About

What we do and what we offer

We collaborate with philanthropy to design highly impactful strategy on food systems. 

We initiate cutting edge research to seed new ideas on food and climate change. 

We design and execute campaigns for industry transformation with our partners. 

We offer robust advice to policymakers and companies on food transition pathways.

Staff

Emily Armistead, Interim Executive Director

Emily is an accomplished strategist, campaigner and organisational leader. She lives in London, UK with her partner and two children.

Emily has over 20 years experience of making change happen, having worked across the environment, development and human rights sectors. Notable wins include big name corporates changing supply chain approaches in fashion and palm oil sourcing and influencing global policy on the diamond trade.  More recently Emily oversaw Greenpeace UK’s first campaign to address meat reduction, sparking a strong personal interest in how we transform our food system to prevent the breakdown of climate and biodiversity. As a senior leader, Emily is equally passionate about creating strong and inclusive organsational cultures that support impactful change.

Rebecca Pons, Chief Operations Officer

Rebecca is an experienced operations leader, who enjoys dancing salsa, merengue and bachata, and holds a second-degree black belt in Manaka-Ryu Jujutsu. She lives in Washington, USA.

Rebecca brings 14 years of non-profit operations experience in new, small to long-established, large charities, with a strong background in financial management, legal compliance, grant lifecycle, staff development, internal communications, and system improvement. Prior to joining Madre Brava, she was a Senior Program Operations Manager at Greenpeace USA, supporting the management, strategy development, and evaluation of various teams that work to protect the planet and serve the people. Before that, Rebecca was a Project and Information Coordinator for The United Council of University of Wisconsin Students, where she managed and trained a multidisplinary, decentralised team of over 20 people on organising and campaigning.

Nico Muzi, Co-Founder & Managing Director

Nico is a creative thinker, storyteller, and son of an Argentine rancher. He lives in Brussels, Belgium.

An award-winning communications professional, Nico Muzi leads campaigns to minimise the impact of agriculture on people, planet and animals. Nico has been campaigning and communicating on climate issues for around 20 years. He ran the flagship European Meat Campaign for Mighty Earth. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Director of Communications and Campaigns for Transport & Environment, Europe’s leading NGO for clean transport. He co-directed the award-winning documentary Frontera Invisible. Nico learned the art of storytelling while working for global PR firm Weber Shandwick at the start of his career.

Sarah Lake, Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor

Sarah is the Co-Founder of Madre Brava and currently works as CEO of Plantworks. She continues to actively support the team at Madre Brava as an Advisor.

Sarah Lake has been at the forefront of sustainable agricultural solutions for over a decade. She brings expertise in private sector action on climate change, particularly emissions from agricultural production and land use. She previously worked at WRI, leading corporate engagement and science-based targets on land use, co-directed Trase in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute, and was Vice President and Global Director at Mighty Earth. She holds a PhD in the environmental and social impacts of cattle supply chains and has dedicated her career to scaling innovative initiatives to transform the private sector.

Robin Willoughby, Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor

Robin is the Co-Founder of Madre Brava and currently works as Director of Strategy at Plantworks. He continues to work closely with the team at Madre Brava as an Advisor and supporter.

Robin Willoughby brings nearly 20 years of experience as a director and leader in international affairs and environmental organizations with expertise on human rights, development, and sustainable supply chains. Robin has previously worked at the United Nations in New York; served as Head of Policy and Campaigns on Food and Climate Change at Oxfam GB; led research on energy and the environment at Chatham House and directed the UK campaign work of environmental organisation – Mighty Earth.

Jacques-Chai Chomthongdi, Southeast Asia Director

Jacques-Chai is an advocacy and campaign strategist, and a keen explorer. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jacques-Chai brings more than two decades of experience in spearheading policy advocacy, public engagement campaigns, and transformative developmental projects in Southeast Asia. He is a proficient strategist adept at developing and implementing effective influencing strategies, with a background in food value chains, climate change, and public policy. Before joining Madre Brava, he was the Advocacy & Campaign lead for Oxfam in Thailand, serving also as the Southern Policy & Advocacy Manager for Oxfam GB. In this capacity, Jacques-Chai led private sector engagement efforts for Oxfam in the Asia region.

He previously ran the Thailand work for Focus on the Global South, a regional research and advocacy organisation based at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. During this time, he co-founded FTA Watch and Thailand's Climate Justice network, advocacy groups on free trade negotiations and national climate policy, respectively.

Florian Wall, Germany Senior Associate

Florian is a thinker-doer who loves socialising ideas and climbing trees. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

Florian Wall serves as our Senior Associate overseeing Madre Brava's initiatives in Germany. He embarked on his academic journey studying economics and sociology, providing a diverse foundation for his approach to systemic change.

Florian kickstarted his career by spearheading the mobility transition as the first employee and Marketing Manager of Miles Mobility, a car sharing company, driving its early success during a phase of rapid growth. Transitioning his focus to the food industry, he held positions across various for-profit entities within the food supply chain. Simultaneously, he initiated grassroots movements in Western Europe, advocating for land stewardship and regenerative agriculture concepts, showcasing his commitment to holistic and sustainable change practices. His desire to contribute to more rapid change in the food system, brought him to Madre Brava. Florian identifies the protein transition as the single biggest lever to trigger a socio-ecological transformation of food systems.

Amna Naseem, Research Associate

Amna is a sustainability enthusiast and an occasional boxer. She lives in Delhi, India.

Amna is a Research Associate at Madre Brava, with a background in climate policy and law. Her career began notably as a Foresight Risk Analyst at the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, leading a project to enhance Air System Resilience. She later joined KPMG UK as a Climate Risk Analyst, where she assisted in adjusting business strategies to address climate risks and opportunities.

Amna advocates for systemic change and believes in actively involving women, indigenous communities and knowledge from the Global South in building system resilience, bringing a holistic perspective to the transformation of global food systems at Madre Brava.

Funders

• ClimateWorks Foundation
• Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA)
• Open Philanthropy
• Robertson Foundation
• Greenbaum Foundation
• HighTide Foundation
• Craiglist Charitable Fund
• Mobius
• Food Solutions Innovations