Who We Are – Sustainable Solutions International Consulting

As a Community of Practitioners, we are available for individual consulting assignments or as select teams to address your needs.

If you are seeking a team for a particular assignment, please contact info@sustainablesolutions.consulting.

If you are seeking an individual consultant, please contact the consultant of choice directly through their email address provided below.

Alternatively contact info@sustainablesolutions.consulting with a short explanation of the assignment or terms of reference,
and we will identify the appropriate consultant to support your needs.

Eleanor Carter. Consultant

ecarter@sustainablesolutions.consulting

As the Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Solutions, Eleanor has more than 25 years of experience supporting sustainability initiatives in Africa, Southeast Asia, Pacific islands, Mediterranean, and West Indian Ocean regions. Working with a wide range of organizations, from international NGOs & Government departments, through to small-scale community groups & district government offices, Eleanor’s areas of specialism include: marine and coastal management (MPAs, ICZM, EAFM), training and capacity building, sustainable tourism, multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Key support areas include: strategic planning, program design, research, fundraising, social marketing and communications, workshop design and facilitation, taking ideas from paper to practice, and conducting monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL).

In addition to her consulting work, Eleanor is the Co-Director of the award winning Chumbe Island Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Zanzibar, Tanzania, where she was the first Project Manager through the design, development and implementation phase in the mid-nineties. This first financially self-sustaining MPA in the world continues to flourish today, with all operations fully funded by cutting-edge zero-impact ecotourism, where 100% of funds generated from visitors are re-invested in MPA management, research, and education for school children. Eleanor has also held posts as the Senior Advisor to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Executive Director of Environment and Development Consulting; and is on the Expert Advisory Board for ‘Blue Finance’ (a social enterprise for sustainably financing MPAs). She is a certified Technology of Participation (ToP) trainer and facilitator, holds a Bachelors with honors in Ecology from London University (UK), a post-graduate diploma in Environmental law, economics and policy from the University of Massachusetts (USA), and was awarded a distinction-level Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Environment & Development from the University of Cambridge (UK).

Belinda Stewart-Cox, OBE. Consultant

bstewart-cox@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Belinda has nearly 30 years of experience initiating or supporting sustainable conservation initiatives in Asia – predominantly Thailand – and Kenya, working with a range of organizations from International NGOs, government agencies and universities to local NGOs and community groups. Belinda’s primary role has been directing or managing projects focused on sustainable natural resource management and conservation for the benefit of wildlife and local communities. Specific areas of experience include: ... Read More

Belinda’s primary role has been directing or managing projects focused on sustainable natural resource management and conservation for the benefit of wildlife and local communities. Specific areas of experience include: protected area management and protection; training and capacity building; monitoring, evaluation and shared learning; wildlife and ecological surveys; conservation buffer-zone development; advising community and government policy/practice; sustainable tourism feasibility and implementation; community-based natural resource management and sustainable livelihood development; and most of all, human-elephant conflict mitigation.

In 1991, following the death of her Thai partner, Belinda co-founded the namesake ‘Seub Nakhasathien Foundation’, and in 2000 she co-founded and directed the ‘Elephant Conservation Network’ (ECN) which became ZSL-Thailand in 2014. ECN succeeded in reducing human-elephant conflict through diverse crop protection measures and by improving the ecological integrity of the target area which also enabled tigers to recolonize.

Belinda has a BA (Hons) in Human Sciences from Oxford University and an MSc (Distinction) in Conservation & Tourism from the Durrell Institute of Conservation & Ecology, University of Kent. In 2011, she was awarded an OBE for 25-years of service to nature conservation in Thailand.

Stuart Sheppard. Consultant

ssheppard@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Stuart has over 25 years of global experience as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager and Analyst with International NGOs. He has worked primarily in developing countries providing GIS support, capacity building and leadership on sustainable development and natural resource management projects. Specializing in GIS for spatial planning, Stuart’s areas of expertise include: advanced GIS analysis; Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) workflows, tools and procedures; Remote Sensing (RP) mapping; and Global ... Read More

Formally The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific Conservation Data Node Manager and Analyst he has participated in and led the GIS component of numerous multi-national conservation planning exercises. He is currently a partner with Forest Inform Partners Pty Ltd, combining government agencies’ and stakeholders’ decision rules with spatial data for forest land use conflict resolution, regional development integration and SCP. Stuart is also a Senior Faculty Specialist at the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographic Sciences, USA.

Stuart holds a degree in Geography and Cartographic Sciences from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA and has strong applied technical skills in the principles and practices of GIS spatial planning. Stuart extends his GIS services through collaboration, training and mentoring of participants within a range of cultural, professional and government frameworks.

Laura Kola. Consultant

lkola@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Laura is a committed conservationist, participatory practitioner and environmental educator dedicated to working collaboratively for terrestrial and marine natural resource management and community well-being. Laura has extensive experience in Australia and eastern Indonesia managing stakeholder relationships and building awareness through disseminating scientific knowledge, engaging a broad audience, and skills sharing. Areas of focus include: mentoring, training and capacity building; community based natural resource management (CBNRM); natural resource assessment, monitoring, evaluation ... Read More

Areas of focus include: mentoring, training and capacity building; community based natural resource management (CBNRM); natural resource assessment, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL); environmental interpretation and knowledge development; ecotourism; science communications; report writing; and fundraising.
Laura holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Forest Ecosystem Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Indigenous Studies from the University of Melbourne, Australia, as well as certifications in Project Management Practice and Business Administration.

Dulcyta Soares. Consultant

dsoares@sustainablesolutions.consulting

As an Engineer Dulce is the co-founder of ‘Women in Engineering’ in Timor-Leste. Her areas of specialism include: strategic planning, design, implementation and monitoring of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools (WinS component); hygiene promotion via the Child to child ( C2C) methodology; promoting behavior change through school health clubs; overseeing construction of WASH facilities; and conducting training and capacity building (including Training of Trainers – TOT – at ... Read More

As the inventor of a specialized sustainable toilet her work has focused on bringing hygiene and health benefits to rural and remote areas in SE Asia. Dulce holds a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Victoria University, Australia.

Johan Huig van Duijn. Consultant

jvanduijn@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Johan has more than 25 years of experience in sustainable development programming supporting NGOs and local governments in Africa and Asia. His expertise particularly lies in the sectors of Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods, including the principles of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Community Based Resource Management (CBNRM). Formerly holding Senior Advisory roles his expertise covers the complete cycle of program design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning. While he continues to provide services like technical training and contextual analysis like market and value chain analysis, his emphasis as a consultant is in Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL). He designs and conducts participatory Baseline and Evaluation studies for International NGOs and caters them to the need and capacity of local organizations and other stakeholders in developing countries and emerging economy nations, including the application of appropriate (Information) technologies.

Johan holds a Bachelors degree in Forest and Nature Management, with a specialization in Tropical Forestry, from Van Hall Larenstein, a University for Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. He continued studying online gaining diplomas in Development Management from the Open University of the United Kingdom, and Climate change adaptation and mitigation of the University of Kopenhagen, Denmark.

Jason Rubens. Consultant

jrubens@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Jason is a specialist in marine & coastal resources management and climate change. He has specific expertise in fisheries governance & co-management; climate change vulnerability assessment & adaptation; sustainable coastal livelihoods; tropical mariculture; marine protected area (MPA) management & management effectiveness; fisheries law enforcement & IUU; endangered species research & conservation; coral reef monitoring & research; strategic planning; project design & project cycle management; monitoring and evaluation; proposal writing & fundraising. Jason has worked for bi-lateral, multilateral and non-Government organizations, including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the World Bank in East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya & Mozambique) & South Asia (India, Sri Lanka & Maldives), also Vietnam. He designed and managed a UK-Association for Project Management (APM) award-winning fisheries management and coastal livelihoods project in Tanzania between 2005 and 2010.

Jason is now the Director of Sound Ocean Ltd, an independent consultancy company established in 2013 and based in Tanzania. He has a Bachelors degree in Philosophy and Sociology from Bristol University, UK; and a Masters in Tropical Marine & Coastal Management (Distinction) from Newcastle University, UK.

