Our Team

Renewable World is managed by a small secretariat based in Brighton and has regional offices in Kathmandu, Nairobi and Managua.

The charity employs a team to work on strategic development, project implementation and research, fundraising and marketing and communications.

Neil Jeffery

Chief Executive Officer

01273 234 801

neil.jeffery@renewable-world.org

Neil has a decade’s experience leading and building organizations: forf ive years he was Executive Director of a research and policy institute in Washington DC providing analysis for the US Congress and more recently he has successfully led two UK based organizations through significant periods of change and growth, as CEO of International Development Enterprises and Executive Director of the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights.

Neil has worked with poor communities in the developing world for over 20 years with particular expertise in poverty and economic development. He lived and worked in Latin America for several years, is a fluent Spanish speaker and has an MBA with distinction from Sir John Cass Business School and an MA from the University of Cambridge.

Jo Kelly

Programme Development Director

01273 234 801
 

jo.kelly@renewable-world.org
Jo has worked in the not-for-profit international development sector for ten years, leading and developing interventions from both head office and in the field. She brings to Renewable World experience of defining, directing and facilitating community-based development approaches; familiarity with training and managing community field teams; and experience in scoping, communicating and implementing international change programmes. Previously she worked for VSO and MAG in a variety of roles.
 
Jo has an MBA from Cranfield University and an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge.

Rob Dumbleton

Corporate Engagement and Business Development Director

01273 234 801
 

rob.dumbleton@renewable-world.org

 awaiting photo

Rob joined Renewable World in January 2013 with over six years of experience as a Management Consultant. He has worked for both Accenture and Qedis as a Change Manager, with experience in organisation transformation, communications and engagement strategy. This is his first role within the Charity and Renewable Industry sectors.

Rob has a BSc in Operations Management from the University of Nottingham and plays rugby for Barnes RFC.

Paolo Mele

East Africa Programme Manager

+ 254 (0) 731 564 791

paolo.mele@renewable-world.org

Paolo joined the Renewable World team as its first overseas Programme Manager and is based in Nairobi. He is an experienced project manager and small business consultant with 20 years of working experience. He has worked in microfinance and income generating projects in a number of developing countries.

He brings business modelling, programme management and mentoring experience to the team. In particular he will ensure local partners get financial management and business planning support to ensure long term sustainability.  His recent working experience has been in Sri Lanka, Uganda and Malawi and has worked in the past with VSO and MicroLoan Foundation and Business Link.

Nick Virr

South Asia Programme Manager

+ 977 1 5533 953

nick.virr@renewable-world.org

Nick has over 23 years proven experience of organisation building and business development. With his concomitant understanding of business models and cash flow analyses he is excellently placed to build the capacity of partners in the region as well as develop the wider programme. Nick successfully built a company in Australia and led the international business development of a European IT solutions company. He has 15 years hands-on experience of working with poverty alleviation projects in Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Ethiopia, and a First Class Degree in International Development and East Asian Studies.

Nick is currently finishing an MSc in Sustainability at the University of Leeds.

Laura Ketteringham

Central America Regional Representative

+505 87 28 74 38

laura.ketteringham@renewable-world.org

Laura joined Renewable World in December 2011 as Programme Support Intern and took up the position of Central America Regional Representative based in Managua in June 2012. Previous experience includes roles with Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado in Seville, Casa Alianza Suisse in Geneva and Article 25.

Laura has a BA in Modern Languages (Spanish and French) from Durham University.  

Lata Shrestha

South Asia Programme Manager

+ 977 1 5520 943

lata.shrestha@renewable-world.org

Lata Shrestha joined Renewable World in Nepal in August 2012. Following a degree in Social Work in Kathmandu, she pursued two separate Masters Degrees in Social Policy and Social Science Research Methods respectively from Middlesex University in London between 2002 and 2006. She had accumulated over 5 years of experience at a managerial level in the social care sector in London before joining Renewable World. She has also worked as a consultant researcher for the International Water Management Institute where she conducted a study on small scale agricultural water storage system in Nepal’s Koshi basin, identifying the social and institutional feasibility of different interventions. Lata brings valuable research skills, human resources and project and service management skills to Renewable World and has a rich understanding of the social and equity issues in Nepal.

Travis Marshall

East Africa Project Manager

+ 254 (0) 788 334 287 

EAprojectmanager@renewable-world.org

Travis joined the Renewable World team in November 2012 to volunteer in Kenya, assisting Paolo Mele as a Project Manager. Based in Kisumu, Travis will be overseeing the RESOLVE project on the shores of Lake Victoria whilst assisting the Programme Manager with other future developments in East Africa. He has over three years of’ experience in project development and management for a renewable energy developer in Scotland.

