We are delighted to introduce the independent judging panel for the GSL Global Goals competition. Each member of this years panel has been specially selected on the basis of their global experiences and/or a knowledge of sustainable development. They represent a wide range of specialisms and bring a wealth of personal and professional experience to the panel.
Final Round Judges
AMANDA BEST
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICE, NCS TRUST
Amanda has a career spanning over 30 years of operational delivery of public services, the last decade principally in services for children and young people. With a career ranging from public transport, to Ofsted inspections, Sure Start Children’s Centres and local authority services, for the last ten years she has supported the delivery of National Citizen Service, both as a delivery partner and with the NCS Trust. A mother of three, a board member of her local credit union and former school chair of governors, she is an enthusiastic advocate of young people accessing interesting and stimulating opportunities.
AMY BRERETON
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENACTUS UK & IRELAND
Amy is a high-energy, passionate and driven advocate for social impact and community development determined to make the world a better more sustainable place for us all! As the Executive Director of Enactus UK & Ireland, Amy is proud to lead a national team of students and professionals who use business and innovation to drive sustainable positive impact in their communities daily. She is a firm believer that young people and their creativity and curiosity hold the key to the world’s toughest challenges and Amy cannot wait to see the solutions they create!
DANIEL SHAKHANI
CO-FOUNDER OF SALARY FINANCE
Daniel is a renowned British-born inventor, social entrepreneur, financier, and philanthropist, providing leadership and guidance to business engagements and helping us to scale our impact and partnerships.
He has been ranked among the Business Insider 100 most influential people shaping British technology in 2019. In March 2023, Daniel became Chair of the Business Advisory Board of GSL. He is passionate about the Global Goals, and the role business can play in creating a brighter future for all.
HOLLY MUNFORD
HEAD OF PHILANTHROPY & DEVELOPMENT AT ARK
Holly is the Head of Philanthropy & Development for Ark, running their fundraising team and building relationships with philanthropists who want to make a difference in education. Holly has a wide range of experience from both the charity and education sectors and is passionate about working with people that want to see change happen.
JODIE MCNALLY
CHIEF PROGRAMMES OFFICER, EY FOUNDATION
Jodie is an experienced charity leader of 20+ years. She is passionate about social justice and creating a fairer society for all.
She is currently Chief Programmes Officer at the EY Foundation where she has been for just over 7 years. She sits on the Leadership team and is responsible for all of the programmatic activity with young people as well as Youth Voice, Volunteering and Data and Impact.
MORGAN PHILLIPS
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AT GLOBAL ACTION PLAN
Morgan works for environmental charity, Global Action Plan, where he leads work on education and youth engagement. Outside of GAP, Morgan is on the education committee for Black Mountains College, volunteers for climate change adaptation charity The Glacier Trust, and is a governor at New Quay Primary Schools in west Wales.
DARREN COXON
FOUNDER OF COXON AI
Darren is the Founder of Coxon AI, a consultancy specialising in leveraging AI to make schools places people want to be, not have to be. An educator for 25 years, Darren has most recently managed the operation of school groups, notably Brighton College’s international schools and Britus Education, Bahrain. Darren has been at the forefront of educational technology for many years, including leading the first state 6th form in the UK to move to an iPad 1:1 model. He is now a major thought leader on AI in education and has delivered training, keynotes and workshops for HMC, COBIS, BSME, GSA, Independent Schools Portal, the National College, Wellington College, and GESS Dubai.
JENNY WILLMOTT
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR PROGRAMME DELIVERY, STIR EDUCATION
Jenny has over 20 years leadership experience in charities and NGOs in the UK and globally. She is currently the Senior Director for Programme Delivery at STIR Education. STIR focus on improving learning outcomes for all children by inspiring teacher motivation and currently reaches 500,000 teachers and 12 million children across 4 countries.
Jenny was previously Chief Operating Officer at Scholé, an international education management company running schools across East Africa. She is a qualified executive coach and mentor and holds a MSc in voluntary sector leadership from Bayes Business School. From July, she will transition to the role of Co-CEO at STIR. She is based in Kampala.
