Who we are

Shay O’Reilly

Senior International Campaigner

Shay O’Reilly is an organizer and campaigner newly living in Berlin. He comes to Beyond Fossil Fuels from ten years in the U.S. climate movement, where he was an organizer with Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign and a Campaign Manager at Spring Street Climate Fund. In these capacities, he helped stop two new gas plants slated for New York, built public momentum for the U.S. adoption of offshore wind, and created a new constituency of homeowners campaigning for an ambitious building retrofit program. He was also involved with the development of New York’s Build Public Renewables Act and community resistance to the expansion of gas transmission pipelines.

Shay‘s academic background is in theology and social ethics, with a degree from Union Theological Seminary. In his free time, you can find him enjoying time with his family, learning different fiber arts, and watching birds.

Olumide Olufemi

Working Student, People & Culture

Olumide has over 3 years of diverse experience in the corporate and NGO sectors with a strong passion for enhancing people-experience throughout every stage of the employee lifecycle. Her focus is on providing exceptional experiences and fostering inclusive and supportive work environments where people have the necessary tools and resources to thrive.

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Social Sciences, she joined BFF as a Working Student in People & Culture to support the people at the forefront of BFF’s mission.

She’s also deeply passionate about sustainability and driven by the belief that we have a collective responsibility to leave the world better for future generations.

Luisa Colasimone

Communications Specialist

Luisa joined Beyond Fossil Fuels to support the communication work of the Corporate Campaign in 2025. She has over 25 years of experience in communication, media relations, coordination and project management, in non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations, including Greenpeace and UNEP, working internationally on various environmental issues.

Among the topics she contributed to denounce publicly via media work are the “trade leaks”, about the deals happening behind closed doors on international trade deals affecting European people across all sectors – economy, energy,transport, food.

An Italian national, Luisa has been living abroad since her University years in a number of countries. Since 2016, she moved to Lisbon, Portugal, from where she has been providing communication lead and coordinating projects at a global level about bio-energy and climate justice, climate and health, and climate-friendly agriculture.

In the past, Luisa has also been working for Médécins sans Frontières, as communication support for emergencies in the field (Somalia, RDC). Luisa holds a Master in Journalism and Communication from the Free University of Brussels (ULB), she is fluent in Italian, English, French, with a good level of Portuguese and Spanish

James Denman

Interim Head of Finance & Transition

James Denman is our Interim Head of Finance & Transition. James is experienced in leading Finance for large and small organisations in Germany. He has volunteered with Citizens Climate Lobby since 2016 and is pleased and excited to be combining finance and climate. He is based in Berlin.

Nima Sepehr Sadeghian

Finance & HR Officer

Nima holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s in financial management from his home country Iran. His experience in finance and accounting spans various sectors, including start-ups where he worked to improve financial practices and accounting systems. He brings a thorough understanding of the interplay between finance, accounting and HR.

Nima is based in the BFF Berlin office. He speaks Persian and English and is building up his German. He is particularly passionate about Creating Shared Value (CSV) and aligning financial strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Victoria O’May Alves

Digital Communications Officer

With a background in advertising, graphic design, and art direction, Victoria has built her career creating cohesive brand identities and developing engaging digital experiences that amplify the work of mission-driven organisations. Through her work, she strives to simplify complex ideas and crafts visual narratives that inspire action and drive positive change.

Based in the Basque Country (Spain), Victoria has collaborated with clients both locally and internationally, including Amnesty International, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, and the Basque Government.

Victoria holds a BA in Communication and Marketing and a postgraduate degree in Art Direction and Copywriting. A Spanish-Brazilian professional, she is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish and is currently learning Euskera.

Fiona Lavroff

Social Media Officer

Based in Belgium, Fiona joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in November 2024 as a Social Media Officer focused on transforming complex campaigns into digestible and engaging content for online audiences. Prior to joining BFF, she spent two years at the Powering Past Coal Alliance as part of the communications team advocating for coal phase-out and promoting decarbonisation success stories with the Alliance’s 180 members.

