WHO WE ARE
MEET THE BOARD
Alexander Colling
Founder & Chair of the Board
Alexander currently manages people and operations in Europe for the global environmental justice movement Break Free From Plastic and sits on the Advisory Board of Radical Ecology. His work is informed by 17 years in the third sector, in roles spanning frontline homelessness work, grants, events, people, culture and governance. He has a particular interest in participatory and co-creative approaches to equity in the workplace.
Dr Cornelia Kawann
Board Member
Dr. Cornelia Kawann is an executive in the Swiss electricity industry and the founder of energy-on! During her corporate career, she has held various management positions in several energy companies in Europe, all the while founding two start-ups.
As a Personal Energy Strategist Cornelia empowers busy female leaders to use their full energy and thrive in their career and business. She also often appears on podcasts as a guest and at international conferences as a speaker.
Natalia Equihua
Founder & Board Member
Natalia has worked in NGOs for the past 8 years, in organisations specialising in violence against women and migrants rights, leading on communications, policy and research activities. She has a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies from Queen’s University at Kingston where she researched the migration journeys of Latin American women in Canada. She has also volunteered supporting migrant women in Mexico City and provided crisis support for survivors of sexual violence in Scotland. She is particularly interested in migration processes, women’s rights and their intersections. Additionally, Natalia is a community organiser within the Latin American community in Scotland, where she founded her own community group Con L de Latinas, and is a trustee of Refugee Education for Equal Employment Opportunities, a UK-based charity supporting refugees to achieve meaningful employment. She believes that everyone should have access to equal employment opportunities and a fair workplace, and is excited to support CWE in this mission.
Eddie Hartley
Board Member
Eddie is the Culture and Inclusion Partner at Comic Relief, based in London (UK), with professional experience spanning organisational culture, equity, engagement, and volunteer leadership. Prior to joining Comic Relief, he led volunteer management and LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives at Sue Ryder, supporting the development of inclusive and values-led organisational practices. Eddie holds a degree in Law with French from the University of Nottingham (2024) and is passionate about advancing equitable, collaborative, and people-centred approaches to organisational development and workplace culture.
Roxane Lavanchy
Board Member
An independent consultant, facilitator and researcher with a cross-sector, interdisciplinary lens, and qualifications in workplace training, Roxane blends expertise in the disabled-led sector, an academic background studying marginalisation, lived experience of migration and disability and contributions to leading research to build inclusive workplaces, services and spaces worldwide. Roxane has previously collaborated with the United Nations World Food Programme, the UK Parliament, Transport for London and many more.
Skye Male
Founder & Board Member
Skye Male is a problem-solver, creative thinker, and activist. As the Global Movement Building Coordinator for the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement, she serves as the lead for BFFP’s movement building workstream and the coordinator of many of BFFP’s engagement, capacity-building, and innovation initiatives worldwide. Prior to BFFP, Skye spent a decade doing communications and project management in the education and technology spaces in the Philippines, where she told stories from the grassroots and enabled community projects. Skye has dedicated her career to uplifting the voices of underrepresented and vulnerable sectors and promoting intersectional and innovative approaches to problem-solving—which she hopes to bring to CWE to advocate for equity across workplaces around the world.
Soffia Baragar (she/her)
Board Member
Soffia works as a Social Policy Consultant based in Berlin. She is passionate about social research and policies that contribute to enhancing wellbeing and equity of opportunity across social groups and she has a keen interest in sociology of work. She has an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Manitoba (Canada), a Master’s degree in International Social and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Iceland. She has worked on a variety of interdisciplinary and academic projects related to equity within the workplace, including research into work-life balance among parents in academia, increasing proportional representation in STEM professions, and examining the four-day work week in relation to workplace norms, productivity, and wellbeing.
Vanessa Jubenot
Founder & Board Member
Based in Brussels, Vanessa works at the cross-section of international cooperation and higher education for the CIVIS University Alliance, supporting collaboration across European and African universities. She previously spent 15 years in corporate communications, managing the EMEA-based Investor Relations operations of the Japanese multinational Sony Corporation. Alongside her professional work, she is currently completing an MA in Anthropology, with a particular interest in global health, migration, and citizen activism. With a background spanning multiple international arenas, governance structures, and participatory research, Vanessa brings a strong capacity for bridge-building and for connecting people across institutions and perspectives.