Emily Morrison. Consultant

emorrison@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Emily has more than 20 years of experience internationally and in Australia, specializing in supporting and strengthening grassroots organizations to adopt long term sustainable solutions and improving community engagement strategies. Emily applies gender and social inclusive principles to foster significant, sustainable change at community and organizational levels. Emily’s work is focused on gender, community and social inclusive approaches, based on a human rights and strengths based framework. Her strengths are ... Read More

Emily’s work is focused on gender, community and social inclusive approaches, based on a human rights and strengths based framework. Her strengths are in building networks and connections and utilizing existing assets and resources to create sustainable solutions. She is also an experienced facilitator and trainer, able to design programs that best suit individual organizations and groups using a diverse range of adult education techniques. Training and facilitation experience includes strategic planning, research methodologies, participatory action research, community based approaches, human rights, family planning, organizational development, project management and gender and socially inclusive approaches.

Emily holds a Bachelors degree in Youth Studies, and a Masters in Professional Studies, International development, peace, conflict, environment and adult education from the University of New England, Australia.

Stuart J. Green. Consultant

sgreen@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Stuart J. Green is a marine science and policy practitioner who specializes in advising on context, strategy, and collaborations within the interface between conservation and livelihoods. Stuart has extensive cross-cultural, technical, and scientific experience from over 25 years of marine conservation and fisheries governance work. He has also bridged impactful partnerships between marine conservation donors and implementers working to improve some of the world’s most socially, economically, and ecologically significant ... Read More

His key competencies include: comprehensive evaluations (science-driven and evidence-based analysis, offering discrete unbiased evaluations through a systems lens, providing a wealth of context and pragmatic feedback); collaboration catalyst (start-up and management of collaborations and coalitions, in person and virtual); ground-truthing (assessing risk, practicality, and viability of strategies to achieving conservation and management of marine resources).

Stuart has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology (Fisheries) and a Master of Science in Integrated Coastal Zone Management that forms the basis for his oceans advisory work. He also holds an MBA that offers a framework to contextualize his advisory capacity. He has worked for foundations, multi-laterals, bi-laterals, national and local governments, for-profit contractors, and capacity-building civil society organizations. Stuart believes in the benefits of trusting collaborations at the appropriate governance level, openness to learning, systematic experimentation and creating new pathways to ensure impact. He sits on the board of the Marine Stewardship Council and several other voluntary positions.

Jensi Sartin. Consultant

jsartin@sustainablesolutions.consulting

[Currently on long-term assignment with BAPPENAS/UNDP] Jensi has more than 10 years of experience in supporting sustainability initiatives with iNGOs & Government departments in Indonesia. Jensi’s areas of specialism include: integrated marine and coastal management (MPAs, EAFM), training and capacity building (ecological and social impact assessment, scuba diving, popular writing), and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Formerly Director of Reef Check Foundation Indonesia, and Program Development Specialist for ‘Publish What ... Read More

[Currently on long-term assignment with BAPPENAS/UNDP]
Jensi has more than 10 years of experience in supporting sustainability initiatives with iNGOs & Government departments in Indonesia. Jensi’s areas of specialism include: integrated marine and coastal management (MPAs, EAFM), training and capacity building (ecological and social impact assessment, scuba diving, popular writing), and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM).

Formerly Director of Reef Check Foundation Indonesia, and Program Development Specialist for ‘Publish What You Pay’ Indonesia, Jensi’s key areas of focus include: strategic planning, program design, research and fundraising. Jensi holds a Bachelors degree in Marine Ecology from Diponegoro University, Indonesia; and a Masters degree in Natural Resource Management from James Cook University, Australia.

Matt Fox. Consultant

mfox@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Matt has worked on conservation and natural resource management in the Asia Pacific region for the past twenty years. Working with community organisations, NGOs and governments his work addresses the sustainability challenges of our times; climate change, biodiversity loss, sustainability of natural resource industries, and resilience in the face of natural disasters. Matt brings a strong grasp of programmatic and strategic design, project management, financing and grant-making, and community engagement ... Read More

Matt brings a strong grasp of programmatic and strategic design, project management, financing and grant-making, and community engagement practices. He has significant experience at the organizational level, paired with a strong fundraising record. His broad content knowledge includes community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), marine and coastal zone management, formal protected area management, small-scale fisheries, nature-based tourism and emergency management. In Indonesia, he led the team that developed the country’s first self-funded marine protected area network in West Papua.

Before commencing his consulting work in 2017, Matt held senior positions with government and NGOs in Australia, Indonesia and Cambodia, and most recently worked as Conservation International’s Senior Marine Advisor in Indonesia (2013-2016). He holds Social Sciences and Science degrees, was the recipient of an Earthwatch Fellowship (an Australian National Science Award for Young People) and was an Australian Youth Ambassador.

