People
Meet the team
The Global School of Sustainability is led by the Dean, Jonathan Pershing, who is supported by an executive and operations team. GSoS is supported in its mission by a Leadership Group, a Management Committee and a Strategy Board. Our activities take place across the many LSE departments, institutes and centres and bring in a network of colleagues.
Explore our leadership, staff and visitors below.
Dean of the Global School of Sustainability and Professor in Practice
As Dean, Jonathan provides a leading role in establishing and developing strategic vision for GSoS, bringing together existing expertise in the social sciences from across LSE and beyond and partnering with a wide range of external stakeholders and institutions globally to deliver impact.
Executive Director of the Global School of Sustainability and Professor of Anthropology
Most recently Charles has held the senior LSE role of Vice President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Faculty Development). Working closely with the Dean, Charles leads on the delivery of GSoS.
School Manager of the Global School of Sustainability
Working closely with the Dean and Executive Director, Harriet has responsibility for the operation of GSoS (including the human, physical and financial resources), and leads the team of professional services staff.
The Executive team are supported by our professional services staff, you can get in touch with the team via email at GSoS@lse.ac.uk.
The Leadership Group is responsible for setting the strategic direction for GSoS, taking in advice and guidance from the Management Committee, Strategy Board, the LSE community and externally through their networks.
Professor Lord Nicholas Stern - Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of both the Grantham Research Institute and the Global School of Sustainability.
Professor Jonathan Pershing - Jonathan Pershing is the Dean of the Global School of Sustainability and Professor in Practice.
Professor Susana Mourato - Susana Mourato, an environmental economist, is LSE's Vice President and Pro Vice Chancellor (Research).
Professor Charles Stafford - Charles Stafford is the Executive Director of the Global School of Sustainability.
Professor Sir Andrew Steer - Andrew Steer is Professor in Practice of the Global School of Sustainability and the International Growth Centre.
Harriet Carter - Harriet Carter is the School Manager of the Global School of Sustainability.
Theme Leads
Our work is organised around five thematic streams from which we explore key sustainability challenges.
- Professor Amil Dasgupta - Creating sustainable finance and business
- Professor Robin Burgess and Dr Eugenie Dugoua - Generating sustainable growth
- Professor Veerle Hayvaert, Dr Joana Setzer, Professor Robert Falkner - Mobilising political, legal and governance systems
- Professor Giles Atkinson and Professor in Practice Nicola Ranger - Protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity
- Professor Liam Delaney and Professor Elizabeth Robinson - Building sustainable societies
Research Centre Directors
The Global School of Sustainability is the home department to three LSE research centres, each independently funded but collectively add to the sustainability eco-system at LSE, in addition to other research centres across LSE. These are centres focussing on a critical agenda, with many strands reaching into and across our themes.
- Giles Atkinson, Professor of Environmental Policy and Acting Director of the Grantham Research Centre on Climate Change and the Environment, GSoS
- Carmen Nuzzo, Professor in Practice and Executive Director of the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre, GSoS
- Rob Patelano, Professor in Practice and Executive Director of the Centre for Economic Transition Expertise (CETEx), GSoS
Appointed Professors in Practice
Our Professors in Practice are leading on work streams that cut across several themes and where there is potential for generating significant impact.
- Spencer Dale - Professor in Practice, Energy Economics and the Energy Transition
- Andrew Steer - Professor in Practice (GSoS and the International Growth Centre), Biodiversity and Nature
- Anna Valero - Professor in Practice, Industrial Policy
Appointed Global Impact Group (GIG) team
The GIG policy team is jointly appointed with the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (GRI) to support the work of the GIG members, and works closely with Professor Lord Nicholas Stern's team at GRI, Sir Andrew Steer, Executive Director of the GIG, and Bob Ward, GRI Policy and Communications Director.
- Dr Shantanu Singh - Global Impact Group Senior Policy Fellow
- Erin Bishop - Global Impact Group Policy Fellow
- Yanxi (Zoe) Zhou - Global Impact Group Policy Officer
Responsible for developing our education and student engagement activities, as well as potential lifelong learning and executive education offers, our education co-leads work together and across the LSE. They also help lead the cohort of GSoS LSE Fellows, who are arriving in September 2026 and will contribute to our student experience through a range of activities and education initiatives.