TAYLOR HART ODOM
ASSOCIATE MANAGER OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
Taylor Hart serves as the Associate Manager of Strategic Initiatives at the International Baccalaureate (IB), where she is dedicated to fostering innovative projects that drive the organization’s mission forward. In 2023, Taylor Hart led the successful launch of the IB Global Youth Action Fund, an initiative aimed at empowering young to take action worldwide. Now in its second year, the IB Global Youth Action Fund funds student entrepreneurship projects around the world, empowering young leaders to enact positive change in their communities. Taylor Hart supports various youth initiatives at IB, championing programs that amplify youth perspectives and drive meaningful impact.
MARCUS WARD
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, INTEL CORPORATION
Marcus has over 30 years experience in the Semiconductor/Technology sector and has spent the last 15 years at Intel, supporting multiple customers across a range of market sectors, working on Intel FPGA and CPU solutions.
In his current role within the Intel EMEA Centre of Excellence, Marcus is responsible for aligning Intel’s future technology roadmaps (both hardware and software) with the specific challenges and solutions required by the UK Public sector. His focus lies in seamlessly integrating emerging technologies such as AI, Quantum, Edge/Cloud computing, CPU & GPU, all aimed at accelerating security and real-time data analytics capabilities at the edge.
REBECCA WARREN
ENROLLMENT & STUDENT LEARNING, TILTING FUTURES
Rebecca is a passionate educator who loves supporting young people to take meaningful action on things they care about to help create a better world – indeed that has been the central theme of all her work, whether in schools, curriculum development or non-profits. She currently works at Tilting Futures, that offers 17-21 year olds an immersive semester in Cape Town, South Africa, where they do an apprenticeship with organizations that advance human rights and live and learn with an international cohort!
SARAH GIOKABARI
SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT MANGER, EMPATHY STUDIOS
Sarah is a former Assistant Headteacher who led on all things personal development: mental health and wellbeing, PSHE, student voice, student leadership, anti-racism, PP, and assemblies. Having had the privilege and responsibility to do so made her very aware of how important empathy is for our schools! She has also taught English and PSHE to secondary age pupils in London, Luton and Liverpool.
Sarah is also a lover of learning, so in addition to her BA in Education and English Language and Communication and her PGCE in English, she has an MA in Leadership with UCL and is currently undertaking PhD research in the Education arena.
MICHELLE DAVIES
PARTNER AT ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Michelle is a law partner at EY and leads the global sustainability team for Law. She specialises in energy transition, sustainability and decarbonised solutions and ESG, advising globally. Her clients are those seeking decarbonised and sustainable solutions as well as those providing and financing them and include financial institutions, clean energy and energy transition developers and suppliers, corporates and Governments.
Michelle is focused on helping the sector deliver and sits on many industry bodies including the Policy Committee of the Renewable Energy Association, Chair of the Climate Change Committee Advisory Group, Chair of the REA Finance Steering Group, Climate Bond Initiative Advisory Board, Advisory Boards of Dii.
She is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and as an attorney in New York. Michelle is a Fulbright Scholar and a John Rankin Scholar and has a first class LLB from UCL and an LLM from UC Berkeley.
NOREEN KASSAM
EDUCATION PROGRAMME MANAGER, PROJECT EVERYONE
Noreen is a Programme Manager in the Education team at Project Everyone. Within this role, she builds and manages relationships with educators, NGOs, and implementation partners across the world to deliver exciting and impactful learning programmes. She manages The Happiness Project, a social emotional learning programme helping students learn about happiness and share it with others. She is also responsible for the World’s Largest Lesson Africa Portfolio, where she works with education partners to bring the SDGs into more classrooms across Kenya, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.
Prior to this, she was an events manager supporting the international education community in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Opening Round Judges
PAUL TALLENT
PRIMARY CAREERS FACILITATOR NORTH EAST COMBINED AUTHORITY
Paul co-leads a network of primary schools across the North East of England through the North East Ambition Programme. The network aims to support schools to develop a strategic approach to career related learning in order to raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes and develop links with employers.