Dr. Amielle DeWan. Consultant

adewan@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Amielle’s work focuses on non-profit organizations as a powerful conduit for improving lives and changing the world for the better, whilst recognizing that aligning work towards the greatest possible impact can be a challenge. Whether it is evaluating and demonstrating impact, improving institutional learning, securing sustainable funding, managing change, or implementing innovative new programs – Amielle is passionate about working with organizations to achieve their greatest potential. As the Executive ... Read More

As the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Impact by Design, Amielle bridges non-profit missions with best practices in designing and implementing whole systems approach to impact-oriented monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management. Impact by Design offers human-centered consulting that focuses on building a deep understanding of a team’s needs and motivations, then designing tailored solutions that allow organizations to achieve their goals.

Amielle’s specialties include: monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), research design, training design, facilitation, institutional learning and adaptive management, behavior change, project management, and leadership development. She received her PhD from Cornell University in wildlife ecology, biostatistics, and GIS, her Masters from the State University of New York in Conservation Biology and Policy and Bachelors from the State University of New York Binghamton. Prior to becoming a consultant Amielle led planning, monitoring, and science departments at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Rare, and Defenders of Wildlife.

Skye Turner-Walker. Consultant

sturner-walker@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Skye’s work for more than 15 years has concentrated on strengthening the mechanisms for responding to environmental and climate change risks and uncertainty, with a focus on climate change adaptation (CCA), disaster risk management (DRM) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the Asia-Pacific. Skye has been based with United Nations (UN) development agencies such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP), international environmental think tanks such as the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), international NGOs, research institutes as well as with government ministries and departments. She has worked as a Climate Change Advisor to National Environment Directorates, and as a specialist for a range of UN programmes for Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction. Most recently, Skye has worked on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and disaster risk reduction/management projects throughout the Asia-Pacific funded under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) since 2014. As a Project Design Specialist and Team leader responsible for developing full-sized project design on a number of Ecosystem-based adaptation GEF and GCF projects (in Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Thailand), Skye has been responsible for working with communities and key stakeholders from across government, NGOs, CSOs and research institutes in the participatory design of these projects.

Skye’s PhD is on local responses to climate change adaptation in coastal and small-islands of Indonesia, with the Australian National University (ANU) Fenner School. Skye also holds a Master of Social Science in International Urban and Environmental Management, a Bachelor of Social Science in Environment, and is currently a visiting researcher at the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies, in Indonesia.

Laura D’Arcy. Consultant

ldarcy@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Laura is an experienced conservation manager who has supported terrestrial land management and biodiversity conservation initiatives with a wide range of organizations; NGOs, national and district governmental agencies, international and inter-governmental agencies, as well as corporate entities. She has technical expertise in wildlife trade, wildlife conservation (particularly large cats and great apes), protected area management, tropical peatland management, sustainable financing, biodiversity assessments and monitoring, integrated landscape management, commodities and certification ... Read More

Laura sits on the Council of the Linnean Society, is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and member of the Association of Tropical Biology. She sat on Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Biodiversity and High Conservation Value (HCV) Technical Working group for four years and was scientific advisor to the RSPO Compensation Task Force. Laura has also co-authored several guidance documents for the identification, monitoring and management of biodiversity in HCV areas, as well as on topics of human wildlife conflict. She holds a BSc in Environmental Conservation Management from Nottingham Trent (UK), a Masters in Conservation Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), and is a qualified teacher and expedition leader.

Sebastian Persch. Consultant

spersch@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Sebastian is a tropical ecologist and software apps support developer who was worked on various topics related to forestry, conservation and climate change mitigation for the past 7 years. Through his deep knowledge in advanced data analysis and statistical programming, he has helped automate data analysis processes in a range of programs, including a pilot project for the national forest inventory of Lao PDR, as well as implementing analysis for ... Read More

He has conducted extensive research on carbon stock and carbon dynamics estimations in Sumatran peatlands in association with CIFOR, CIRAD, the James Hutton Institute and the University of Göttingen, gaining an in depth knowledge on tropical carbon cycles and climate change mitigation efforts. Furthermore he has advised on feasibility studies for REDD+ in Indonesia.

