Sophie, with her husband Nick, founded Gower Street in 2007, focusing their funding on supporting girls education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, they pivoted almost entirely to become a climate foundation, and in recognition of the gravity of the crisis, in 2020 they decided to spend down their fund by 2030. In 2020, Sophie helped set up Impatience Earth, a philanthropy consultancy offering pro-bono advice to individuals, trusts, foundations and corporations looking to give philanthropically in the climate sector, and now works with them as a strategic advisor. She also set up and currently runs a grassroots organisation, Mothers CAN, supporting mothers to take climate action in their local communities. Sophie is an active impact investor and sits on the board of two of her investment companies.

Florence is Director of the Environmental Funders Network, where she has been working since moving to the UK from the United States in 2012. Previously, she worked for the National Audubon Society in the US, running a national grants programme focused on innovative conservation. Prior to that, she was Director of Educational Programmes at a not-for-profit called Center for Whole Communities in Vermont, bringing together leaders from the environmental and social justice sectors to find common ground and shared values. Early in her career she worked for World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C.

Devika lives in London, is an active member of the environmental community and Founding Trustee of the Savitri Trust. For the past 20 years, she has developed the strategic direction of the Trust funding projects, mainly in India, to support education, maternal & child health, nutrition, palliative care and eye care. In this time of climate crisis, all responsible family foundations have identified the intersections between their existing work and climate change/biodiversity loss, and Devika’s work now lies in supporting projects that protect both people and the planet, specifically raising the alarm for the dangers of harmful chemicals, supporting youth activists and joining alliances demanding indigenous land rights. She is also a Trustee of the environmental law NGO, Client Earth.

Jonny is a fourth generation owner of the Wates Group, where the common cause of the owners is to hand on a stronger enterprise to the next generation. This ambition has led to a focus on operational sustainability and an awareness of the responsibility to play a role in the promotion of the sustainability agenda in the wider world. Jonny is a member of the Wates Group Board and chairs the Board Sustainability Committee, and is a Trustee of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, the Wates Foundation and the William Wates Memorial Trust. Jonny is also a Trustee of Forum for the Future; an Associate at Leaders’ Quest; a Vice Chair of Polaris; and an Advisory Council member of Commonland and CAST (Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation).