Jane joined The Elders in February 2021 as Senior Programme Advisor. She leads on policy development and programme delivery on conflict and refugees/migration. Prior to this, she spent 15 years as an Advisor with the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Jane has also worked with the UN and the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She has an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a BA in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University. Outside work, Jane is kept busy as a mum of twins and loves playing the piano.

Her role is responsible for leading the effective management and integration of the HR function. Hoda previously worked at The Institute of Contemporary Arts for 4 years and prior to that she worked for Complex Health and Social Needs charities and a Human Rights law firm.

Hoda studied a BSc in Psychology and Social Anthropology at Brunel University. Outside of work she enjoys travelling and learning about new cultures, live music and practising Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Iveta joined The Elders in October 2024 as an Operations Officer, where she supports the coordination of Elders' meetings, travel, and events. Her role involves ensuring the smooth execution of logistical and operational tasks to support the Elders and their work globally.

Prior to joining The Elders, Iveta was a Politics and Public Diplomacy Intern at the Embassy of Lithuania to the United Kingdom, the Republic of Portugal and the Sultanate of Oman. In this capacity, she assisted with event management, policy research, and diplomatic communications.

Iveta holds a master’s degree in International Political Economy (IPE) from King’s College London and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Essex.

Tom joined The Elders in March 2015, initially as a Policy Intern. As Policy Advisor, his role involves leading The Elders’ work on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and on multilateral cooperation and ethical leadership. Prior to that, Tom completed an internship at the conflict resolution charity Inter Mediate, and previously worked as a Production Assistant on the documentary film, The Act of Killing.

He has a degree in History from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Outside of work, Tom enjoys reading and playing cello, and has an admittedly pretentious-sounding interest in modern jazz music.

Rachel joined The Elders in August 2022 as Head of Human Resources. Her mission is to recruit the best placed talent to join The Elders team and make their experience here a fulfilling one. Rachel previously worked for international charity Girl Effect, looking after employees in the UK, Africa and Asia, and prior to this spent 6 years in a variety of HR and Community Partnership roles at the Arcadia Group.

Rachel studied for a BA in Management at the University of Sheffield. Outside of work she enjoys adventures across London and beyond with her young son, live music and theatre whenever she gets the chance, and ending each day with a chapter of a good book.

Dennis joined The Elders in September 2023 as a Senior Programme Advisor on Conflict. Before this, he worked in a number of countries and headquarters posts with UNDP, the UK Department for International Development / Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and international Non-Governmental Organisations. His work has spanned peacebuilding, democratic governance, human rights and humanitarian response.

Dennis holds a Masters degree in Development Studies from University College Dublin and a Masters and BA in Mathematics from Trinity College Dublin. He lives with his wife, daughter and son in North London and enjoys trail running and playing music, mainly guitar and fiddle.

Alistair joined The Elders in November 2021 as Chief Executive. He advises Elders on all aspects of their activities, and leads the Secretariat team. He reports to the Chair of The Elders (Juan Manuel Santos).

Alistair’s career spans development, human rights and foreign policy over three decades. He led British government aid programmes in Kenya, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and was a diplomat at the UN in New York, and the UK Director responsible for World Bank policy. He has also been a strategy consultant with McKinsey, a humanitarian aid worker with Médecins Sans Frontières, and a human rights campaigner with Amnesty International. He has lived and worked in 10 countries across 5 continents, including 10 years in Africa and South Asia.

Alistair took the top First in Politics at Oxford University in 1992. He has run 16 marathons. He lives in south-west London with his wife, their teenage twins, and a rescue greyhound called Grace.

Bekki joined the Elders in January 2023 as Senior Programme Advisor, leading on policy development and programme delivery on pandemic preparedness and response. Previously Bekki spent nearly a decade in the UK diplomatic service, and subsequently led the international cancer prevention programme at the charity Cancer Research UK. Most recently she was head of pandemic preparedness at the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care.

Bekki has a BA in History and Politics from the University of York. She lives in north London with her daughter. Outside of work Bekki enjoys travelling, reading and expanding her culinary repertoire.

William joined The Elders in February 2015 as Head of Communications. His role involves strategic communications counsel, editorial production and direction, and media relations including on Elders’ country visits. Previously he was Head of Communications at the Swiss Embassy in London and worked as a correspondent for Agence France-Presse in Geneva.

He has an MA in French and German from King’s College, Cambridge and studied at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg. William holds British and German nationality and enjoys reading, theatre and an eclectic range of music, agreeing with whoever said The Beatles were the greatest songwriters since Schubert.

Cecile joined The Elders in June 2024 as Communications Advisor. Her role involves leading on climate and nature communications and delivering The Elders' major creative and advocacy communications activities. Cecile has spent 15 years working on strategic communications and storytelling including almost a decade in climate advocacy roles at nonprofits like the We Mean Business Coalition and most recently with renewable energy developer Ørsted.

She has an MA in English and German from Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. At her happiest out in nature, Cecile enjoys long walks at the end of the day and tries to make the most of London’s theatre scene.

Kiri joined The Elders in July 2020 as Climate Policy Advisor. This role involves supporting the Elders with their advocacy work on climate change. Previously, she worked for Oxfam for six years in climate and energy advocacy roles, including as a campaigner based in Zimbabwe. Kiri started her career as a political researcher for MEPs in the European Parliament.

She has an MA from the College of Europe in Warsaw. Still a wobbly cyclist in London, Kiri is on a mission to try to cycle everywhere, all of the time.

Gabriella joined The Elders in May 2024, after having previously worked at a modern slavery charity. Her role involves delivering external communications to support The Elders programmatic goals.