She has worked in communications and social media for a variety of industries, including aviation (Eurocontrol) and entertainment (the Motion Picture Association) as well as freelance projects with small hospitality businesses. She holds an MA in Chinese and History from The University of Edinburgh and is in her second year of a Film and Digital Photography course in Brussels. She is Irish and French.

Subhalaxmi Panda

Senior People & Culture Manager

Subhalaxmi is a seasoned HR professional with over 12 years of diverse experience in the corporate, NGO and environmental sectors. Her career spans both operational and strategic HR roles, and she has thrived in both start-up and large corporate environments. She holds a degree in Business Management from the Maastricht School of Management, and her global outlook is further enriched by her background in India and current base in Berlin.

Fluent in English, German and Hindi, she brings a multicultural perspective to her work. She is deeply passionate about creating inclusive work environments, where every individual feels welcome and supported. Her commitment to building positive workplace cultures aligns with her broader focus on social change, sustainability, and climate justice.

In her role as an HR professional, she has been instrumental in supporting climate advocates by ensuring they have the tools, resources, and workplace culture they need to focus on their mission of driving environmental and social change. She excels at developing and implementing effective strategies, fostering a positive work culture, and empowering team members.

Carlota Ruiz-Bautista

Steel & Industry Campaigner

Carlota joined our team with 10 years of experience in energy and environmental law and policy, strategic litigation, and campaign development at the Instituto Internacional de Derecho y Medio Ambiente (IIDMA). Her work primarily focused on shaping the energy transition and industrial decarbonisation in Spain. For the past two years, she has been actively involved with the Fair Steel Coalition as part of the steering committee, helping to develop the coalition’s strategy. Carlota works from Madrid, where she enjoys playing music, singing, and performing in small musicals in her free time.

Anna McGurk

International Campaigner

Anna joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in May 2024. Before this, she coordinated digital campaigns for Médecins Sans Frontières, advocating for governments and pharmaceutical corporations to remove barriers to accessible and affordable medicines.

Anna previously worked with Greenpeace in Beijing, where she led communications initiatives on air pollution, coal consumption, overfishing, and renewable energy financing.

She is from the UK, and currently lives in Berlin. Anna speaks English, Mandarin Chinese, and is learning German.

Jill McArdle

International Corporate Campaigner

Jill joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in April 2024 as the International Corporate Campaigner, focusing on the role of non-energy corporate actors in achieving a fossil-free renewables-based power system. Prior to joining BFF, Jill spent four and a half years at Friends of the Earth Europe where she campaigned on the EU’s major supply chain law, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. She also worked with a global coalition on a UN treaty to regulate transnational corporations, and contributed to a campaign to stop LNG projects in northern Mozambique.

Before this Jill worked in Brussels advocating for the EU’s research agenda to prioritise societal benefit, particularly in access to medicines, over corporate interests. She also worked for a year at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad). Jill holds a PhD in ethics and theories of global justice from the University of Dublin. She is Irish, but has been living in Brussels, Belgium, since 2016.



Nelly Papazova

Fundraising Coordinator

Nelly joined the Beyond Fossil Fuels team as Fundraising Coordinator in March 2024. She is Bulgarian and brings over 15 years of experience in environmental issues and fundraising. Over the past 7 years, she worked for WWF Bulgaria, managing the grant fundraising team and project management team. Prior to that, she worked as a Policy Officer for Nature Conservation at the European Commission in Brussels, responsible for enforcing nature conservation legislation in Bulgaria and EU accession countries.

Nelly has extensive experience in grant development and management and has also evaluated proposals for various EU programs. She holds an MSc in Environmental Science and Policy from the Central European University and a BA in Mass Communications and Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria. Nelly is passionate about fostering a future where people and nature coexist harmoniously.



