Team
Sarah-Jayne Clifton
Sarah is an experienced civil society leader and strategist. Before joining ECU she was Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign (now Debt Justice), and prior to that she coordinated the climate justice and energy programme of Friends of the Earth International. She also helped establish Tax Justice UK, and served as a Trustee of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International. She has a BA in Geography from the University of Oxford, focused on international political economy, and a MSc in International Politics.
Rachel Heilbron
Rachel joined ECU in 2023 after working for the Centre for London. She also offers consultant to non-profits and charities on HR, finance and operations. She started her career as a Science Museum explainer and then progressed into management of learning programmes. She moved into organisational leadership at the Faith and Belief forum. She has a BSc in Psychology and a Masters in Culture, Language and Identity in Education. She loves a good excel formula or a well written policy.
Tom Railton
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 Yorke-Edgell
Natasha is an experienced facilitator, campaigner and coalition-builder, whose career has focussed on cross-movement relationship building, strategy and collaboration. Before joining ECU in 2022, she was formerly Head of Campaigns at the RSPB and Head of Movement Building at The Climate Coalition in the lead up to COP26. A nature-nerd from Norfolk, she has a BA Hons in Philosophy and Literature from Exeter University.
Megan Davies
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 holds a BSc in Sociology from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Birkbeck, University of London.
George Edwards
George is a political economist and has expertise in policy analysis, campaigning and communications. George became Programme Officer at ECU in January 2021 and Policy and Programme Lead in June 2023, 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.
Board
Roger Harding
Roger is Director of Round Our Way, an innovative campaign focusing attention on those of us paying the price for climate change in the UK. Roger was previously CEO of working class youth charity RECLAIM and Director of Communications, Policy and Campaigns at Shelter. He has also worked at the JRF, NatCen on the British Social Attitudes report and a communications agency. He’s also on the board of the Future Governance Forum and was previously Vice Chair of Victim Support.
Ann Don Bosco
Ann is an innovator with expertise in health, policy, and systems change with experience at Public Health England, the Gates Foundation, and Google. She founded three mental health startups and has created health strategies benefiting millions worldwide. Ann is passionate about leveraging economic systems for public and mental health improvements in the UK, Ann is a current Trustee of the Friends Provident Foundation and formerly of Economy.
Anna Fielding
Anna is a strategist, leadership coach and advisor to a range of organisations working for economic systems change. She is the Learning Partner for Barrow Cadbury Trust’s Economic Justice Programme, a Co-optee at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and an Associate of the Institute for Social Banking. A former CEO of the Finance Innovation Lab, Anna has served as a Trustee of the New Economics Foundation, the Just Finance Foundation and the New Economy Organisers Network.
Laurie Laybourn
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.
Maryam H’madoun
Maryam is an economist with more than 15 years experience in feminist and anti-racist organising 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 programme providing strategy development, capacity building, advocacy, communications, research, and technical support to various stakeholders challenging ethnic profiling, employment and housing discrimination, and Islamophobia in Europe.
Rebecca Gowland
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.
Prisca Munzemba
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 Sam-Kputu
Ruby is a solicitor specialising in finance law and is passionate about sustainable investment and infrastructure development. She previously worked on Plan International’s global legal team and with charities focusing on housing, education and socio-economic development. She holds a Bachelor of Business Science in economics with law specialisation, an LLB from the University of Cape Town and an MSc in Law, Business and Management from The University of Law.