Alex Shankland is a social scientist who has worked for more than two decades on health systems, indigenous and minority health, civil society, accountability, political representation and local governance, particularly in Brazil and Mozambique. He convenes the IDS Power and Popular Politics research cluster and the Brazil International Development Research and Mutual Learning Hub. His current research interests centre on theories and practices of democratic representation, accountability and citizen-state engagement, with particular reference to the political strategies of indigenous peoples and other marginalised minorities engaging with health and development policies, and to the role of unruly politics in a context of closing civil society space.

Alex was Principal Investigator of the ESRC/DFID funded project Vozes Desiguais / Unequal Voices: the Politics of Accountability for Health Equity in Brazil and Mozambique and co-convenes the Accountability for Health Equity Programme.

In addition to ongoing research on the health system in Mozambique, Alex has worked extensively on Mozambican social accountability and democratic governance initiatives, including Diálogo, the Citizen Engagement Programme (CEP), and several projects under the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) research programme.

Alex has also worked extensively on the roles of Brazil and other rising powers in reshaping international development cooperation, and co-founded the IDS Rising Powers in International Development research programme, which is now being taken forward with colleagues from across the University of Sussex

Tricia Barnett initiated Equality in Tourism in 2013, an organisation transforming the lives of women in tourism by advocating for gender equality across the industry and in destination communities.  She has played a leading role in the development of the organisation and she provides ongoing leadership and direction in the development of the organisation and in project and consultancy development and management.  Equality in Tourism won the international To-Do Award for Human Rights in Tourism in 2021.

She has initiated and developed a unique pilot project in Tanzania training impoverished farming women to improve their incomes by providing the hospitality industry in Kilimanjaro with quality horticultural produce. As director of Tourism Concern from 1991-2011 she established it as the key organisation championing the rights of local people in tourism locations and putting sustainable tourism on the agenda in the UK and globally. She worked with donors, government departments, international agencies, tourism developers, tour operators and communities.  She has been a key player in international dialogues to establish global codes of practice for sustainable tourism and worked closely with grassroots groups. She has researched and written on community-based tourism, fair trade tourism and human rights.

Dr. Barnett has received many awards including an honorary doctorate from The University of Brighton.

Kathryn Hunter (a.k.a Hadjipateras) is primarily known for her outstanding career in theatre, film and television spanning over four decades. In 1991, she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Théatre de Complicité production of The Visit,  launching her long and varied career in productions in the UK and across the globe. IAlongside her career in established venues in the U (Shakespeare’s Globe, the RSC, the National Theatre), as well as abroad,  Kathryn has also performed in small community theatres and in a range of unconventional venues, such as prisons and street theatre in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Her film career ranges from blockbuster films, like Harry Potter to more high-brow films with directors like Lanthimos, Mike Leigh, Peter Greenaway, Sally Potter and others. Kathryn is also an accomplished theatre director herself.

Alongside her active film and theatre career, Kathryn has been a loyal and steadfast supporter of the Zalala Foundation from its earliest beginnings. She accompanied her sister Angela on her first visit to Supinho village in Mozambique several years before the Foundation was established. Over the years, she has provided consistent and generous support for the work of the Fundacao Zalala. She has also tried to enlist the support of others in the world of entertainment and theatre.

Catherine Mackenzie is an interdisciplinary development practitioner with degrees in Zoology (BSc), Foresty (MSc) and Social Anthropology (MA) and over 30 years of experience specialising in sustainable community-based forestry and biodiversity conservation, as well as forest governance and the use of forests in climate change adaptation and mitigation. She has worked all over the tropical developing world from Brazil and the Caribbean, to West and Southern Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia.  In all her assignments, Catherine has focused on developing innovative approaches that deliver tangible benefits to poor communities, through the sustainable use of natural resources.

Catherine has worked in Mozambique intermittently since 2004 on forest governance and climate change adaptation and mitigation.  She is best known for her NGO-supported pioneering investigations into the so-called Chinese takeaway– the illegal logging and export to China of precious heavy hardwoods from the miombo forests of Zambezia and other provinces.

Catherine has been a trustee of the Zalala Foundation since late 2023.  She has taken a special interest in the use of the mangroves by Idugo and Supinho villagers, and in a Blue Carbon project (REDD+ in coastal and marine situations) currently engaging with the villagers to generate carbon credit income through establishing  sustainable management of the mangroves.

Cecília Robertson dos Santos is originally from the Northeast of Brazil, the country’s poorest region, and had her life transformed by access to quality education and effective public policies.
Having experienced firsthand how education and public policy can change lives, she has dedicated her career to reducing inequalities and creating opportunities for others.

Cecília brings international experience across Brazil, the United Kingdom and Mozambique, working in areas such as gender, education, energy and governance. She is also a FULBRIGHT and Science Without Borders alumni, having studied in the USA and Australia.

Her career began in a local government in São Paulo after being selected for the Vetor Brasil Fellowship in Public Management, a prestigious programme aimed at developing young leaders to strengthen Brazil’s public sector. She later joined Itaú Social, the philanthropic arm of Brazil’s largest bank, where she worked to strengthen public education.

Motivated to deepen her understanding of social inequalities, Cecília completed a masters in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), in the UK. Since then, she has worked for IDS and Chemonics on a project aimed at improving maternal health in Mozambique, and at Citizens Advice, conducting research and advocating for fairer energy policies in the UK.

Cecília brings to the board a global perspective, strong policy and research expertise, and a deep commitment to inclusive and equitable development.