Margherita Gagliardi

Communications Director

Margherita joined the Beyond Fossil Fuels team as a Communications Director in 2024. She has ten years’ experience as a communicator and visual thinker in the civil society sector, focusing on the energy transition, climate policy, and sustainable finance. With a keen focus on simplifying complex concepts, Margherita utilises powerful visuals to make information more accessible and combat misinformation.

As a skilled graphic designer, she relies heavily on infographics and data visualisation to effectively engage diverse audiences. From 2014 to 2024, Margherita played a pivotal role at Carbon Tracker, contributing to the dissemination of key ideas such as the “Carbon Bubble” and “Stranded Assets”.

Her previous work life combined communications and sustainability, with experiences in the ESG investment sector in Amsterdam, a media agency in Barcelona, and in the cultural industries in Brussels and Bologna. Margherita is based in Italy and holds a Master’s in Green Management and Energy from Bocconi University Milan, and one in Cultural Management and Innovation at the University of Bologna.



Pierre Terras

Program Lead for Corporate Finance and Utilities

Pierre joined Beyond Fossil Fuels as a Program Lead for Corporate Finance and Utilities (CFU) in January 2024. With 14 years of experience at Greenpeace across various offices and campaigns, including Food, Water Pollution, and Oceans, his journey began as a Junior Campaigner in Greenpeace Mexico. Until recently, he was the Team Leader for Climate and Energy campaigns at Greenpeace France.

Holding an MSc in International Development from Sorbonne University and Sciences Po Toulouse, Pierre is passionate about campaign strategies that drive systemic change and advocate for climate justice. Fluent in French, Spanish, and English, he is currently learning Britton. During his leisure time, he enjoys sailing, playing music, and tennis.



Ana Afonso Silva

Energy Data Analyst

Ana joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in December 2023, leveraging her expertise in data analysis and research cultivated during her tenure as an evolutionary biologist. With a comprehensive academic background, including a PhD and postdoctoral research, she specialised in biodiversity and speciation, laying a robust groundwork for data analysis.

Motivated by her commitment to addressing the climate crisis, Ana transitioned from academic research to a more practical role. Prior to joining Beyond Fossil Fuels, she freelanced with Designers for Climate, offering data visualisation services. Fluent in English and Portuguese, Ana also possesses a basic understanding of French and Spanish.

Isaline Court

Energy Data Analyst

Isaline holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering, specialising in energy networks. With several years of experience in energy regulation within the European Union, her primary focus has been on grids and energy markets. Subsequently, she worked as an Energy Modeller at the International Renewable Energy Agency before joining Beyond Fossil Fuels as an Energy Data Analyst in December 2023. She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish.

Shira Stanton

Program Lead - Local Energy Solutions

Shira joined Beyond Fossil Fuels as a Program Lead in November 2023, connecting various campaigning areas that involve locally relevant actors such as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and municipalities, iconic renewable energy zones, and traditional efforts against coal and gas locations. She previously worked at Greenpeace International, addressing the structural causes of the climate and biodiversity crises in areas such as trade, corporate accountability, and shifting political-economic power.

Before that, she was in Greenpeace’s European Unit in Brussels, working on trade policy that prioritised people and the planet over corporate interests. With a background in human rights and access to justice, she has worked in various countries around the world and speaks English, German, French, and Spanish. She holds a MA from the University of Manchester in International Political Economy and a BA in Political Science: International Relations from the University of California, San Diego.

Florentina Gerguri

Finance & Admin Officer

Florentina holds a bachelor’s degree in International Sales and Marketing and is completing her master’s in Bank and Finance, both from Kosovo. Previously, she worked at the People in Need (PIN) NGO in the Human Resources and Finance Department for three years. She has recently moved to Germany. In July 2023, she joined Beyond Fossil Fuels as a Finance & Admin Officer. She speaks Albanian, English, and is currently learning German.



Tara Connolly

Campaigner

Tara has over ten years of experience in EU energy policy and energy transition campaigning. She studied European Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Sustainable Development at the Technological University of Dublin.

