Professor Paul Leonard is an internationally recognised Environmental Scientist and Honorary Professor at Brunel University. He has more than 35 years’ management experience of delivering science-based evidence for government policy makers. Promoted in 1995 to be the Head of the Defra Marine Environment Division Science Unit that from 1997 included responsibilities for the direction of science undertaken by the Environment Agency Flood & Coastal Defence R&D Programme. Paul was instrumental in setting up the government R&D programme for marine aggregates utilising a sustainability levy fund prior to the London Olympics and continues to provide advice on a wide range of environmental topics to regulators and practitioners. Other duties have included speaking on Radio 4 about the importance of Natural Capital, chairing a Knowledge Exchange Committee meeting for the Natural Environment Research Council, working with Sir David Attenborough and being a Marine Management Organisation representative in the Sussex Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Agency.

Dr Victoria Jenkins is an Associate Professor in the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law and co-convenor of UKELA's Wales Working Party. Her research interests lie in legal approaches to sustainable development and the way in which land use planning, landscape and nature conservation laws seek to protect natural resources. In particular, she has published widely on the way devolution has shaped the law in Wales with regard to sustainable land management' and was awarded a Research Fellowship with the National Assembly for Wales, in 2018, to consider issues related to the sustainable management of natural resources after Brexit.

Dr David Pearson is a Cognitive Psychologist and Reader at Anglia Ruskin University. He has also worked at the University of the Saarland in Germany and taught for the Open University. David is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a member of the Experimental Psychology Society. He is also a visiting researcher at Trieste University in Italy and the University of Bergen in Norway. His research interest examines the cognitive processes involved during memory, mental imagery and visuo-spatial thinking, with a particular focus on the mental health benefits of viewing and interacting with natural environments.

Dr Tavis Potts is a Reader in environmental geography at the University of Aberdeen. His research interests include working directly with coastal communities to understand and map their natural capital to support wellbeing; evaluation of social perceptions, values and uses of the coastal environment; and understanding the effectiveness of market based approaches and consumer engagement in sustainable seafood.

Helen Ross has over 20 years’ experience of work in Sustainable Development and Public Health at local, regional and UK wide levels. She has a Masters in Public Health and is a Member of the UK Faculty of Public Health specialising in Sustainable Development and Health. She is vice chair of the FPH Sustainable Development Special Interest Group.

Helen has recently moved to Scotland, however, whilst at NHS Nottingham City as Senior Public Health Manager she carried out 3 main roles; -

lead for their partnership approach in sustainable development and the wider determinants of health across Health Services, Local Authorities and with engagement from the third sector.
developed a strategic approach to sustainable development of health services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
at the Department of Health and NHS East Midlands developing the regional sustainable development role, engaging the Health service in the strategic development and delivery of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Good Corporate Citizenship.

Debbie Tripley is the Senior Lawyer to global programmes at WWF-UK. She has an interest in challenging existing legal frameworks and is a Director of the Planetary Boundaries Initiative. She has worked as a campaigning lawyer for more than 15 years taking on many of the big legal challenges in defence of the environment. She provides WWF with strategic advocacy advice on all legal aspects to do with environmental policy and legal reforms. She was Counsel for over six years in a private practice at the English Bar and previously held senior legal roles with the Environmental Law Foundation where she was CEO, and Head of Legal at Greenpeace UK.

Juliette Young has over 15 years’ experience working on planning. This includes working for a planning and design practice leading on delivery of environmental assessments for strategic plans and large-scale developments. For the last three years Juliette has worked on housing and planning policy at the RSPB, leading the RSPB’s response to the revised National Planning Policy Framework and helping to shape key policies emerging through the 25 Year Environment Plan and Environment Bill. As a long-time resident of London, Juliette understands the importance of nature and green space to people’s physical and mental wellbeing, particularly in cities. She retains a keen interest in how planning can be used to secure better health outcomes.