- Stephen Jarvis, Education Co-Lead
- Thomas Smith, Education Co-Lead
Operations team
- Joanna Brown (J.Brown14@lse.ac.uk) - Executive Assistant to the Chair of the Global School of Sustainability and Professor Sir Andrew Steer
- Folly Fowowe (F.Fowowe@lse.ac.uk) - Student Experience Officer
- Eva Lee (E.Lee4@lse.ac.uk)- Executive Officer to Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, Grantham Research Institute and the Global School of Sustainability
- Tereze Lujane (T.Lujane@lse.ac.uk) - Operations Manager and Executive Assistant to the Dean of the Global School of Sustainability
- Will Mathews (GSoS@lse.ac.uk) - Operations Administrator
Communications and Events team
- Emma Heaton (E.Heaton@lse.ac.uk) - Communications and Events Coordinator
- Molly Rhead (m.rhead@lse.ac.uk) - Communications and Events Manager
- Annie Wang (global.school.of.sustainability@lse.ac.uk) - GSoS Conference Manager
Research and Finances
- Mariane Bignotto (M.Bignotto@lse.ac.uk) - Funds Manager - GSoS Internal Open Research Call, Research and Innovation Division and GSoS
- Shalen Fu (Y.Fu13@lse.ac.uk) - Senior Funds Manager - GSoS Internal Open Research Call, Research and Innovation Division and GSoS
- Niketan Kaler (N.Kaler@lse.ac.uk) - Financial Planning and Analysis Manager for GSoS, Finance Division and GSoS
Student Ambassador
Afzal Rahman is our current Student Ambassador; this role supports our professional services team in our activities to add a student voice and provides a work experience opportunity through engaging in a wide range of tasks.
The Global School of Sustainability is jointly appointing, with relevant academic units, visitors to LSE to collaborate on advancing our mission.
- Hailiang Du - Visiting Senior Fellow, Data Science Institute and the Global School of Sustainability
- Professor Sir Oliver Hart - Visiting Professor, LSE Department of Finance and the Global School of Sustainability
- Christian Kroll - Visiting Professor, Grantham Research Institute and the Global School of Sustainability
- Jayant Sinha - Visiting Professor in Practice, Grantham Research Institute and the Global School of Sustainability
- Erica Thompson - Visiting Senior Fellow, Data Science Institute and the Global School of Sustainability
GSoS collaborates with departments and research units across LSE to host international thought leaders in sustainability. Their visits foster dialogue, invite idea exchanges and contribute to our ambitions for world-leading impact in research, education and engagement.
Recent visits
Academic Year 2025/26
- Professor Amita Baviskar, Professor of Environmental Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology at Ashoka University, India. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Geography and Environment, May 2026
- Professor Spencer Banzhaf, Professor and Director of The Centre for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy at North Carolina State University, United States. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Economic History, March 2026
- Professor Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography and Deputy Executive Dean of Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health at Durham University, United Kingdom. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Sociology, February 2026
- Professor Navroz Dubash, Professor of Public Affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs and the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University, United States. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of International Relations, January 2026
- Professor Seema Arora Jonsson, Professor and Chair of Rural Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Gender Studies, November 2025
- Professor Karen Kovaka, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, United States. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, November 2025
- Professor Helen Milner, B. C. Forbes Professor of Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Director of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, United States. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Social Policy, November 2025
- Professor Claire Miller, Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Glasgow and former President of the International Environmetrics Society, United Kingdom. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Statistics, October 2025
- Professor Nicole Starosielski, Professor of Film and Media at the University of California, Berkeley, United States. Co-hosted with the LSE Department of Media and Communications, October 2025
- Dr Sudarno Sumarto, Economist and founding Director of the SMERU Research Institute, Indonesia. Co-hosted with LSE Department of Economics, September 2025
Get in touch with the team via email at GSoS@lse.ac.uk.
To find a sustainability specialist from across LSE, search with keywords using the LSE Expert Finder.