“When I was around 11 or 12 years old, I read the novel “The last curlew”, which described the fate of the last Eskimo curlews. I was very touched by the description of the last individuals of that species. At some point the novel read “last of a dying race, they fly alone”. It touched my soul, marked my infancy, and shaped my professional life.”

Gerardo is an award-winning global environmental scientist with a specialty in animal conservation and extinction. A native of Mexico, he was elected as a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014, and is one of only a handful of scientists from Latin America to be named members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2019). His efforts toward preservation of Mexico’s biodiversity have contributed to the creation of protected areas equivalent to 2 percent of the country’s landmass, as well as the creation of the first Mexican endangered species act. The author of 52 books and hundreds of scientific papers, Dr. Ceballos works tirelessly and passionately to increase the ecological literacy of the general public especially in relation to the sixth mass extinction crisis and its consequences for humanity.

“Our existence is dependent on the earth’s systems and those systems are being systematically destroyed. People V Extinction is a wake up call and a reminder that people, plants and animals are all interdependent.”

Trevor is Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of WasteFuel, a next generation fuel company that develops low carbon biofuels from waste. Previously, he served as Co-founder and CEO of i(x) investments, an entrepreneurial, multi-strategy impact investing holding company, focused on addressing areas of human need. Trevor is Co-founder and Partner of Global Philanthropy Group, an advisory firm. His leadership in social change includes time as the Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition which focuses on global health issues. Trevor worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as Director of Special Projects and Director of Public Affairs. He served in the White House during the Clinton administration on the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre International Advisory Network. Trevor serves as a Co-founder and Chair of the Advisory Board of Sustainable Future, an initiative of i(x) investments and The Prince’s Foundation.He also currently serves as Co-founder and Chairman of the Climate Emergency Fund and as Co-founder of The Philippines Foundation. As well as serving on the Biden for President Finance Committee.

“I grew up in a winner-take-all world that believes personal safety is enhanced by commodifying natural resources and dominating all that life has created. That construct has mortgaged our spirits and our ability to protect the earth and all that share from her bounty. We are now in a hopeful moment where our altruistic impulse to serve the natural world has the possibility of emerging. We must reorient our trajectory, radically and thoughtfully restoring what we have taken from the natural world.”

Aileen has been an active philanthropist throughout her life. Focused on improving the quality of life of individuals and communities, she has supported several causes including homelessness, HIV/AIDS research and treatment, the greening of urban spaces, the arts, community building, meditation in schools, and peace-building in the Middle East. In response to the dire climate situation, she has shifted the bulk of her time and resources to projects bringing urgent solutions to the climate emergency. She is the founding donor and board member of the Climate Emergency Fund and is an advisor to The Climate Mobilization. She is also on the board of amfAR and the Underground Museum and is an ambassador of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

“When I started my career as a tropical ecologist, I discovered that deforestation not only reduces the amount of habitat area needed to maintain viable populations of wildlife, but it also facilitates poaching, leading to the local loss of animals—an omnipresent process of population extinctions I refer to as defaunation. I am appalled at the current rates of deforestation and defaunation, and I am determined to join efforts to stop such offenses to Earth’s beautiful biodiversity.”

Bing Professor in Environmental Science and Senior Fellow at Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University. Rodolfo’s scientific work examines wildlife interactions in tropical ecosystems from Latin America to Africa. Rodolfo’s recent research highlights how the loss of animal life is not only impacting ecosystem processes but ecosystem services – it’s affecting us too! Rodolfo is a Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“Working on preserving UNESCO World Heritage sites in my previous NGO – Global Heritage Fund- I came to realize how our natural world was being destroyed in developing countries, and how my unique experience could make a real difference if we start now changing how UNESCO World Heritage and national parks are protected along with the incredible biodiversity of species. Many national parks are really the last bastions for the very last members of many critically endangered species.”