She worked for Greenpeace’s European Unit for over seven years as EU Energy Policy Assistant, Advisor, and finally, EU Energy Policy Director before joining Friends of the Earth Europe as a Gas Campaigner and later Global Witness as a senior EU Gas Campaigner. She has served on the board of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Sustainable Water Network, Ireland’s network of NGOs working for water protection. She is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Irish.



Juliet Phillips

Energy Campaigner

Juliet is a campaigner working on energy markets and grids at Beyond Fossil Fuels. She works to ensure that European countries are expanding their electricity grids at pace to allow for the rapid take-off of renewable energy; and to ensure that power market rules are designed to incentivise investment in clean energy – and not fossil fuels.

Previously, Juliet led E3G’s UK energy team, specialising in power system decarbonisation, housing and energy poverty campaigns. Prior to that, Juliet worked as an Ocean Campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency; and as a Campaign Manager at ShareAction, coordinating climate change-focused shareholder activism around the fossil fuel and banking sectors. She holds a MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics.

Julia Pazos

Communications Manager

Julia is a communications professional with a background in digital marketing and journalism. For the past three years, she has worked in various NGOs on the topics of migration, collective impact, and digital education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is a US-German national based in Berlin.



Claire Smith

Senior International Campaigner

Claire joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in November 2022 as an International Campaigner. She previously worked for the Australian Government and UK Government, focusing on strategy development, strategic communications campaigning, and international partnership building across a wide range of policy issues, including climate change, clean energy transition, and international aid.

Claire holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications, and has a keen interest in applying behavioural science communications to advance the global energy transition and respond more effectively to climate disasters.

Michal Zablocki

Communications and Campaign Consultant

Michal joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in October 2022. Before that, he worked for several years in campaign, media, and policy teams at the environmental organisations ClientEarth and European Climate Foundation. He was a long-time Polish Press Agency journalist, serving as a climate and environment reporter in Warsaw and a foreign correspondent in Prague, Bratislava, and Moscow.

He was also a member of the Central-Eastern European policy think-tank Visegrad Insight, where he took care of CEE’s green agenda. He has an MA degree in linguistics from the University of Wroclaw, spent an academic scholarship at the University of Turin, and speaks five foreign languages. In his free time, he loves hiking and enjoys nature.

Michal is also the author of the non-fiction book on the Czech Republic: “It’s not a paradise. Essays on contemporary Czechia” published in Polish and Czech.

Kerem Gogtas

Senior Finance Manager

Kerem has completed his Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpretation in Istanbul. After participating in TV/Cinema production with various agencies, he decided to come to Germany to further his studies and specialise in political science. He obtained a Master’s degree in European Studies at Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany, where he wrote his thesis about Energy Transitions and their impact on European Integration. He is passionate about climate justice, energy transitions, and fair social changes. He can speak Turkish, French, English, and German.



Brigitte Alarcon

Campaigner

Brigitte Alarcon has joined Beyond Fossil Fuels as a Campaigner responsible for the Finance and Utilities work. A French national, Brigitte holds an MSc in Political Science and an MSc in Environmental Law from the University of Aix-Marseille. Apart from a brief stint with an environmental consultancy, she has built her career working for non-profit organisations on issues ranging from animal welfare to human health to sustainability.

As a passionate environmentalist, she spent seven years at WWF-UK: initially focusing on advancing the adoption of sustainable diets in the EU, and later, she was responsible for engaging with WWF’s corporate partners on issues including sustainable finance and climate change. In her spare time, she enjoys diving, dancing, and playing chess.

Anthimos Chatzivasileiou

Campaign Coordinator

Anthimos joined the Beyond Fossil Fuels secretariat in May 2022 as the Campaign Coordinator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International and European Affairs and a master’s degree in human rights. With almost eighteen years of working experience in policy advocacy, communications, and project management, he began his career as a political advisor for members of the Greek parliament and a European Commissioner.

Following that period, he dedicated his career to passionately pursuing environmental protection, working with WWF Greece for more than seven years. Anthimos is proficient in Greek, English, Italian, and has a basic understanding of French.



