Our team and board

About

Jane is a tea farmer. She also has over 15 years of experience as a sustainability and partnership professional working with companies and key tea organisations in the Kenyan tea sector. These include 12 years with the Ethical Tea Partnership, latterly as Stakeholder and Partnerships Manager. She was a trustee of the Kenya Tea Development Agency Foundation for five years and is now a trustee of Ripple Effect. She holds an MBA in Strategic Management and is a member of various other advisory boards and trusts.

About

Céline has over 15 years’ experience in developing, executing and overseeing responsible sourcing programmes in global agricultural supply chains and in building multi-stakeholders partnerships that deliver positive change for workers and farmers. Having worked for a leading tea company, as well as ETP, Céline has a firsthand understanding of the realities faced by tea growing communities across Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Malawi, Argentina, Indonesia and China.

About

An active trade unionist for over 30 yrs, Debbie was elected Deputy General Secretary of the GMB Trade Union in 2003. She served 5yrs as an ACAS Council Member and as a commissioner on the Women and Work Commission into Equal Pay and on the Commission for Vulnerable Employment. She was awarded an OBE for service to Employment Relations in 2008. She joined the Ethical Trading Initiative as Head of Programmes in 2011 bringing together companies, trade unions and NGO members to drive long-term, sustainable change for workers in global supply chains. Now retired, she works voluntarily for a number of charitable organisations.

About

Filbert is the East Africa Regional Director of Transform Trade, an international organization based in the UK focused on fair trade and climate justice. Previously he was operations director of The Wood Foundation Africa on extensive smallholder tea farms development projects in East Africa. He has over 25 years of working experience in sustainable tea production in East Africa. He has strong experience working with smallholder development projects, managing tea supply chains, and marketing. Technical expertise in tea business, strategic planning, supply chain management and stakeholders’ engagements and partnerships. Filbert is trained in agriculture, agricultural economics, and project management.

About

With over 17 years of experience in value chain and market systems development, Leena is passionate about reducing economic inequality with a particular focus on gender transformative approaches. Leena spent 10 years working in the Fairtrade sector and has previously held roles with CARE International, Oxfam and the Ethical Tea Partnership as a gender advisor. She now works as an independent consultant.

About

Nikhil is an investment funds lawyer at a leading global law firm, with experience working with impact investments, development finance institutions and in emerging markets. He was previously a Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow and conducted a research trip to tea plantations in India and Sri Lanka.

About

Stirling is an independent ethical trade consultant and former Chief Technical Adviser for the International Labour Organisation in India. He has worked for DFID, British Council, Fair Labour Association, trade unions, NGOs and several companies.

Stirling is the Board’s point of contact for safeguarding issues. Please email him if you have any safeguarding concerns connected with THIRST’s work or anyone associated with THIRST.

About

Sabita was born and raised on tea plantations in Kerala and Assam. She has nearly 20 years experience working in ethical trade and international development having held strategic posts at Oxfam and the Ethical Trading Initiative. She was previously a member of the Board of Directors of Just Change, UK – a voluntary community tea trading initiative.