New Fellows

Alexander Kohnstamm is Executive Director of Fair Wear Foundation, a multi-stakeholder NGO that focuses on the working conditions of garment workers. Alexander started his career working for Sony and Mitsubishi, having studied Japanese Language and Economics at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In 2005, he co-founded the Children’s Peace Prize – an award given annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to children’s rights. Alexander previously worked as Executive Director of Partos, a Dutch company which brings together development NGOs, and he has worked extensively on the economics of healthcare in Africa.

Lisa Lang is General Director of the Open Connector Foundation, which partners with NetZeroCities and the UN to advance textile waste management, digitalisation and local manufacturing. Formerly Director of EU Affairs and Policy at the European Institute for Innovation and Technology on Climate, Lisa also chairs the Cultural and Creative Industries Taskforce for the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub and is on the advisory board for the Munich Fashion Award and Fashion Innovation Centre. Lisa was named one of Forbes Europe’s Top 50 Women in Tech (2018) and one of Vogue Business’s Sustainable Thought Leaders (2023).

Melanie Smuts is Director of Fellowships for the African Leadership Academy, which supports school founders on the African continent in developing their school models, building sustainable organisations and guiding their teams to more effective management. Melanie is also part of the One World Network of Schools team, a global education non-profit. Here, she leads on initiatives in the African and Asian continents, with a focus on new-school start-ups and personalised learning. Melanie also founded, and is on the board of, Streetlight Schools – a non-profit which built a new primary and high school in Johannesburg.

Johanna Mizgala is the Chief Curator of the House of Commons Collection in Canada. She is a passionate curator, arts educator and freelance art critic, and has lectured and published extensively on museology, architecture and contemporary art. Johanna has curated exhibitions for various Canadian art spaces, including: the National Gallery of Canada; Library and Archives Canada; Le Musée National Des Beaux-arts Du Québec; the Confederation Art Centre; the New Brunswick Museum; and the Remai Modern, as well as London’s National Portrait Gallery. Prior to her current role, she was also the Director of Exhibitions at Library and Archives Canada.

Tim Barker has been Dean of Guernsey since 2015, leading the Church of England’s work in Guernsey and on the two smaller islands of Alderney and Sark; he previously served as Archdeacon of Lincoln. Tim chairs the directors of Elizabeth College, Guernsey’s oldest school, as well as Guernsey’s Social Investment Fund – a partnership between government, churches and the wider third sector (including charities and social enterprises). The fund distributes grants of more than £1m annually, to a variety of charitable sector organisations. Tim is also a member of the Church Commissioners’ Bishoprics and Cathedrals Committee.

Brian Hole is the CEO of the academic open access publisher Ubiquity Press. In 2008, Brian founded Ubiquity Press to empower researchers to share their work openly, fostering greater collaboration. It publishes research journals ranging from the humanities to social sciences, technology and medicine, and now supports over 80 university presses around the world, including significant support for areas such as South Asia and Latin America. Brian holds a PhD from University College London and has a background in archaeology; he is now based in Greece.

Hannah Abraham is a journalist and Public Relations Consultant – most recently working for the music company BMG. She is also an Honorary Reporter for Korea.net. Previously, Hannah was Positive Action Fellow at The Guardian and Newsroom Fellow at Business Insider. With a focus on entertainment and culture, Hannah has written for both these titles as well as for Deadline, NME and Variety. Hannah is passionate about spotlighting talent from underrepresented backgrounds, from the world of K-pop and the Bollywood scene, to actor Ambika Mod from the Netflix series One Day. Hannah studied digital journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London.

David Leng is a Policy Advisor for Education for the Scottish Government and leads on the Scottish Attainment Challenge, a programme for schools and local authorities to promote equity and tackle the poverty related to the attainment gap. David worked in a variety of roles across the education system – from secondary school teacher to a secondary school leader, local authority officer and head of schools in Aberdeen –before becoming Director of Education, Children and Young People for Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils in 2013. David is passionate about helping children and young people develop and achieve their best possible outcomes, no matter their background or circumstances.

Sophie Hussey is the Development Consultant for book charity the Women’s Prize Trust, which promotes women’s writing by awarding prizes for fiction and non-fiction. As a fundraiser, Sophie has focused on supporting emerging artists in creative careers, working at the Royal Court Theatre and Bush Theatre, the conservatoires Royal College of Music and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, as well as the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. In 2024, she completed her MA in Philanthropic Studies at the Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent.

Hildreth England is a Digital Ethicist at IKEA, where she focuses on inclusive technology design. A designer, researcher and curator whose work spans communications, public health, food systems and environmental justice, before joining IKEA she was the curator and director of The Conference, an annual gathering in Malmö. In 2018, Hildreth founded PlusMinus – a co-design and ethical technology research initiative – at the MIT Media Lab. Her design collaborators have included Toyota, Barilla, Pentagram, the Emerson Collective, New America and the City of Austin. Hildreth’s design work has been exhibited at the Triennale di Milano, the Jardin des métiers d’art et du design and the Cooper Hewitt triennial.

Bringing Fellows together in collaboration on their innovations and our mission.