Since starting his career in education, Paul has worked as a teacher, senior leader and curriculum advisor in the UK and abroad. He cares deeply about creating opportunities for young people to thrive and reach their full potential in a rapidly changing world.
AFAQ SARBAZ
PROJECT MANGER & HR AT JATAQ TECHNOLOGIES
Afaq is a Project Manager & HR at Jataq Technologies and a dedicated social impact advocate. But when he’s not at work, he’s all about making a difference.
With over 2+ Years of experience in field of Social Action Projects, Afaq has led projects like “Spreading Smiles Across Miles” for mental health in higher education, “Aviation Saviors” addressing bird strike awareness and waste management, and mentors the “Electric Bikes” initiative for EVs and campus policy development. He is excited to be part of this competition, to see ideas of positive change and fostering innovative solutions for sustainability.
ABBIE MARKS
PROJECT MANAGER AT CARDIFF COMMITMENT
Abbie is a Project Manager on the Cardiff Commitment team who specialise in facilitating relationships between industry and education to develop provision opportunities for young people Cardiff which helps raise their career aspirations.
Abbie has worked alongside the Future Foundations team for a couple of years now and truly admires the work that they do! As an ex-teacher she has an eye for detail and love to give feedback. She looks forward to seeing the fantastic work produced by the students taking part in the GSL Global Goals Competition.
AYESHA RASHID
ADMINISTRATOR AT AIDACARE
Teaching was not only Ayesha’s job but a passion for herself. She had an amazing time experiencing the growth in her students through putting themselves out there and taking stand for a cause. Ayesha was an O’level teacher for 6 years in Pakistan. Her career has seen variety, while gaining exposure in the industry in different countries and she can say it has easily been the most fulfilling being with children. Ayesha is currently residing in Australia, working as a coordinator/administrator and very excited to be able to judge for GSL Global Goals Competition.
PAULA PETER
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND CULTURE MANAGER AT KYKLOS
With a background in corporate communication, Paula has transitioned her focus over the past 12 years to environmental culture development. She firmly believes that economic growth should be accompanied by social and environmental progress. With experience in working with diverse communities globally, Paula has led numerous collaboration initiatives. In her current role at Kyklos, a B Corp based in Santiago, Chile, she contributes to the development of environmental educational programs. These programs target corporations, schools, social organizations, and NGOs, aiming to foster a sustainable culture that prioritizes the well-being of the environment and its inhabitants.
HANNAH GOW
CAREERS FACILITATOR AT NORTH EAST COMBINED AUTHORITY
Hannah is a Careers Facilitator working at the North East Combined Authority, co-leading a network of primary schools in the North East of England. Hannah’s work with primary schools supports teachers and businesses to collaborate to create opportunities for children to realise their potential and strive for brilliance. Hannah has worked with primary and secondary schools, developing curriculum delivery and managing stakeholder relationships to improve outcomes for young people whilst connecting future talent to local employers. Such partnerships endeavour to close the skills gap, supporting positive economic and community impact in an ever-changing world that demands innovative solutions from future generations.
CLAIRE ARNOTT
SENIOR PROGRAMME MANAGER – YOUTH AND SCHOOLS AT GLOBAL ACTION PLAN
Claire is Senior Programme Manager of Youth and Schools at Global Action Plan, supporting young people internationally to take action for a more just, sustainable and compassionate world. Claire started her career as a Primary Teacher in Scotland, where she first developed an interest in global learning and a nurturing approach to education. She has since worked with schools, universities and charities, engaging young people with the topics of climate justice, trade, ethical consumption and sustainability. Claire holds a Master’s degree in Education and International Development from the UCL Institute of Education and has studied International Relations and Primary Education at the University of Aberdeen and University of Lapland.
