner, with a passion for low carbon technologies and placemaking. With over five years of experience working across academic, corporate, and voluntary sectors, Sofie helps create impactful research and infrastructure delivery programmes.
Angela Walters
Head of Operations, Centre for Climate Engagement
Angela provides executive support to the Centre for Climate Engagement, working across programmes to provide operational management of core functions, including supporting colleagues with administrative functions that drive the Centre, such as finance, HR, IT, communications and engagement. Angela has worked within the university environment for over 25 years, supporting research centres and initiatives in administrative operations, communications and engagement capacities, including at a centre that partnered Cambridge University and the UK Government.
Researchers
Jessica Crow
Cambridge Hoffmann Fellow
Jessica is a doctoral candidate and an affiliated Lecturer in climate law and environmental policy at the University of Cambridge, as well as a Researcher at C-EENRG. She is delighted to be the working with the CCE as the Cambridge Hoffmann Fellow in Global Climate Governance with the World Economic Forum and Hughes Hall. Her research focuses on corporate climate litigation risk, looking specifically at the evolving strategic and evidentiary landscape informing climate litigation and the expansion of climate liability for corporate actors and states.
Jellie Molino
Research Associate
Jellie is a Post-Doctoral Research By-Fellow with research focusing on private law, procurement, and climate change. Dr Jellie Molino is an international legal expert on sustainable public procurement (SPP) and a member of the Philippine Bar specialising in environmental law and corporate compliance. She has worked for international organisations including UNOPS, UNEP, UNDP, World Bank, IFC, OECD, ITC-ILO and ADB. She serves as International SPP Expert for the World Bank in Bangladesh, Türkiye and Angola.
Dr Samuel Ruiz-Tagle
Research Associate
Samuel is a Research Associate at the Centre for Climate Engagement. He completed his PhD in the Faculty of Law at Oxford University. A public lawyer, he began his career as a legal advisor to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of Chile, where he is originally from. He also practised law for several years advising private and public companies in all aspects of public law, including planning and environmental law and natural resources law.
Climate Governance Initiative
Emily Farnworth
Director, Centre for Climate Engagement
Emily has over 25 years of experience working with businesses, governments and non-profit organizations to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Emily was previously the Head of Climate Initiatives at the World Economic Forum where she was involved in setting up the Climate Governance Initiative.
Rachel Allen
Knowledge Exchange Manager
Rachel has a Natural Sciences degree from the University of Cambridge and specalised in atmospheric chemistry for her Master’s project dissertation. Rachel manages the delivery of written briefings, toolkits and case studies from the Initiative and its partners. Rachel also works as a Project Fellow in the Net Zero Pillar of the World Economic Forum, a founding partner of the Climate Governance Initiative.
Sylvie Baird
Head of Impact and Governance – Climate Governance Initiative
Sylvie was the Secretariat’s first employee in September 2020 and now oversees its business operations, implementation of the Climate Governance Initiative strategy and its impact. Sylvie studied modern languages at Cambridge University and subsequently an MBA at the Open University Business School, whilst working at Save the Children.
Gavin Franks
Digital Communications Executive, Climate Governance Initiative
Gavin is the Digital Communications Executive. He works to ensure the Initiative’s digital communications are agile, consistent and effectively reach their target audiences. He also enhances and disseminates messaging and content across multiple digital platforms. Gavin achieves this by utilising creative and technical skills he has gained across his marketing career over the past 15 years.
Barry Fuchs
Senior Partnerships Manager, Climate Governance Initiative
Barry is Senior Partnerships Manager with CGI, working to develop and strengthen agreements with the key partners that help the Initiative achieve its goals and objectives. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Barry has previously held several roles within Hughes Hall, where CCE is based, and worked with member-driven organisations throughout his career.
Harriet Harthan
Head of Content
Harriet has over 15 years’ experience working in climate, energy and sustainable development in a policy and business context. Harriet collaborates with academic and industry experts to understand key areas of climate research and how these can be translated for non-executive directors to accelerate climate action.
Esme Montgomery
Senior Communications Manager- Climate Governance Initiative
Esme holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and International Relations from New York University and comes from a career in strategic communications in the UK Government and public relations agencies in New York and London. She is experienced in developing impactful communications strategies for large international organisations and is the Climate Governance Initiative’s Senior Communications Manager.
Matthew Moss
Associate Director for Communications and Engagement – Climate Governance Initiative
Matthew manages the Communications and Engagement teams. He served as Chief of Staff to the Vice-Chancellor for 10 years and gained extensive experience as a speechwriter. At Homerton College, Cambridge, he helped the College transition to its current status as Cambridge’s newest College. He is an associate with Global Philanthropic, a strategic fundraising consultancy.
Nobuhle Ndlovu
Community Engagement Manager- Climate Governance Initiative
Nobuhle is the Community Engagement Manager for the Climate Governance Initiative. Nobuhle has a background in Natural Resources Management having worked as a Forest Manager for Forestry Commission in Zimbabwe. She has a Physical Sciences degree from the university of Cambridge. Nobuhle works with the team to support the coordination, communication and engagement with our chapters of Non-Executive Directors.
Abigail Plet
Executive Assistant & Administrator –
Climate Governance Initiative
Abigail comes from a background of administrative roles in both the public and private sectors. Abigail began working in a French startup company before joining a Cambridge University, most recently at a centre partnering Cambridge University and the UK Government. Abigail will work to help assist with the support Climate Governance Initiative gives to chapters and to the core team and as Executive Assistant to the Director.
Jacquie Storey
Senior Team Coordinator, Climate Governance Initiative
Jacquie is the Senior Team Coordinator for the Climate Governance Initiative Secretariat. She comes from a conference management and publishing background with extensive experience of supporting global teams to deliver high impact, high value programs and events with the minimum impact on the planet.
Join our team
Job opportunities will be listed below as they become available.
CCE Interim Director
The closing date is 3rd January 2025 at midday. Interviews will be held at Hughes Hall week commencing 13th January 2025
An exciting opportunity for an experienced senior leader to join Hughes Hall as the Interim Director of the Centre for Climate Engagement.
The Centre for Climate Engagement was founded in 2018, as part of The Bridge Initiative at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, with the aim of bringing academic research to life for business and legal professionals. The vision of the Centre for Climate Engagement is a world where effective law and governance support businesses and governments—at global, national, and local levels—in achieving net-zero emissions and building climate resilience.
As the need for effective climate action grows, leaders in law, policy and governance worldwide are increasingly recognising the urgency but struggle to find actionable advice and insights. In the crucial years ahead, we aim to build on our success in bridging the gap between academic research and boardroom action, and dive deeper into leveraging existing research, regulation and policy to accelerate climate action.
At this key juncture, the Centre is seeking to recruit an Interim Director to lead the CCE in its next phase of development. Reporting to College Council and benefitting from the expert guidance of a recently appointed Advisory Group, the Interim Director will provide leadership, strategic direction and operational oversight to the Centre team, working closely with international stakeholders, and continue to strengthen its role within the wider University of Cambridge climate ecosystem.
Further information about this role and to apply for this vacancy please click here: Search Vacancies (current-vacancies.com)
The closing date is 3rd January 2025 at midday. Interviews will be held at Hughes Hall week commencing 13th January 2025
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