Polly Higgins is a barrister, international environmental lawyer and environmentalist. 

In November 2008 Polly initiated the call to the United Nations for a Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights. In December 2009, she launched the Planet Earth Trust, whereby people of the world can become trustees of the planet.  You can read more at Trees Have Rights Too.  Polly was voted by the Ecologist magazine as "One of the Top Ten Visionaries to Save the Planet" for her work on Planetary Rights. She is an acknowledged expert on Earth Jurisprudence.

Founder of the Wise Women network, in her spare time Polly also blogs as The Lazy Environmentalist & has written for various environmental and women’s magazines.

Polly is a regular speaker on:

Planetary Rights, Natural Laws, inspired visioning for the New World, The Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights, Wild Law,

Women Empowering Women and The Positive Role of Women in the Environment.

Louise Burfitt-Dons is a writer/presenter and a director of Global Warming Alliance, a not for profit research and campaigning company.  Louise compiles the You Tube channel Global Warming Hotspot which is a video log summary of international climate change news with auto translation subtitles and also the blog globalwarminghotspot.blogspot.com

A professional motivational speaker and founder of a children’s charity, Louise has established a reputation of inspiring a wide range of audiences to action on humanitarian and social issues.  Louise has been spearheading the international Hot Woman Campaign calling on all women to be involved in the unfolding drama of anthropogenic effects on our warming planet.

Louise speaks on:

Global Warming News, Inspiring Women to Change Back the Climate

Penney Poyzer is an author, broadcaster and campaigner on a wide range of issues. She co-owns the longest established eco-retrofit of a Victorian house in the UK. She is patron and trustee of a number of charities including the Women’s Environmental Network, Music4Children (and trustee), Climate Outreach Information Network and the Low Carbon Communities Network.

Penney works specialises in workshops with women in low income communities and with Muslim women. She is also a consultant to the Environment Agency and adviser to a wide range of organisations with a particular interesting in greening up our existing housing stock.

She is also a visiting Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and a passionate supporter of Transition Towns and Low Carbon Communities.

Penney regularly speaks on:

Women and the environment, practical steps to low carbon living, greening our existing housing stock, renewables and energy markets, the water environment, waste minimisation, energy saving in the home, education and the environment, theology and the environment, low carbon food and drink, local growing, transitional living toward a low carbon nation and a range of other issues.

Susan Sheehan is co-founder of the Hyde Farm Climate Action Network based around a Victorian/Edwardian housing estate in Balham, South London.

Susan believes that many people want to reduce their impact on the environment but that they don’t quite know how to go about it. By offering practical solutions that help overcome knowledge and time barriers, Hyde Farm residents have started to take action to reduce their carbon emissions. 

Susan is a Green Ambassador for the Energy Saving Trust and has been featured on several news programmes to talk about household energy efficiency and food growing in small spaces. In September 2008 she received a visit in her home from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. 

Susan is a 2009 London Leader working with the London Sustainable Development Commission to inspire action on climate change through communities. She has recently been appointed Lambeth’s Green Communities Champion.

Susan speaks regularly on:

Her experiences of engaging her own community and inspiring action on climate change.

Sarah Bearpark is a chartered Civil Engineer and chartered environmentalist.  She has worked in a large engineering consultancy and has experience of environmental issues in construction.   

Sarah is currently Curriculum Leader for Sustainable Development at Cambridge Regional College who are partners in the SmartLIFE project.  Sarah’s role involves teaching students and developing new courses about the environment and sustainable development.  Sarah also developed and delivers a renewable energy course for Thomas Telford Training

Areas of interest include (but not limited to):

Modern methods of construction, renewable energy, environmental management, construction environmental management.

Charlene Collison is consultant and facilitator of futures conversations. She works within government, business and voluntary organisations, shaping dialogues that explore future trends and build resilient visions.   Her approaches encompass story, biographical narrative and metaphor to create rich pictures and inspire courageous actions. She is a regular speaker on communicating vision and values, particularly through the medium of story and narrative.

Charlene is engaged in helping local communities create visions for reducing energy use and building sustainable lifestyles, particularly through the Transition Towns movement.

Charlene is a regular facilitator in futurefocus, a futures think tank and strategic planning centre within BERR, and in futures consultancy. Recent projects include working with four government departments to shape joined up visions for future priorities; re-defining future trends facing corporate law and governance; creating stories for exploring healthcare scenarios. She is a member of the Association for Social Development and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Charlene speaks on:

futures, building and communicating vision, Transition Towns, storytelling (as a tool for building and communication vision)

Sue Blacker is Managing Director of The Natural Fibre Company, which processes pure natural British wool, mohair and alpaca into knitting and weaving yarns.  Since buying the business 3 years ago she has developed it to undertake the full range of textile making processes, including the recent addition of a dye plant using organically accredited dyes.  She has just launched an online shop and catalogue to make these products available to a wider public under the brand of Blacker Designs.