Jeff is an international business executive and global conservationist. Founder and executive director of Global Conservation, an organization focused on the protection of endangered UNESCO World Heritage and National Parks. By directly funding Global Park Defense programs, Global Conservation deploys critically needed protection systems, technology and training to wild places that need help. By leading major conservation programs and managing initiatives on behalf of philanthropic foundations, families and individuals, Jeff ‘s work aims to give a lasting legacy for world heritage, national parks and wildlife conservation. Author of several books, Jeff also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Stanford University.

“Insects crawling out from between bricks, plants sprouting out there – the enormous resilience and its representation everywhere, within us, outside of us – realizing that, and that we are life, amazed me from an early age and has carried me forward over the decades since.”

One of the world’s leading botanists and advocates for conservation and biodiversity. President emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden and George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeriti, Washington University. During his career, Missouri Botanical Garden has become a world class centre for botanical research and education. Peter’s career has seen him receive the National Medal of Science (2001) – the highest award for scientific accomplishment in the United States. He served as Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and is a foreign member of the Royal Society and of the academies of science in a number of other countries, including China, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Sweden, and Australia. He has held both Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships.

“The conservation of endangered species should be elevated to a national and global emergency for governments and institutions, equal to climate disruption to which it is linked.”

Paul is recognized globally for his pioneering work on alerting the public to environmental problems and extinction due to overpopulation. Bing Professor of Population Studies, Emeritus and President of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. He’s a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The work of Paul’s research group has included the study of the dynamics and genetics of checkerspot butterflies; work that allows research into insect pest control and nature reserve design. Research is also investigating ways in which human-disturbed landscapes can become more hospitable to biodiversity.

“When I was little, every aspect of the unfolding natural world fascinated me. And somehow as I got older I got distracted by other things. Having children of my own reconnected me with the beauty of what had been there all along. But meeting Gerardo sparked an urgency in me to do more than just appreciate it. I realised I could be useful in helping protect it – our mission is to get every single person we can to come on that journey.”

Al is one of the world’s leading experts on the power of brand, purpose and story in the modern media landscape. He specialises in luxury, fashion, beauty, media and lifestyle categories. He co-founded Sunshine in 2012 and serves as Creative Chairman. He has led Sunshine’s purpose driven initiatives for Gucci’s Chime for Change; Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction; BBC Earth’s Real Happiness Project; Nike’s Girl Effect and Adidas Communities initiative. He is author of ‘The Bee Who Spoke’, published by Thames and Hudson, a love letter to the extraordinary role that bees play in biodiversity.

“I’ve always been most inspired by children and their innate, visceral response to the natural world. They don’t go on a walk in a forest, they run like they’re soaring through the air like a red kite… or crawl on the ground to march alongside an army of ants. As Mary Oliver says, “the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese… over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”

Amanda is a highly experienced board-level executive, specialising in global brand creation, development and transformation across Media, Luxury, Retail, Production & FMCG. Amanda is a partner in On Purpose Group, an impact strategy and entertainment agency focused on the most critical issues being faced by our planet. Previously Amanda served as the first global CMO for BBC Studios and was responsible for developing the BBC brand strategy and portfolio internationally. She also founded BBC Earth and spearheaded its development into a global brand reaching >1bn around the world. Amanda also served as Global CMO for A&E Networks and worked with Harrods as their first Chief Marketing and Customer Officer. Amanda also serves as a Trustee on several boards and is an adjunct professor in Marketing.

“The natural world is nothing short of amazing… from Biodiversity – look at the sheer variety of species…to Evolution – notice the neck of the Giraffe or the trunk of the Elephant, you just couldn’t make it up…to processes like Photosynthesis – the ‘serendipity’ of animals taking in oxygen and giving out carbon dioxide whilst plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen…how neat is that.”

