The DEAL Team & DEAL's Advisory Team

Meet the members of the DEAL Team and DEAL's Advisory Team

Aimee Laurel

Communications Lead

Aimee leads the strategic delivery of DEAL's communications. 

With 10+ years of experience specialising in audience building and bringing communities together, Aimee is a community-focused communications professional with international experience in social media platform strategy, brand growth and development. Having developed data-informed editorial strategies for non-profit organisations and media businesses, Aimee has also spoken on panels and given talks advising leaders, industry stakeholders and CEOs on building an online presence that inspires audiences to take action.

In addition to practical experience, Aimee has developed academic and research skills, having completed her MA in Media and Communications with Distinction at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2020. A second-generation Filipina Canadian from Vancouver, Canada, Aimee is currently based in the United Kingdom. 

Andrew Fanning

Research & Data Analysis Lead

Andrew leads DEAL's work on applied research, data analysis and iteratively improving our methodologies, especially for making the concepts of Doughnut Economics visible from a data-led perspective.

His research in ecological economics has been published in leading journals, such as Nature Sustainability and The Lancet Planetary Health. He led the development of a National Doughnuts Data Explorer where people can explore the results of a major study that quantifies the sustainability of national resource use associated with meeting human needs in more than 150 countries (URL: https://goodlife.leeds.ac.uk).

He is also a Visiting Research Fellow in the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds, and holds a Masters in Development Economics from Dalhousie University (Canada) and a PhD from the University of Cadiz (Spain). 

Beth Ingledew

Executive Assistant

As Executive Assistant to DEAL's Conceptual Lead, Beth plays a vital role in the smooth coordination of schedules, the efficient handling of inquiries, and the flawless organisation of high-profile events at DEAL.

Her extensive experience across a diverse range of industries and establishments, such as at NBCUniversal, the NHS, and the private office of a former leader of the Labour Party, has honed her exceptional expertise in these areas.

With a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Social Policy from the University of Leeds, Beth possesses a wealth of knowledge and skills that have been instrumental in the coordination of putting Doughnut Economics into practice.

Carlota Sanz

Co-founder and Strategy Lead

Carlota Sanz leads the development of DEAL's emerging strategy. She combines her corporate experience with her passion for regenerative economics to design DEAL in a way that is future-fit. She also leads the early days of DEAL's work with Business and Enterprise.
   
Carlota was co-director of Economy for the Common Good UK and continues to be a member of ECG's Knowledge Hub, which continually refines ECG's standards for business accreditation and transformation. For over 10 years, she worked as a management consultant in the financial sector in Spain , for KPMG, Deloitte, Santander and Metro Bank, based in Spain and the UK.
  
She studied Business and Economics at Carlos III University in Madrid and she has studied grass-roots business transformation, and narratives of new economics, at Schumacher College. 

Carolina Escobar-Tello

Schools & Education Lead

Carolina leads DEAL's work on Schools & Education by co-creating with students, life-long learners, educators, curriculum designers and educational institutions an influential dynamic network of transformative educational practice that contributes to the global-wider movement of regenerative change.


Carolina is a curious transdisciplinary educator, researcher, facilitator and grass-roots designer with seasoned experience working across industrial, product, service and systems design including the global ‘North’ and ‘South’ hemispheres. Biocentric sustainability, design for happiness & wellbeing, social innovation, pluriverse and systemic thinking shape her mindset as a pro-active agent of change. She holds an MSc in Sustainable Design from Bournemouth University and PhD in Sustainable Design from Loughborough University (UK), has lectured extensively and her work has been published in journals and international peer reviewed conference proceedings. She is currently also an Academic Visiting Fellow at the School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University, UK.


Erinch Sahan

Business & Enterprise Lead

Erinch leads DEAL’s work on business and enterprise. For over 10 years, he has focused on the transformation of the business world to make sure it is regenerative and distributive by design – exploring governance and ownership models that embed social and ecological priorities.


Erinch’s background spans business, government, social enterprise and NGOs. Most recently, he was the chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organization, a global network and verifier of social enterprises and cooperatives that practice Fair Trade. Previously, he spent 7 years at Oxfam leading campaign and advocacy initiatives, and founding Oxfam’s Future of Business Initiative. He has also worked at Procter & Gamble as a market strategy manager, established a furniture business and worked for Australia's aid programme.


Erinch speaks and writes regularly on cooperatives, social enterprises and other enterprise alternatives to profit primacy. He has lectured extensively on sustainable business and holds degrees in finance and law, and an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University. 

Hallina Popko

Team Support Specialist

Hallina supports DEAL’s daily organizational operations and works with the co-founders to streamline processes to enable DEAL's continuous growth and increase their capacity to bring the Doughnut to everyone.

She brings over 25 years of experience as a creative project manager professional working across industries with a passion to manage complex projects and execute online and in-person events. 

Her experience spans the globe, and as a former Pan Am Purser and In-flight Instructor she is attuned and competent to work across cultures in a collaborative, flexible and adaptable manner. 

Karn Spydar Lee Bianco

Digital Platform Lead

Karn leads the design, development and management of DEAL's website and Community Platform.
 
Their professional background is in game development as a programmer, collaborating across many different disciplines to help deliver projects at various scales. They're interested in using play to help people explore important and complex topics.
 
They're also a freelance writer covering the games industry, technology and climate change. They've been involved in the fossil fuel divestment movement as a campaigner, combining the need for climate action with tangible steps towards a more regenerative economic system.
 
Karn also helped found the game workers branch of the IWGB - the UK's first trade union dedicated to empowering and improving the rights of workers in the games industry.