Alexandru Mustață

Campaigner

Alexandru earned his Bachelor’s degree in European Studies and International Relations from the National School for Political Science and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University, both in Bucharest. After spending a year at IYNF, the youth organisation of Naturfreunde International, he returned to Romania, dedicating six years to working as a coal campaigner for Bankwatch.

Passionate about addressing the social impact of climate action, Alexandru led one of the first just transition campaigns in Central and Eastern Europe, initiated in 2016. He was also the coordinator for the Bankwatch Network just transition campaign across seven countries from 2017 until 2021, when he joined Beyond Fossil Fuels.

Cyrille Cormier

Deputy Campaign Director

Cyrille’s academic background lies in Aeronautical Engineering, having studied in Toulouse and London. He dedicated seven years to the aeronautical industry before transitioning to environmental campaigning within different political parties and non-profit organisations.

After Fukushima’s nuclear accident in March 2011, Cyrille joined Greenpeace as a Climate and Energy Campaigner, focusing primarily on energy transition and nuclear safety. In 2020, he authored his first book on climate politics in France before joining Beyond Fossil Fuels in 2021. Cyrille is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.



Nilay Vardar

Communications Consultant

Nilay completed her studies in Journalism at Galatasaray University and holds a master’s degree in Disability Studies from the University of Istanbul. With a journalistic career spanning seven years, she contributed to the Bianet news website, focusing on environmental, urbanisation, and human rights issues. Prior to joining the Beyond Fossil Fuels campaign, Nilay worked as a Communications Officer at Greenpeace Turkey for four years, primarily concentrating on areas such as coal, plastic, ocean, and agriculture.



Suzanne Schenk

Head of Operations

Suzanne brings a wealth of experience in environmental campaigning, NGO coalition building, and strategic grant management. She joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in August 2019, transitioning from her role at the Changing Markets Foundation, where she focused on campaigning for circular economy issues.

Suzanne’s prior engagements include working at the European Climate Foundation on energy efficiency and at the World Future Council on cities and climate change. Her passion lies in uniting people to accelerate climate justice. Suzanne speaks Dutch, English, and German, as well as French and Italian.



Duygu Kutluay

Campaigner

Duygu pursued her academic journey with a focus on Political Science and International Relations at Bogazici University, Istanbul. She further expanded her expertise by obtaining a master’s degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Konstanz, Germany.

Duygu initially immersed herself in the realm of intercultural learning and communication at AFS Turkey, serving as the Organisational Development Director. Later, she transitioned to the role of Deputy Head of International Relations at the TEMA Foundation. Over the last three years, Duygu dedicated her efforts as the Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Med, concentrating mostly on climate change and energy transition issues.



Perceval Pradelle

Senior Energy Data Analyst

Perceval has a longstanding interest and passion for climate, energy, and carbon footprints. Before joining Beyond Fossil Fuels, he worked for several years in the financial and insurance sector, specialising in data and analytics. He also has previous experience in consulting, mainly on projects related to the energy sector.

Perceval holds a master’s degree in Engineering from Nantes School of Mines and in Economics from Charles University in Prague. Outside of work, Perceval enjoys participating in a few voluntary initiatives around climate and carbon accounting. He is fluent in English, French, and Polish.



Alastair Clewer

Head of Media

Alastair joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in May 2019. He holds a master’s degree in International Development and has coordinated multinational communication actions for several Directorates-General of the European Commission on issues related to climate change, clean energy transition, disaster risk reduction, human rights, and humanitarian aid.

Alastair has previously worked in academia, analysing the climate impacts of European food systems, and in politics and the music industry. He has a keen interest in processes of social change, particularly the utility of prefigurative politics as a scalable means of social transformation, and the viability of constructing chains of equivalence across civil society and activist networks.



Zala Primc

Event and Member Manager

Zala pursued her studies in Social Sciences in Ljubljana and Lisbon, and worked for various student, worker, and human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, before she commenced her journey into environmental campaigning. She joined Beyond Fossil Fuels in 2019, following her role as an International Project Lead for Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.