Jo is the CEO of On Purpose Group, a purpose driven content agency that focuses on the planet’s biggest challenges. Producing and funding TV and social media content for all the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Jo brings many years of experience from BBC Studios, as Director of Factual she was behind the conception, investment and marketing of the most successful international Factual content of the last twenty years: Walking With Dinosaurs, Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Planet Earth, Planet Earth II to name but a few. Inspired by what’s been coined “the Blue Planet effect’s” impact on Plastics, Jo believes that ‘big noisy content’ can absolutely change consumer behaviour. Previously Jo worked at Diageo and Cable & Wireless as a multi award winning marketer.

“What fascinates me most about nature is the ability of organisms to adapt and make their way through a number of impossible scenarios, while remaining in perfect balance. I shudder (it hurts me) to think that we people have the power of destroying millions of years of evolution in the blink of an eye.”

Artist Yago Partal’s work encompasses a multitude of visual disciplines including photography, illustration and video. As director of two production companies over the past decade, Yago has created campaigns for brands such as Adobe, The Body Shop and NMBS and his images have appeared in projects for Apple, Media Arts Lab and Queensland Tourism & Events among others. Conceptual design work for films has included “The Skin I Live In” and “The Impossible”. Yago’s most ambitious project to date, Zoo Portraits allowed him to rediscover his passion for zoology. Combining his academic background in environmental biology and interest in conservation, this series of anthropomorphic animal portraits aim to engage the view with the issues facing our natural world. We’re thrilled to have him as part of the People V Extinction team ✌️

“Sir David Attenborough said that ‘saving the planet was now a communications challenge’. I want to communicate how wonderful that planet is in order that we all get on board to save it.”

Gail started her career working tor advertising agencies, before taking a role in marketing at the BBC where, over an 8 year period, she led the marketing of Radio 1, BBC News, Sport, CBeebies and BBC Three. As a consultant Gail worked to relaunch non-profit brands such as Children in Need, The Camden Roundhouse and Sports Relief. In 2010 Gail was appointed CEO of the ad agency Fallon, part of the Publicis Group. After Co-Founding Project Everyone, Gail had a spell as CEO of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. In 2019 she launched Project 17, a consultancy alongside her non-profit work helping the private sector orient their purpose around the Global Goals.

Most of us live on bricks in cities, the closest we come to nature is maybe a lawn or a park. But really we are all creatures. And we 100% depend on a healthy ecosystem and the natural world for our sheer existence. This message is hugely important for human creatures to receive and to start acting on.

Eva Kruse is the Group SVP, Global Engagement & Impact at PANGAIA, a direct-to-consumer materials science company on a mission to save the environment through breakthrough innovations for everyday lifestyle products. Through the engagement of multiple society stakeholders, Eva Kruse has been a pioneer by spearheading the movement toward a more responsible fashion industry for more than 15 years, as the founder and previous CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week as well as Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) the non-profit organisation behind the renowned landmark event Copenhagen Fashion Summit. Under Kruse’s leadership, GFA has also accelerated the industry’s transition towards a more circular fashion system through its 2020 Commitment and policy work, as well as setting the benchmark for measuring and reporting on industry progress.

“From canoeing down the Amazon river, to climbing in the Himalayas, to diving in the Galapagos, I’ve been lucky enough to see the beauty and majesty of untouched nature up close. But I’ve also seen its degradation and the steady decline in my lifetime of places that I thought were eternal and untouchable. This helped me realize the importance of Biodiversity to us all and the communications challenge it faces. The tools of brand and communications can help in getting every single person on the planet to realize that we are all a part of nature, not apart from it.”

Ed is a globally recognised creative, writer and strategic leader. Specialising in brand storytelling, brand strategy and the evolution of 21st century brand thinking and communications.

As the CCO and CSO of Sunshine – Ed has consulted at the highest levels with Dior Parfum, Diesel, Balmain, Bacardi Group, Apple, Adidas, H&M and multiple others. And he has developed purpose-led strategy, education and marketing initiatives for organizations like The Green Party, Unilever, HSBC, Adidas and BAFTA.