Meet Our Global Team

Robert Steele, founder of AtKisson’s first Affiliate, Systainability Asia, is a senior consultant, trainer, and gifted facilitator who values collaboration, partnerships, and working with teams to build their strengths. Since 2004, Robert’s passion and focus has been systems thinking, and helping people learn to use systems thinking tools and approaches in education and in the corporate world. Robert has been using the AtKisson Group’s Accelerator tools since 2002, working with executives, universities, UN officials, students, and many other groups, throughout East Asia. Robert is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Axel Klimek is a senior management consultant, helping global organizations to manage complex change processes and improve their performance. Axel serves as CEO of Center for Sustainability Transformation GmbH, a standalone spin-off from AtKisson Inc. and the AtKisson Group’s professional training and development division. He is also the founder of Axel Klimek 3p, which helps clients achieve sustainability through cultural change processes, innovation, cooperation, strategic planning, and change management. One of his main focus areas is how sustainability can be integrated into the value chain of an organisation and can become a habitual part of the perception, decision making process and actions of its leaders, managers and staff. Axel lives in Hofheim, Germany.

Gillian Martin Mehers is a learning and capacity development practitioner and expert facilitator who has been working within the global sustainability community for 20 years. She is currently Founding Director at Bright Green Learning (Atadore SARL).

Gillian’s expertise is in creating dynamic experiential learning environments, facilitating productive multi-stakeholder dialogue processes, interactive learning design, social media applications for communication and learning, and innovative curriculum and training materials development.

Gillian’s past experience includes Head of Learning and Leadership at The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and serving as the Director of Capacity Development at LEAD International. She recently co-authored The Systems Thinking Playbook for Climate Change. She lives in Geneva, Switzerland. Read Gillian’s blog here.

The Office of Sustainability at Auburn University exists to develop an ethic, practice, and culture of sustainability at Auburn and to assist groups, organizations, and communities improve their understanding and practice of sustainability.

As a licensed Affiliate of the AtKisson Group, the Office of Sustainability uses the Sustainability Compass and the VISIS Method and Accelerator tools to conduct sustainability education and training, planning and decision-making initiatives with audiences on campus and in communities.

Office Director Mike Kensler and Program Manager Amy Strickland are graduates of the Center for Sustainability Transformation Master Class (a member of AtKisson Group) and are available to assist interested parties in their move toward a more sustainable future. They are based in Auburn, Alabama, USA.

David Berry has extensive experience in sustainability-related policy and decision-making. He formerly served as Executive Director of White House-sponsored Inter-Agency Working Group on Sustainable Development Indicators. He has also co-led the Interagency Industrial Ecology working group, producing a report on materials flow. Currently he directs and facilitates the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable, a broad multi-stakeholder federal advisory group which he co-founded.

David has represented the United States at UN and World Bank, sponsored meetings on sustainability, spoken at many conferences, and led dozens of workshops on sustainability-related topics. He is an expert speaker, presenter, advisor and facilitator. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Cabinet Espere is a leading sustainability consultancy in France, with an office in Senegal as well. Espere provides a wide range of strategy, technical, and change management services to companies and communities. Principals Francois Raguenot and JF Fillaut are also very experienced in the application of ISO 26000 standards.

Francois Raguenot is a 2010 graduate of the Center for Sustainability Transformation Master Class. In addition to being certified in the application of the VISIS Method and Accelerator tools, he is very experienced with The Natural Step framework and other tools for managing sustainability planning. He is also in charge of the ISO 26000 evaluation of several organizations, in collaboration with AFNOR, the French national standardization body.

JF “Jeff” Fillaut graduated from the Center for Sustainability Transformation Master Class in 2011 and consults on ISO 26000 and other management tools. He also manages Cabinet Espere’s extensive work with social and sustainable entrepreneurship in Senegal (for which Cabinet Espere has received national recognition). The Cabinet Espere office in Senegal also functions as the AtKisson Group’s representative in West Africa.

Jean-François and François also contribute to the development of Internet Tools to facilitate the evaluation of greenhouse gases emissions and social responsibility reporting. Cabinet Espere is based in Vendôme, France and Dakar, Senegal.

The Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS) is a student-initiated, and mostly student-run centre at Uppsala University and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Isak Stoddard acts as Programme Director and Educational Coordinator at CEMUS. His professional focus in recent years has been on transdisciplinary Education for Sustainable Development, with an emphasis on experiential, transformative and lifelong learning. However, he has also worked in Asia, North America and Europe on issues related to renewable energy, environmental degradation, children’s rights, human trafficking, and alternative development paths. Isak’s educational background is in engineering physics, systems technology and energy systems. CEMUS is based in Uppsala, Sweden.

The Centre for Systems Solutions promotes and applies systems approach in research, education,  consulting and solving complex problems. They combine research with applications in the field of strategy development, decision making,  implementing solutions and education. Using their knowledge and skills, they cooperate with local  communities, industry, academic centers, state organizations, as well as NGOs.

Piotr Magnuszewski, co-founder and managing director,  is highly experienced as a systems modeller, professional trainer, facilitator, and researcher, and is particularly involved in linking theory with practice, science with policy, and knowledge with action, through diverse systems and knowledge management tools.

Piotr uses his expertise in systems thinking and practice to apply and teach systems tools to diverse groups of scientists, NGOs, businesses, and administrations around the world. He has designed many simulation and role-playing games addressing the issues of sustainable development, and is also the author of many research and educational publications. CRS is based in Krakow, Poland.

 Andy Chambers is Director of Seed Consulting Services, based in Adelaide, South Australia. His primary focus areas are Sustainability Planning, Environmental Management Systems (EMS), and Natural Resource Management(NRM) project services. His particular specialty is in Eco-efficiency auditing, and opportunity savings.

Recent work projects include helping 5000 members of Australia’s peak membership body for retail pharmacy, “The Guild,” to engage with sustainability; as well as connecting with rural industries, such as the wine sector, to engage in water adaptation at a regional level in association with climate change adaptation thinking.

Above all, Andy enjoys making sustainability fun and rewarding for clients and communities—helping to make science and policy engaging, and positive change a part of life. Andy lives in Adelaide, Australia.

 Change Agent Inc. is an innovative and unique company in Japan with the mission of mass-producing “change agents”–people with a desire to improve society, organizations, and themselves. They offer a series of skills-training programs consisting of visioning, identifying problems, and effective approaches based on systems thinking, planning strategies for change, and managing transition.

Co-founder Riichiro Oda has extensive experience at the intersection of business, systems thinking, and sustainability. He is co-author, together with Junko Edahiro, of a new systems thinking guidebook, and he advises http://medimagery.com/buyvalium/ both companies and Japanese government agencies on issues ranging from climate change to corporate social responsibility. With a background in management, Rich combines mastery of sustainability theory and practice with solid experience in business implementation. Change Agent, Inc. is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Andre Grant is a senior project manager at the Center for Appropriate Technology in Queensland, Australia, as well as a graduate of the Center for Sustainability Transformation Master Class. Originally from Scotland, his work with communities in northern Queensland has been recognized with a Kinship Conservation Fellowship. He is skilled in both community facilitation and empowerment techniques, and in the development of conservation mechanisms and programs, among other capacities. He routinely uses the AtKisson Sustainability Compass in his work with communities in Queensland, Australia.

Alex Mavro has spent twelve years demonstrating the value that stakeholder methodology creates for organizations. Alex speaks and writes about profit optimization as distinct from profit maximization, and is perhaps Thailand’s best known advocate for doing good business in addition to doing business well. His expertise has led to his authoring of the chapter on Thailand in the World Guide to CSR.

Alex founded the Bangkok professional chapter of Net Impact, a community of business leaders promoting positive social and environmental change. He also fathered the CSR Committee of the American Chamber in Thailand which oversees an annual Recognition program for Chamber members, whose sustainability strategies excel.

As an independent consultant, Alex introduced dozens of organizations to stakeholder engagement. In 2012 he joined the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration (Chulalongkorn University) to help found their Center for Sustainability Management. Today, he serves as a resource for degree programs while continuing to urge corporates to end the hostilities between business and society. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology is one of the leading technical universities in Russia, with the highest rating among chemical technological schools nationally.