Sebastian is the co-founder of a recently launched ‘Sustainability Apps’ company supporting the development of innovative Integrated web based applications to deliver data-driven sustainable solutions to socio-environmental problems, particularly in the areas of agribusiness. The apps are project and process-specific tools for integrating real time analysis with the concepts of adaptive management and streamlined work flows.

Sebastian has Bachelors in Forest Ecology and Management from the University of Göttingen, a Masters in Tropical and International Forestry from the University of Göttingen and in currently completing his PhD in Tropical Ecology also from The University of Göttingen.

Support Providers

Manuela Wedgwood. Consultant Editor and Researcher

mwedgwood@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Manuela is a freelance researcher and editor with nearly 20 years’ experience working in journalism, academia, and IT. Latterly, her work has also involved her closely with Web product design, online content, and Information Architecture in various sectors including Heritage and Marine Sustainability. She is also a translator and interpreter in German, English, and Romanian and has edited, researched, and translated material on a wide range of topics ranging from ... Read More

Her editing commissions include Professor Jack Goody’s The Theft of History, and Renaissances: The One or the Many? (Cambridge University Press, 2006, 2010), various titles from the Institute of Education Press (UCL) among many other books, academic papers, reports, and school curricula.

Recently, she has been involved in a number of cultural initiatives elaborating project concepts, creating product design, specifying content requirements and structure as well as taxonomy and database schema design, collecting data through both desk-based research and fieldwork, and establishing and maintaining contacts with stakeholders. In addition, in this field she has designed and specified a web-based historical educational interactive product and a series of content directories while writing and researching source material.

Manuela holds a Bachelors in German and English Language and Literature from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu and a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in European Literature from the University of Cambridge.

Susantry Sihombing. Consultant Operations and Event Management

ssihombing@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Susantry has more than 20 years of experience in operations and event management in support of sustainability related organizations. As former Operations Manager for The Nature Conservancy in Indonesia she led all events management, including Asia Pacific Board member meetings and Asia Pacific senior managers meetings, as well as travel and logistics support for more than 150 staff across the SE Asia region. She has been supporting the work of ... Read More

She has been supporting the work of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Secretariat since its inception in 2009, and became an independent consultant in 2012, focusing on supporting sustainability related ventures and institutions in event planning and organizing; including operations and human resources management, development and team building.

In addition to this Susantry has provided assistance to the governments of the six nations across the Coral Triangle region of SE Asia for a range of senior official and associated inter-governmental meetings and events. She has also supported initiatives of the US Department of Interior International Technical Assistance Program, focusing on the empowerment of women leaders throughout the region, the establishment of a local government network, and the organization of business fora. She holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Silliman University, Dumaguete, Philippines.

Eni Sulistyo Rini & Adrian Coen. Consultant translation team (English/Indonesian)

translation@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Eni Sulistyo Rini M.C. is a veteran translator. Working in partnership with Adrian Coen, this translation team has provided high quality bi-lingual product development support to a range of clients, including MAMPU, ACER, WWF, Erlangga, Handicap International, RARE, Martha Tilaar, Garuda Inflight Magazine, International Federation of the Red Cross, USAID PRIORITAS, DBE3, USAID SEA, VSO/CUSO, South Pole Group and SSIC. They also assist several Indonesia-based academic journals, including GAMA IJB, JIEB, JAR and others.
Eni is also a co-founder of Wisma Bahasa – Yogyakarta Indonesia Language Centre – where she has served as coordinator, teacher, and trainer; she is currently on the executive board of the Suara Bhakti Foundation that owns Wisma Bahasa, a translation company and a community development organization. Adrian also worked as a Lecturer in English Writing Skills in the International Undergraduate Programme at the Faculty of Economics & Business, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, for fourteen years.

Sonya Wilinda. PA to Founder

swilinda@sustainablesolutions.consulting

Putu Sonya Wilinda (Sonya) is a graduate from Mahasaraswati University (formerly STIBA). Her major was English literature, and she completed her studies in 2016. Prior to her time in academia she worked in the hospitality industry, where she continued to work part-time during her studies and beyond. Her work as a front-line representative has enabled her to meet new people from all around the world, learning about other countries, welcoming visitors and sharing information about her own Balinese culture. Originally from the Gianyar area of Bali, Sonya joined the technical administration of the SSIC international consortium in 2019.