JUHI KORE
RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERISTY OF OXFORD
Juhi Kore is a published researcher and Master’s degree holder, specialising in technology policy, from the University of Oxford. For the last 7 years, Juhi has worked with 300+ startups and policy organisations to further her mission to advocate for responsible AI, promoting ESG initiatives and prioritising security and equity for all.
Juhi has advocated for these causes at the U.S. Congress, the TEDx stage and at several conferences in the U.S. and the U.K. In 2018, Juhi published her first book “”You Got This!: How to Win at College”” intended for international students and first-generation students as a comprehensive guide to personal, academic, and professional development during university.
EMILY METENS
CIVIL SERVANT AT THE UK CIVIL SERVICE
UK Civil Servant since 2016 with experience teaching English in Japan and working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
TEJINDER KAUR
VOLUNTEER FOR LEPROSY ELIMINATION SOCIETY, MOHALI
Tejinder is a Master in Public Heath and voluntary peer reviewer of International journals.
REBECCA LIU
STUDENT, UNIVERISTY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN
Rebecca is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Management major on the pre-med track. She will be entering her gap year soon and aspires to attend medical school in the near future.
MARA SIMMONS
SENIOR COACH/ GLOBAL LEAD AT CTL ACADEMY 
Passionate about teaching, learning & empowering others. Over 25 years as a teacher, school founder, head & teacher training programme leader.
MICHELLE HORNE
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT THE DIANA AWARD
Michelle is Director of Operations at The Diana Award – a charity set up in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world.
Michelle worked at Future Foundations for 8 years, and is passionate about youth social action.
BROOKE BACIGAL
SCHWARZMAN SCHOLAR, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
Brooke Bacigal is a current Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Previously she worked at a London-based gov-tech consultancy where she supported the design of an innovation fellowship for senior government officials in the United Kingdom. Brooke studied Public Policy at the University of Michigan and wrote an MSt in Diplomatic Studies at Oxford University. In undergrad she co-founded a refugee education organization through a student accelerator and has been committed to tech for good and public sector innovation ever since!
TOM HARRIS
SENIOR ENTERPRISE COORDINATOR AT SMARTSEARCH
Since graduating from Hull University Business School in 2022 Tom has worked for SmartSearch, managing the Enterprise Support Team and helping the organisations largest clients remain compliant and meet their AML due diligence obligations.
Tom also uses his diverse set of skills and experience in project management, marketing and sustainable enterprise to support a number of local and national not-for-profit events and social enterprise ventures.
MALIK UMAIR AHMED
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LIAISONS AT U.S. MISSION PAKISTAN
Malik Umair Ahmed is a Lieutenant retired from Pakistan Navy and currently serving as an Equal Employment Opportunity Liaison at U.S. Mission Pakistan. He did his Professional Diploma in Marketing from UK followed by Executive MBA from Pakistan. Due to his work to being social change in his society by empowering unemployed youth, Malik was nominated and subsequently awarded the Fellowship of Royal Society of Arts, UK in 2018.
CHRIS EVES
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT
Chris has a background in green investment, business sustainability, and natural capital markets. He is experienced in helping companies to conserve forests and support rural livelihoods, and in guiding private investment into emerging markets for carbon, biodiversity, and water. He has worked for a range of civil society organisations operating internationally, including time spent at WWF-UK, Proforest, and ZSL. In these roles he has helped deliver sustainable landscape investment and develop forest positive policies and strategies. As part of the UK Government, he helped design and launch a new £12 billion public financing institution to address market failures and drive investment toward climate action and local economic growth. He also has five years of experience working as an environmental consultant at AECOM, where his work focused on the policy and economics of emerging ecosystem markets. He has an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London, specialising in
ecological management.