Travis has a BA in Geographical Information Systems at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.

Giovanna Speciale

Programme Support Intern

01273 234 801

giovanna.speciale@renewable-world.org

Giovanna brings to the team a wealth of experience in managing and delivering community based projects. Prior to joining us she worked both in the UK and overseas supporting community based organizations. At Groundwork London she managed and delivered a plethora environmental/regeneration community based projects. She has considerable experience in community research, needs assessment and evaluation having worked as an independent consultant and as Community Research Officer for The Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector. 

She is currently working towards an MSc in Energy Policy for Sustainability at the University of Sussex. She also has a Ph.D in Cognitive Psychology. She comes to us via an innovative bursary programme that is a partnership between Renewable World, The University of Sussex, E-On and The Crown Estates.

Fran Witt

Communications Manager

01273 234 801

fran.witt@renewable-world.org

Fran is a development professional with a communications, campaigns and advocacy specialism.  Fran has worked throughout her career with Oxfam GB and Christian Aid to change the attitudes and policies that keep people in poverty.  For more than a decade she worked as a campaigner, working with the public to influence decision-makers and the media on international development issues.  She also has a wealth experience of securing funding for, and working on, development projects in Latin America. 

Fran is a fluent Spanish speaker and has an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS, University of London

Sarah Farney

Fundraising Manager

01273 234 801

sarah.farney@renewable-world.org

Prior to joining Renewable World in August 2011, Sarah worked at the RSPB for 8 years, where she led and managed a fundraising team, bringing in up to £2m/year into the South East Region.  She brings with her in-depth experience in fundraising from a broad range of sources, for both revenue and capital projects, including skills in project development and management.  Sarah has also gained experience in development, having worked as Funding Advisor in Sri Lanka with VSO.

Doug Smith

Finance and Corporate Services Senior Manager

01273 234 801

doug.smith@renewable-world.org

Doug initially trained as an auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. However, he has spent most of his professional career in the voluntary sector, working most recently for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance as a cost specialist. He brings to the team expertise in donor budgeting, full cost recovery, fund management and the Charity SORP as well as experience in governance having been a trustee of an international volunteering charity for four years.

Doug is currently in the final year of his Masters in Charity Accounting and Financial Management at Sir John Cass Business School. A French and Mandarin speaker, he has studied in China for two years.

Matt Kinsella

Assistant to the CEO (Administration, Governance and Research Support)

01273 234 801

matt.kinsella@renewable-world.org

Matt joined Renewable World as a volunteer in August 2012 and became a staff member in March 2013, having won a grant towards his salary from the Vodafone Foundation. Matt brings strong project management and administration skills, acquired through more than six and a half years experience in the built environment, serving a range of public sector, commercial and charitable clients on projects of up to £11m in value.

Matt works for us part-time - the rest of his time he works in local government, managing a variety of complex and sensitive construction and energy projects. He is also a professionally qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the leading independent body for standards of excellence and integrity in land, property and construction.

Matt aspires to a successful career in the strategic management of governmental, public-sector and non-profit organisations, and is studying towards an MPA in International Development, to enhance his skills and deepen his knowledge of international development, public administration and governance issues. 

Rory O'Keeffe

Digital Communications and Social Media Intern 

01273 234 801

media@renewable-world.org
Rory joined Renewable World in December 2012, after a ten-year career in political newspaper journalism and NGO-sector communications. His experience includes running the politics department of a daily newspaper during the 2010 General Election and a Communications Consultancy for Save the Children’s Tunisia and Libya programmes in the wake of the Libyan Civil war in 2011.
 
As well as working for us, Rory works in political communications and public campaigning. He has a BA in Politics and Modern International Relations, an NCTJ Senior Reporting qualification, and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Advanced Certificate.
 

Annabel Yadoo

Sustainability Consultant

Annabel advises Renewable World on issues of sustainability within a rural energy and development context.  She has worked as an energy researcher and consultant for a leading international NGO, Practical Action, and has recently completed a PhD on Delivery Models for Decentralised Rural Electrification from the University of Cambridge.  During this time, she has gained extensive fieldwork experience, notably in Peru, Nepal, Kenya, Nicaragua and Mozambique, published four journal and conference papers, presented at three international conferences, and spent two months working as a researcher and assistant policy adviser in DFID’s low carbon development team (part of the Climate and Environment Group). 

Annabel is now concentrating on building up her private sector skill set, working as a consultant for a leading management and strategy consultancy, Oliver Wyman.  Annabel has a MPhil in Development Studies and a MA in Modern Languages (Spanish and German) from the University of Cambridge.