Kate Raworth

Co-founder and Conceptual Lead

Kate provides conceptual leadership on Doughnut Economics, within the team and in the emerging community of practitioners and presents DEAL's ideas and work internationally.

She is an economist and the author of the international best-seller Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist which has been translated into 20 languages.
  
Over the past 25 years she has worked with Oxfam, UNDP, and in the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Zanzibar. She currently teaches at Oxford University and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. 

Laura Kim

Operations Co-Lead

Laura co-leads operations at DEAL, with a particular focus on our people and culture. She’s passionate about creating, experimenting and innovating on the question of how a growing, regenerative and distributive 21st century organisation could operate in a way which supports a thriving team. 


Prior to this, she has had significant experience within operations over the last 15 years including Head of Operations at 38 Degrees, and DataKind UK.

Leonora Grcheva

Cities & Regions Lead

Leonora has joined DEAL to lead our engagement with cities, municipalities and other place-based administrations that are interested in putting Doughnut Economics into practice in their own context.


Leonora is an urban planner, researcher and participation practitioner. She has over a decade of experience facilitating engagement with communities, cities and regions globally through her work as an urban planning consultant for UN-Habitat, a city leadership associate for University College London, and a community engagement consultant for built environment projects in the UK.


She studied architecture in her home-country Macedonia, holds a Masters in Human Settlement from KU Leuven (Belgium), and a PhD in Urbanism from the IUAV University of Venice (Italy). 

Lia Loewenthal

Operations Co-Lead

Lia co-leads operations at DEAL, specialising in finance and systems. She is also a business mentor and the Founder of Get Comfy With Money, where she supports entrepreneurs to thrive doing what they love.


Her background spans finance, operations, project management, creative industries and coaching. Lia has an experimental and people-centred approach to implementing new efficiencies and tweaking existing processes. She likes to spring into action and is very passionate about being challenged in how we can better improve our relationship with our local community and reduce our global footprint.


For the future, Lia hopes to see more openness and collaboration in the business world, with more emergent ways of working becoming the norm. She is committed to being anti-racist and is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, championing accessible, diverse and inclusive practices - such as job sharing and less barriers to hiring.


Rob Shorter

Communities & Art Lead

Rob leads DEAL's work with people and organisations working at the household, street and neighbourhood scale as well as networks working at the city, regional and national scale.

Rob is most interested in the ways in which everyone can contribute to reimagining the Economy, and works with others to create playful and accessible methods that invite new audiences to engage in the ideas and possibilities of Doughnut Economics.

 

Rob studied Economics for Transition at Schumacher College, and prior to this, worked for the Co-operative Group for 10 years in Strategy and Insight, exploring, amongst other things, the role of the Co-op in society in the 21st century. 

Ruurd Priester

Designer

Ruurd is a systems thinker/doer, designer and a social entrepreneur, with many years in digital design, marketing, innovation and strategy. He is co-founder and strategist of Groundforce Studio, partner in the development of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab website . Ruurd is co-founder and former chair of the Amsterdam Donut Coalitie, co-founder and board member of Climate Cleanup, and a former Research Fellow at the Amsterdam University of Applied Science – where he also led the sustainability program Re-set. Currently, Ruurd is mainly active as a designer for DEAL and as a lecturer for the School for Change and the Bio Leadership Fellowship. Ruurd’s favourite motto is from Charles Eames: ‘eventually everything connects’.

DEAL's Advisory Team

Martin Kalungu-Banda

Martin works with business, government, and civil society leaders globally. Martin is an organisation and leadership development consultant, a facilitator of innovation and change. He is a core faculty member of the Presencing Institute and has led collaborative innovation on diverse issues.

He is also the author of several books including ‘Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela’ , ‘It’s How We End That Matters: Leadership Lessons from an African President’ , and ‘Driftology: How to Access Life’s Greatest Opportunities by flying on the wings of others’. 

Risalat Khan

Risalat is an activist and intrapreneur addressing the climate crisis, biodiversity collapse, and other existential challenges. He is a senior campaigner for the global civic movement Avaaz that helped spearhead the largest global climate marches before the Paris Agreement, spanning over 2,000 cities. Risalat also consults with mission-driven organizations on building effective and loving team cultures. 

Risalat has expressed his voice on sustainability issues by writing for Dhaka Tribune and the World Economic Forum's Agenda, and speaking on panels and interviews at Davos, CHOGM, and Columbia University. 

Angelique Orr

Angelique has been campaigning for change since she was about 8 years old - and throughout her career spanning more than 2 decades as a leader of global campaigns in various NGOs such as Oxfam, Refugee Action, 350.org and Save the Children.  She’s led campaigns on social justice issues ranging from climate change and economic justice to refugee and child rights.

She believes passionately in the power of people to bring about change, and thrives supporting people around the world in their organising, campaigning and activism.  Angelique is currently Global Campaigns Director at Save the Children International.  She lives in East Sussex where you’ll often find her chasing her children or nurturing her vegetable plot. 

Imandeep (Immy) Kaur

Immy is Co-Founder and Director at CIVIC SQUARE. She is passionate about building fairer, more equal and just cities. She is a bold and ambitious activist focused on creating large scale systemic change with citizens at the heart of the work, bridging the space between complex systems science and bold experimental practice in the heart of the city. Immy was Co-Founder of Impact Hub Birmingham, she is a member of Project 00, [zero zero] and of Dark Matter Laboratories. She was also licensee, curator and producer of TEDxBrum between 2012 - 2017. 

The DEAL Team & DEAL's Advisory Team

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