Kate Oganesyan is an associate professor at the Institute of Chemistry and Problems of Sustainable Development at Mendeleev University, as well as a technical advisor for the ICS Group in Russia.

Kate has spent over 18 years researching ICT impact on the environment, data center design, energy consumption, and efficiency indices. As a professor,  Kate lectures in System Dynamics, Computer Modeling, and Geographic Information Systems.

Kate also works as a translator and editor. She’s translated several books for publishing in Russia, including Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows, and Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update by Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis L. Meadows. She lives in Moscow, Russia.

Ben Roche is a human geographer, facilitator, and educator, with great interest in participatory approaches to sustainable development, and the role that education and engagement play in creating resilience, capacity, and well-being in communities. He has taught, researched and practiced in the areas of community-based learning, participatory planning, sustainable development and community engagement. His work draws heavily on systems design and thinking and how it is applied to a range of sustainability challenges.

Ben is the Pro Vice Chancellor for Engagement at Southern Cross University, a Senior Associate of the AtKisson Group, and Director of The Connect Project. He lives in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.

Professor Boshra Salem has dedicated all her life and energy to the advancement of ecology, in both its basic and applied aspects. She is one of the founders of the department of Environmental sciences at the University of Alexandria, where she is currently acting as a full Professor. Dr. Salem has won several national and international prizes, and served as a member of steering committees and a coordinator in several national and international projects on environmental surveys and applications. In 2013  Dr. Boshra Salem was inducted into the US State Department’s Women in Science Hall of Fame for the Middle East and North Africa. She lives in Alexandria, Egypt.

Created to help Polish society find solutions to complex environmental, economic and social problems, the Sendzimir Foundation is a leader in sustainability education, training, and research in Poland. Several key leaders in the Foundation have received advanced training on the VISIS Method and Accelerator Tools, including Tomasz Bergier and Karolina Maliszewska, who are graduates of the Center for Sustainability Transformation Master Class. Every summer, the Sendzimir Foundation runs a very popular three-week course, a Sustainability Summer School, and the VISIS Method and Accelerator Tools play a prominent role there. The foundation is based in Warsaw, Poland and other cities.

Dennis Walker has over 24 years of experience in management and management consulting in Southeast Asia. He has worked with local and multinational companies in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, including Johnson Controls International and PWC. Dennis is a passionate systems thinker and is dedicated to helping individuals and organisations achieve more sustainable lives and business strategies. He is certified by USGBC as a LEED Green Associate and is certified in Permaculture Design. Dennis is the Campaign Coordinator for Pyramid 2030 and supports workshop organisation and campaign communication and reporting. He has a MBA from University of California, Irvine and is working on completing a Sustainability Professional Certificate (SPC) at ISSP (International Society of Sustainability Professionals). Using the Accelerator Tools, he has facilitated workshops for academic and private sector institutions wishing to integrate sustainability into their curricula and operating strategies, respectively. For more detailed outline of background and experience, please see his LinkedIn profile. Dennis lives in Bali, Indonesia.

Markus Will, Dipl-.Ing (FH), works as lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Goerlitz, Germany. His academic interests lie in life cycle assessment, technology assessment and innovation theory. Recently, he deals with methodological questions of greenhouse gas accounting for regions. He regularly works as facilitator and consultant, trying to support the development of sustainability strategies in organizations and municipalities. He also gives advice and support in implementation and auditing of environmental, quality or sustainability management systems. Despite his deep involvement with the topic, he notes that his own environmental footprint is still larger than would be adequate in a fair and sustainable world. Markus lives in Zittau, Germany.

Douglas Worts (pronounced Werts) is a culture and sustainability specialist with WorldViews Consulting.  Building on a 30 year museum career, Douglas approaches culture as ‘how we live our lives’, as opposed to the notion of culture being a niche of the entertainment economy.  In 1997, he became a Fellow of Leadership for Environment and Development – a Rockefeller Foundation initiative building global, cross-disciplinary networks of leaders with a passion for building a sustainable world. Douglas has published, taught and lectured widely on his work, as well as consulting to numerous museums and educational institutions. He lives in Toronto, Canada.