Ep 14. Kirsty Schneeberger MBE, CEO Synchronicity Earth: Going forward to Better

“COVID-19 has been this reset moment... it has really forced us to pause, to take a breath and to re-evaluate... what do we want to leave behind after the pandemic and what do we want to take forward.”Kirsty Schneeberger was CEO of Synchronicity Earth between December 2019 and March 2021, helping to steer the organisation through some of the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synchronicity Earth is a biodiversity and conservation funder. Its vision is to create a world where all life is valued, celebrated and flourishing. In this episode we explore how planetary health and human health are interconnected and how the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a great ‘re-set’. We talk about climate change, climate leadership and bio-cultural diversity. Kirsty reveals her personal experiences as a youth activist, determined to save the planet.We discuss the importance of carving out space and time to focus on our personal well-being and the role nature plays in this. Kirsty holds that emotional resilience and nourishing oneself is the key to effective leadership.Recorded February 2021.Guest Biography Kirsty Schneeberger was CEO of Synchronicity Earth between December 2019 and March 2021, helping to steer the organisation through some of the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that Kirsty was the Head of Strategic Partnerships at the environmental law organisation ClientEarth. Kirsty’s experience ranges from working on the Paris climate process resulting in the Paris Agreement, coordinating environment and development stakeholder engagement for the Rio +20 summit, managing a climate portfolio at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and leading the youth engagement programme for the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. Kirsty is a qualified lawyer and holds the roles of Chair of the UK Environmental Law Association, and Trustee of the Environmental Law Foundation. Born in Zimbabwe, Kirsty spent her formative years surrounded by nature and has spent her career striving to conserve the environment and address climate change. She was awarded an MBE in 2010 for services to environmental conservation.Linkshttps://www.synchronicityearth.org/ ‘The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review