Zala is deeply committed to driving progressive social change, advocating for climate justice, promoting direct democracy, and supporting local communities and grassroots movements. She is fluent in English, German, and Slovene.



Kathrin Gutmann

Campaign Director

Kathrin Gutmann is the Campaign Director of the Beyond Fossil Fuels campaign. She led the development of the Europe Beyond Coal campaign in her role as coordinator of NGO efforts to phase out coal with the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe. Kathrin brings with her 20 years of expertise in the field of climate & energy policy and advocacy, international network coordination and campaigning.

She has worked as Head of Policy & Advocacy with WWF International’s Climate Program and in different capacities with Climate Analytics, the European Climate Foundation, the German Environment Ministry, the Green Party in the German Bundestag, Greenpeace International and has volunteered with the German youth environment organisation BUNDjugend. Kathrin is also on the board of Reclaim Finance.

In 2021, she became the recipient of the prestigious Climate Breakthrough Award, and will use this to move Europe to a fully-renewables based power sector by 2035. She holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the Freie Universität Berlin.



Mahi Sideridou

Managing Director

Mahi has led the Beyond Fossil Fuels secretariat since it was set up in 2017 under the original name Europe Beyond Coal. She has over twenty years of experience in environmental campaigning and climate & energy political advocacy, and fifteen years in team coordination, governance and people & culture management.

She worked for Greenpeace between 2000 and 2015, first as a climate campaigner based in Athens, then moving to Brussels as the EU climate and energy policy director and finally as the European Unit’s managing director. She sat on the board of directors of Climate Action Network Europe for ten years and since 2017 has been on the board of Greenpeace Czech Republic.

Mahi has a Bachelor’s in Physics and a Master’s in Energy and Environmental Analysis from her studies in Manchester and Boston. She is based in Aarhus, speaks Greek, English, French & Danish, and is chronically online. She strives to create a professional culture that is underscored by integrity, respect and joy, and that results in ambitious climate action.

The secretariat

Mahi Sideridou

Kathrin Gutmann

Margherita Gagliardi

Cyrille Cormier

Suzanne Schenk

Alastair Clewer

Zala Primc

Subhalaxmi Panda

Alexandru Mustață

Duygu Kutluay

Perceval Pradelle

Anthimos Chatzivasileiou

Brigitte Alarcon

Anna McGurk

Carlota Ruiz-Bautista

Juliet Phillips

Jill McArdle

Tara Connolly

Shira Stanton

Claire Smith

Pierre Terras

Shay O’Reilly

Michal Zablocki

Julia Pazos

Luisa Colasimone

Nilay Vardar

Victoria O’May Alves

Fiona Lavroff

Ana Afonso Silva

Isaline Court

Nelly Papazova

Olumide Olufemi

Kerem Gogtas

Nima Sepehr Sadeghian

James Denman

Florentina Gerguri

Our Board

Our Board

Christiane Gerstetter

Nina Stros

Constantin Zerger

Petr Hlobil

Nicolò Wojewoda

Yağız Eren Abanus

Members

Shay O’Reilly

Olumide Olufemi

Luisa Colasimone

James Denman

Nima Sepehr Sadeghian

Victoria O’May Alves

Fiona Lavroff

Subhalaxmi Panda

Carlota Ruiz-Bautista

Anna McGurk

Jill McArdle

Nelly Papazova

Margherita Gagliardi

Pierre Terras

Ana Afonso Silva

Isaline Court

Shira Stanton

Florentina Gerguri

Tara Connolly

Juliet Phillips

Julia Pazos

Claire Smith

Michal Zablocki

Kerem Gogtas

Brigitte Alarcon

Anthimos Chatzivasileiou

Alexandru Mustață

Cyrille Cormier

Nilay Vardar

Suzanne Schenk

Duygu Kutluay

Perceval Pradelle

Alastair Clewer

Zala Primc