ECU works to accelerate the transition to a fair, sustainable, prosperous, and resilient economy by building political and public support for change here in the UK, and growing the power and impact of the movement of people and organisations working together to achieve it in the UK and internationally.
Currently, the UK’s profoundly unjust economicmodel drives a complex web of intersecting economic, environmental, social, and political harms, such as poverty, inequality, ecosystem destruction, the growing and imminent threat of climate catastrophe and weak democratic institutions.
Many of these harms are felt by people and communities here in the UK, but a far greater proportion are felt by people and communities in the global South. This is because of how our economy is still strongly embedded in and benefitting from the global networks and processes of exploitation of and extraction from global South countries first established under colonialism.
In 2022, we launched a campaign to address the structural drivers of the UK cost of living crisis in collaboration with the New Economics Foundation and Tax Justice UK. Stop the Squeeze is a coalition of civil society groups who are calling on the government to tackle the cost of living crisis by guaranteeing affordable, clean energy for everyone, ensuring everyone has access to a Living Income, and reforming the tax system with higher taxes on wealth.
Our website New Economy Brief (NewEconomyBrief.net) provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for ideas, analysis and policy proposals on how we can build a fair, sustainable, prosperous and resilient economy. It brings together in one place work from a wide variety of credible sources, including think tanks, research institutes, international institutions, trade unions, business groups, and civil society organisations and campaigns. We publish a weekly Digest of the latest news and analysis, sent free to subscribers.
Sarah joined ECU in March 2021. She was formerly Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign (now Debt Justice). Before that, she led policy development, campaigns and coalition-building on climate change, corporate accountability and trade for Friends of the Earth UK and Friends of the Earth International. She has a BA in geography from the University of Oxford and a Masters in international politics from SOAS. She is a founding board member of Tax Justice UK, and a trustee of Transparency International and the Barry Amiel Norman Melburn Trust.
Pete joined ECU in October 2021. He was formerly Director of Finance & Operations at Earthwatch Europe, a charity connecting people and the natural world by engaging the public in research. He previously held a similar role for Plunkett Foundation, a community ownership organisation, and has worked in finance teams around the world. He trained as an accountant in the private sector and has been a qualified management accountant since 2008. Pete is also Treasurer of Sumatran Orangutan Society.
Tom is a public affairs and communications specialist. He joined ECU in November 2021. Previously he worked as Senior Public Affairs Officer for the trade union Prospect, where he led their political and influencing work. Tom worked in Parliament for over five years for a number of MPs as a researcher, policy advisor and speechwriter. Originally from Warwickshire, Tom holds a BA in History from the University of Cambridge and an MSC in Democracy and Comparative Politics from UCL.
Natasha is a facilitator, campaigner and coalition-builder. She joined ECU in January 2022. She was formerly Head of Campaigning at the RSPB and Head of Movement Building at The Climate Coalition, leading cross-sector campaigns on nature and climate, with a focus on building relationships and ways of working across movements and coalitions, including in the lead up to COP26. Originally from Norfolk, she has a BA Hons in Philosophy and Literature from Exeter University.
Megan joined ECU in November 2021. She has a background in public affairs, policy and campaigning. Previously she worked as Head of Political Engagement for Drive Forward Foundation, leading campaigns on improving conditions for young people leaving the care system. Prior to this, she worked in Parliament for several MPs as a researcher. Megan is originally from Leeds and holds a BSc in Sociology from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Birkbeck, University of London.
George became Programme Officer at ECU in January 2021, having originally joined as an intern. George previously worked as a researcher for the Centre for Local Economic Strategies. Originally from the Wirral on Merseyside, George holds a first class BA in philosophy, politics and economics and an MA in social and political thought, both from the University of Leeds.
Anna is a strategist, leadership coach and advisor to a range of organisations working for economic systems change. She is a Co-optee at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, a Fellow of the RSA, and an Associate of the Institute for Social Banking. A former CEO of the Finance Innovation Lab, she has served as a Trustee of the New Economics Foundation, the Just Finance Foundation and the New Economy Organisers Network.
Laurie is one of ECU’s co-founders and leads the Cohort 2040 project, which explores how future leaders can rise to the challenge of realising a better world as the consequences of the environmental crisis become more severe. He is a Visiting Fellow at Chatham House, an Associate Fellow at the IPPR, and a Visiting Fellow at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter.
Ann is a strategist and leader in social impact. She has worked for organisations including Public Health England, the Gates Foundation and Google to help them increase the impact they have in the world. She has founded and run three startups in the mental health space and has created strategies which have improved the health of millions in the UK and globally. Ann is passionate about mental health and economic systems change. She is currently Trustee of the Friends Provident Foundation and was previously Trustee of Economy.
Ian is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey and Knowledge Exchange Coordinator for the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. He previously held senior roles in think-tanks (Demos and Policy Studies Institute), business and in central and local government. He is an associate or trustee of several organisations including Green Alliance, Involve, Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, and Theos.
Rebecca is International Director for Patriotic Millionaires and established Patriotic Millionaires UK. She previously worked in international development, including most recently as Head of Inequality Campaigns at Oxfam. In this role, she led global campaigns on poverty and inequality, with notable success on tax reform in the UK and at the international level. Prior to this, Rebecca worked as a care worker and has always been heavily involved in work on progressive economies and community rights.
Roger is Director of a new venture about class and climate. He has previously worked at RECLAIM as Chief Executive and as Director of Communications, Policy and Campaigns at Shelter. He has also worked at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in PR and Public Affairs and at NatCen compiling the annual British Social Attitudes report. He is Vice Chair of Victim Support, and in 2019 was selected to join the Mayor of London's new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group.
Maryam is an economist with more than fifteen years experience in feminist and anti-racist grassroots organizing and activism. She works with the Open Society Foundations as a Senior Program Officer advancing global fiscal justice. Previously she worked in OSF’s strategic litigation program providing strategy development, capacity building, advocacy, communications, research, and technical support to various partners and stakeholders challenging ethnic profiling, employment and housing discrimination, and Islamophobia in Europe. Maryam obtained a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
Prisca is one of Collaborative Future's co-founders, a social enterprise working to make the world of work inclusive and accessible to all. There, she has supported young people and organisations through programme management, impact measurement, DEI consultancy and strategy. She is also a user researcher at Open Data Manchester. Prisca was born in Italy to Congolese parents and has lived in the UK since 2014. She holds a law degree from the University of York.
Ruby joined ECU in January 2023. She is a solicitor working in the finance team of a magic circle law firm. She was previously seconded to the global legal team of Plan International and has worked with other charities focusing on housing, education and socio-economic development. She holds a Bachelor of Business Science in economics with law specialisation and an LLB from the University of Cape Town. She also has a MSc in Law, Business and Management from The University of Law. Ruby was born in Nigeria, raised in South Africa and is passionate about sustainable investment and infrastructure development.
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