Gabriella holds MA and BA degrees in International Relations from the University of East Anglia, where she specialised in human security and Spanish politics. Outside of work, she enjoys staying active with Pilates and perfecting her language skills in español.

Paul joined The Elders in January 2012. Prior to this he worked in the non-profit sector, most recently as Development Associate with the International House at the University of California, Berkeley, and before that with the San Francisco Education Fund as the Development and Program Associate.

Paul has a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Davis, and an MSc in Public Policy from Queen Mary, University of London. In his spare time he enjoys cooking and backpacking in the outdoors, and he is a passionate supporter of the Chicago Cubs and Arsenal Football Club.

Karim Lebhour is the Director of Communications at The Elders. Before this role, he spent seven years as Head of Communications with  International Crisis Group in Washington. Karim brings 15 years of experience as a foreign correspondent for Radio France Internationale and AFP, based in conflict zones and political hotspots including Israel-Palestine, Ethiopia, New York (as a UN correspondent), and Washington. He is the author of several graphic novels on international affairs and a book recounting his time in Gaza. He is never too far from a tennis court.

Jack joined The Elders in July 2023 as Digital Advocacy Manager. His role involves the design, implementation and evaluation of digital advocacy strategies to support The Elders’ programmatic goals. Jack has worked for over a decade in the non-profit sector delivering advocacy and communications campaigns on humanitarian issues, gender justice, public health, and education. Prior to joining The Elders Jack led CARE International UK’s Digital team.

Jack holds a BA (Hons) in Screen Media from Brunel University. Outside of work, Jack loves nothing more than getting a decent sound out of a mid-range guitar or a trip to enjoy some fringe theatre.

Mushfiq joined The Elders in July 2021. As Programme Officer, he coordinates the integration of Elders’ cross-cutting commitments into programme areas whilst leading on human rights. His role also includes supporting initiatives and building relationships to further Elders’ programmatic work. Prior to joining The Elders, Mushfiq led human rights-centric grassroots initiatives on criminal justice, police, and prison reforms.

Born in the Maldives and raised in the UK and Malaysia, Mushfiq holds an LLB (Hons) in Law and an MSc (Econ) in Postcolonial Politics from Aberystwyth University. Outside of work, he enjoys live music, swimming, bouldering, and top-rope climbing.

Neoka joined The Elders in March 2024 as a Programme Advisor on the Climate Crisis. She has worked in the climate arena for the last 12 years nationally, globally and is now based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Neoka has BSc environmental and biologically sciences from the University KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and PDG Diploma in Sustainability at the Sustainability Institute in Stellenbosch. Outside work Neoka enjoys being an aunt to the lovely children in her family and community of friends. She tries to live by the motto “Justice is what love looks like in public”.

Margaret joined The Elders in April 2023 as Finance Officer, and her role involves working closely with the Head of Finance to ensure accurate processing and recording of all financial transactions. Margaret has previously worked in Finance roles across a range of charity organisations.

She holds an MSc in International Accounting and Finance and is currently working towards obtaining a CIMA qualification. Outside of work, she enjoys music, brunching and most importantly spending time with family and friends – usually all at the same time!

Amy joined The Elders in May 2018 as Chief of Staff. Her role encompasses HR, governance and executive support at The Elders. Amy spent eight years working in the charity sector, and prior to that practised as a solicitor before making a career change in pursuit of a worthier cause!

She has a degree in Politics and Sociology from the University of Bristol and a postgraduate qualification in Law. Originally from Dorset, outside of work Amy likes to keep in touch with her rural roots by running, hiking and horse riding in the countryside.

Elaine joined The Elders in March 2016 as Office Co-ordinator. Over the years her role has expanded and she is currently Executive Office Manager. She is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the office including compliance with current office legislation. Prior to this, Elaine worked in building and design, project managing commercial and private builds.

Outside of work Elaine enjoys spending time with her daughter and four grandchildren, travel, music, reading, and walking with her partner in the countryside. She is also Vice Chair for ARIN Charity, which focuses on helping impoverished people in Ashford, Surrey.  

Mary joined The Elders in May 2023 as Head of Strategy and Planning. Her role involves coordinating the Secretariat’s support to Elders for implementation of their strategy. Mary previously spent five years living in East Africa, working for a social enterprise and an NGO on livelihoods and migration issues. She has also worked in the UK charity sector, most recently as Head of Operations at an anti-slavery charity.

Mary has an MSc in Migration and Development from SOAS and a BA in Social Sciences from the Open University. Outside of work Mary enjoys live music, reading, baking delicious desserts and more recently, pottery.

Padma joined The Elders in April 2022 as Head of Finance. Her role entails working with the Finance Officer to record and account for all income and expenditure, ensuring our accounts are prepared under requirements of the Companies Act and Generally Accepted Accounting Practices. Padma has over 18 years of experience working in both private and the charitable sector as a Finance Manager.

She holds an MA in English Literature and is CIMA part qualified. Outside of work, the great outdoors beckons, nurturing an ongoing passion for all its seasonal glory of Flora and Fauna.

Vanessa joined The Elders in April 2019 as Director of Development. She works with our Advisory Council and donors to secure philanthropic support for the organisation. Prior to joining The Elders, Vanessa worked at Overseas Development Institute, UBS and Scope; developing fundraising strategies and working with donors who supported the organisations.

She has an MA in Musical Research from the Royal College of Music and later obtained diplomas in stockbroking and financial planning whilst working in financial services. Outside of work, Vanessa loves gardening, collecting interesting antiquarian books, music and has a fascination with the Apollo space programme.