Previously, she worked on environmental, economic and social regeneration in the South West as chief executive of The Silvanus Trust and Groundwork Plymouth Area. Until returning to her native Cornwall in 1989, Sue worked in the City as a stockbroker, specialising in high technology investment research.  

She also has a smallholding and breeds pedigree Gotland sheep.  

Sue speaks on: sustainable economic development, rural and farming issues, fibre to finished product in wool, mohair and alpaca, small business development

Susan Ring is a solicitor and partner in the firm of Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law with a Master of Laws degree in environmental law. She deals with all areas of environmental law including judicial review and nuisance, with particular expertise in environmental impact assessment (“EIA”). 

She has acted for objectors to airport expansion (Heathrow Terminal 5 Inquiry and night flights) and to controversial developments including at Spitalfields Market and Crystal Palace.

Susan was The Times' ‘Lawyer of the Week' in January 2007 when she won the landmark Barker EIA case in the House of Lords, requiring the Government to amend its EIA Regulations.

Susan regularly speaks on: Environmental law matters including environmental impact assessment in planning, nuisance and airport expansion.

Catherine Budgett-Meakin has been involved with environment and development issues since the early 1980s.  She worked for (then) ITDG for 15 years, finally as its communications manager.  Since 1998, she has been a consultant, and from 2001 has been involved with population issues.  She was the coordinator of the Population and Sustainability Network until April 2008.  In May 2008 she and her husband, John Mead, set up the Highgate Climate Action Network – which is going from strength to strength.  She has given many presentations on behalf of ITDG and the Population and Sustainability Network, including chairing an event to launch the Network as a UN Partnership at the United Nations, New York, April, 2004.

Catherine speaks on: Environment and Climate Change

Dr. Mandy Meikle has a PhD in Microbiology and has been campaigning on energy issues since 1997. She has given over 35 talks on peak oil and the links to climate change since 2004. She is a passionate environmentalist who believes that we must seriously reduce energy demand ASAP.

Mandy speaks on:

Peak Oil, Biofuels, Net Energy, Energy Demand Reduction, Transition Towns, Coal

At the age of 24 Jen Marsden is the Home & Lifestyle Editor of the Green Guide and has already established herself as a highly informed specialist focusing on all things ethical, organic and environmentally friendly living. She has edited and contributed to a wide range of ethical lifestyle publications including New Consumer, SmartPlanet, The Metro, Sublime magazine and Seven Global column.

Jen is the author of the ‘Green Guide for Weddings’ a special series of books for Green Guide, an imprint of Markham Publishing. Her forthcoming publications are Green Guide for Home & Household and Green Guide to Fashion & Beauty.

Jen speaks on:

fair & ethical trade, organic, (Green) weddings, fashion, beauty, interior décor, cleaning, food & drink, eco consumerism in the calendar (i.e. Valentine’s day, Christmas, Easter), gap years & volunteer travel

Helen Lynn is a consultant who has worked on issues linking women, health and the environment for 14 yrs. She worked at the Women’s Environmental Network for 12 years, leading the organisation and initiating innovative campaigns on breast cancer prevention and cosmetics. She specialises in engaging women at all levels to get active around issues that affect them, their families, workplaces, and environment.

Helen has been strategically involved in International and European campaigns on chemicals, gender and the environment. She has spoken at major UN and EU conferences and regularly runs workshops.

She was one of the founders of the No More Breast Cancer Campaign and on the International Advisory Board for Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF).

Helen talks on:

Women, health and the environment, cosmetics, beauty and the environment, breast cancer as a preventable disease, making your own cosmetics, and successful campaigning .

Leonora Oppenheim works as a Sustainable Design Consultant, collaborating with architects, designers and curators on innovative projects that are dedicated to pushing eco-design into the mainstream. Leonora is the founder and director of Elio Studio - a multidisciplinary design & consultancy practice that communicates environmental issues to the wider public in engaging & entertaining ways. 

Leonora's design and consultancy projects are complemented by her writing on eco-design and ethical consumerism for treehugger.com. As a key member of TreeHugger's editorial team since the early days of its creation she has witnessed the dramatic rise in environmental awareness from the front row. Leonora is also a regular contributor to coolhunting.com where she reports on Design, Fashion and Art.

Leonora has presented at various high profile events including, Birmingham City University's Big Debate,  Grand Designs Live, and Pecha Kucha Barcelona.

Leonora is available to speak about: eco-design, green lifestyles, ethical fashion, and fair trade.

If you would like to be included on this database, please email speakers@wisewomen.me.uk with a photo, a short summary of your specialist areas (120 words max), what you speak on, your contact details and links.

To book a speaker contact speakers@wisewomen.me.uk