Tony leads the Economy, Enterprise and Manufacturing programme at the RSA. He is a chartered accountant and former investment banker with experience both in business and in the NGO sector, and is a regular media commentator on economic issues, in particular banking and finance.
Tony’s experience ranges from banking and accountancy with PwC, Barclays Bank and Credit Suisse, through small business start-ups to working with social and environmental NGOs. He was previously Head of Finance and Business at the New Economics Foundation and is author and co-author of many books and reports on economic reform including best-selling economic textbook, Where Does Money Come From? A guide to the UK monetary and banking system, a report on local economic development, People Powered Prosperity: Ultra-local approaches to making poorer places wealthier and a 2013 proposal for using QE for investment in public infrastructure – Strategic Quantitative Easing: Public money for public benefit.
He was a member of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund advisory panel, and currently acts as an external advisor on sustainability to Alliance Trust Investments and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He is also a Trustee of Transition Network, a global grassroots movement for social and environmental change and is an alumni of Oxford University and the London School of Economics.
Lydia Prieg is a currently a finance policy adviser at Oxfam-GB and previously worked at the New Economics Foundation. In a former life she worked on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs, selling interest-rate derivatives. Lydia has an MA in Physics from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in Political Science and Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
Dr Giles Fraser is priest-in-charge at St Mary’s Newington in south London and the former canon chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral. He writes the column Loose Canon for the Guardian
Isis Amlak has over twenty five years’ experience as an activist, and community organiser. She lives in West London where she has been active in local democracy, and community arts and music production. For over 20 years she has worked the not for profit sector, both in paid and voluntary roles. She has a strong track record in community development, management, training and equalities work. Isis has worked extensively with racialised and minoritised communities in the UK around issues such as criminal justice, health, economic justice and Equality, Diversity & Human Rights. Isis is a member of the One Voice Community Collective, a trustee of the Octavia Foundation and a Director of Olmec and on the Facilitating Group of Edge Fund.
Ruth is a writer and campaigners. She is Political Director at Greenpeace UK and previously worked at RSPB and Plantlife.
John Ashton CBE was the Special Representative for Climate Change at the UKForeign and Commonwealth Office from 2006 until June 2012, Director for Strategic Partnerships at LEAD International, and is the founder and CEO of Third Generation Environmentalism (E3G).
Guppi is a writer, researcher and activist. She has nearly 10 years experience campaigning for big NGOs around the globe (Oxfam, 38 Degrees, 350.org) and loves getting her hands dirty in grassroots movements. Her background in public health and a deep love of graphs means she continually straddles the science/organiser dimension. Her heart comes alive when she’s home in India, but busies herself in the UK reading folk tales, performing African dancing, throwing lumps of clay and banging a Dhol drum. You can read her words in several places on the internet / in publications, but more regularly @guppikb
Carys is SumOfUs’ first Communications Director, working with the team to use media and social media to maximise the impact of our work. She has worked in communications for eight years across the private and non-profit sectors. Carys started out in corporate communications, managing the reputation of companies like Universal Music, Eurostar and BlackBerry. She left to become Head of Communications at the New Economics Foundation, raising the profile of campaigns on banking reform, sustainability and economic justice. Before joining the team she was working for Shadow Civil Society Minister and MP for Wigan Lisa Nandy. Carys is the author of Framing the Economy, which looks at the communications and framing of austerity in the UK.
Andy works at a disabled people’s organisation in Islington. His experience is in community building, peer support networks and campaigning. He doesn’t believe politics should be left to politicians, and that we all have a responsibility to take an active part in shaping our society.
Richard is a researcher, communicator and designer. He has led PIRC’s work on Common Cause over the past 3 years, which has included facilitating over 100 workshops across civil society in the UK and internationally. Richard previously worked to bridge the gap between climate scientists & campaigning NGOs. He likes frisbee, dancing (badly), bell hooks and any television made by David Simon.
