Zoe Kalus, Head of Media

Email | +44 (0) 7845652839

Maeve Campbell, Press Manager

Elizabeth Clark

Elizabeth runs the Investment Leaders Group (ILG), a global network of pension funds, insurers and asset managers working to advance the practice of responsible investment. Elizabeth works with the ILG to integrate social and environmental considerations into mainstream finance, as well as develop insights that solve for horizon challenges facing the sustainable finance community. Previously she led the Business & Nature team at CISL, leveraging her corporate background to help business leaders develop nature-positive strategies and action on their nature commitments. Her work included leading CISL's presence at the UN Biodiversity COP (COP15) in Montreal, and the developing the first sector-specific primer on science-based targets for nature.

Prior to joining CISL, Elizabeth spent several years in Canada's Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Her experience spans roles in Marketing, Revenue Management, and Corporate Strategy & Development, where her work focused on advancing the company's long-term vision, including large scale capital projects, people strategies, and mergers and acquisitions. Her work has been used to advise executive leadership and the Board of Directors on emerging trends in the global food landscape, informing major investment and planning decisions.

Elizabeth's topics:

• Sustainable finance
• Nature / biodiversity (for finance and business)
• Role of regulation and climate action
• Food sector – including challenges on food security, waste, etc.
• Business strategy

Jie Zhou

Jie Zhou is a recognised expert in circular economy, systems thinking, and innovation, driving systemic change across industries. With 15+ years of global experience as a researcher, advisor, and strategist, she empowers individuals and organizations to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. Jie's systems-thinking approach is rooted in her interdisciplinary academic background. She holds three master’s degrees in Sustainability Leadership (Cambridge), Economics & Politics of Energy and the Environment (UCL), and Sustainability Management (ECNU). This diverse knowledge base allows her to see the interconnectedness of global challenges.

Jie has been an intrapreneur since she joined Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) in 2021 as a founding Innovation team member, supporting the launch of The Canopy – CISL's incubator and innovation hub. Her work including running accelerator programmes for startups (e.g. Circular Disruptors Accelerator), creating toolkits and training for SMEs to decarbonise (e.g. Climate Fit - SME Climate Hub), partnering with international organisations to build innovation programmes (e.g. Innovation30: Young Climate Innovators Shaping the Future | UNICEF Office of Innovation ), as well as building Canopy’s global presence at COPs, SLUSH, etc.

Beyond her role at CISL, Jie serves as a research advisor at Newham College (Cambridge), Non-Executive Director at Dialogue Earth (London), and advisor at Undivided VC (Hong Kong), giving back her experiences and insights on a pro bona basis. Driven by her cross-cultural experiences as an ethnic minority, Jie is a passionate DE&I advocate, actively contributing to CISL's Equality Action Planning committee. Her leadership was recognized with the University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Award (2022).

Publications:

• Report: Innovation for Sustainability: The driving force of circular economy start-ups | Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) (2023)
• Blog: Connecting with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in China | Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) (2023)
• Article: Founders to Funders (2022)
• Podcast: China's Envirotech Landscape (2022)
• Blog: Driving the circular economy through collaboration and disruptive change | Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) (2021)
• Report: The circular economy opportunity for urban and industrial innovation in China (2018, Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

Jie's topics:

• Sustainable finance
• Nature / biodiversity (for finance and business)
• Role of regulation and climate action
• Food sector – including challenges on food security, waste, etc.
• Business strategy

Katherine Quinn

Katherine Quinn is a Senior Programme Manager at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, where she oversees international policy. This includes convening CISL’s international business network, the Corporate Leaders Network for climate action, and developing CISL’s strategy for international events such as climate COPs and New York Climate Week.

She is a former Australian Government official, and represented Australia in a range of climate and security dialogues in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. She completed her Masters in Public International Law (International Environment and Energy Law) from the University of Oslo and won the Oxford University Press Law Prize in 2017-2018.

Katherine began her career as a legal associate at the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, and developed her international law expertise through roles at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and ClientEarth. Beyond her role at CISL, she is a contributor to Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Oxford University’s Sustainable Law Programme, and a member of She Changes Climate and the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment.

Katherine's topics:

• International policy and law
• Geo politics and climate
• Energy security
• Defence/military and climate risk
• Renewables and human rights
• Human rights and climate