TAWHIDUR RAHMAN
CHIEF OF BUSINESS & STRATEGY AT RETAKE
Entrepreneur and sustainability advocate with over 5 years of experience in Business Strategy & Growth. Co-founder of Retake, a leading sustainable electronics startup in Dubai, dedicated to achieving net-zero e-waste through circular economy practices. Active participant in global youth collaboration initiatives like the UNESCO Global Youth Community and Children & Youth Major Group to UNEP. Passionate about addressing the intersection of migration and climate change as a member of the Migration Youth & Children Platform. Founder & Executive Director of Women’s Advocacy & Resource (WAAR), focusing on empowering marginalized women through climate-focused initiatives. Recognized for contributions to occupational safety and health, including winning 2nd Prize at the National Occupational Safety & Health Summit 2023. Fellow of the One Million Leaders Asia Fellowship 2024 Cohort and International Anti-Corruption Spring School 2024 by the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA). IEP Ambassador at the Institute for Economics & Peace. Committed to driving positive change and sustainability on a global scale.
ROSANNA LUZARRAGA
TEACHER, CHADWICK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
With 26 years of experience, including 21 years spent teaching internationally, Ms. Rosanna Claudia Luzarraga is a passionate educator who fosters global citizenship through innovative math instruction. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes “humanity for education,” and they weave the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into both math units and after-school activities. Rosanna has led transformative service learning trips, immersing students in diverse cultures and providing them with real-world opportunities to address global issues. Her dedication extends to coaching award-winning teams, with Greener is Cleaner claiming victory in the GSL Competition (2021) and Philippines Service Learning reaching the GSL semi-finals (2020).
ANNA WEST
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR APPRENTICESHIPS AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Anna joined the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education in 2018. Currently on maternity leave, she most recently led the skills strategy team which looked at how IFATE could increase confidence in the skills system and make it easier to access. She previously led for IFATE on apprenticeship funding and approvals, and set up IFATE’s strategy to make apprenticeships greener in support of net zero targets. Before joining the Institute she worked at the Treasury, leading a team responsible for improving the UK’s financial capability and addressing increasing levels of consumer debt. She has also worked at the Department for Transport, leading the consumer incentives team in the Office for Low Emission vehicles at a key point in the drive to increase uptake of electric vehicles in the UK. Before joining the Institute, she took a career break to complete a Masters in Behavioural Economics, and lived in Malawi for a few months, helping a small charity to build a financial reporting system.
PAULA WORTHINGTON
PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER AT WORTHINGTON PR & STORY
Paula Worthington is the President and Founder of Worthington PR & Story, a sought-after public relations and communications agency located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She helps companies and organizations share their stories with the world, while elevating their reputation in the market. Her PR agency is also home to Noble Arrow, a unique agency-within-an-agency concept that serves the not-for-profit sector by providing strategic PR, digital and communications counsel.
Paula started her career working for Enactus, a global organization dedicated to the development of entrepreneurial leadership. During her time at the Enactus Canada office, she developed her skills in event management, communications, entrepreneurial thinking and social enterprise development. After four years with Enactus, she quickly grew her career in public relations and marketing, initially representing the ski and tourism industry, then working in marketing for a national airline. She made a leap to join a PR agency in 2009. Over the course of the next nine years, she worked for two award-winning agencies before launching her own firm in 2018.
In 2022, Paula was inducted into the Canadian Marketing, Advertising, Communications and PR Hall of Fame. Outside of the office, Paula flexes her storytelling mastery as a freelance travel writer and photographer, and she is a faculty member at Mount Royal University, teaching in the Public Relations program.
GSL | MEMBERSHIP
Our bespoke leadership and social action programme is for schools that share our vision to equip young people with the skills and mindsets to become socially conscious leaders in their lives and communities! Through this programme, students embark on a journey to design and deliver social action projects aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Connect with our team to find about how your school can get involved!
GSL | CATALYST
GSL Catalyst Course is our NEW 4-month course for junior students aged 11 – 14 years. The course gives students the opportunity to become social leaders in their schools and communities and meet other students from around the world. Book now for our early bird discount!
GSL | ACCELERATOR
GSL Accelerator Course is back with a NEW design! This course is for senior students (15 – 18 years) enabling them to becoming social leaders in today’s society. They will design a Social Action Project with the support of our highly experienced team through this interactive 4-month course. Book now while the Early Bird discount still applies!