November 15th, 2021 ADF gathered a small group of highly dedicated individuals for sustainable development at the home of Ira Sundberg, Co-founder and member of the board of ADF, in Uppsala. The conversation focused on the new ADF-initiative Sustainable Development in the 21st Century – Beyond Silos and Fragmentation

The guests in this conversation, besides two of the founders of ADF (Ira Sundberg and Ingvar Rönnbäck), were Paula Alvarado, Rebecca Oliver and Isak Stoddard.

Paula Alvarado is Chief Strategic Communications and Outreach Officer at The Tenure Facility, where she leads branding and communication, as well as outreach and capacity building initiatives within projects. She supports efforts to build knowledge and create narratives that can bring stories from Tenure Facility partners to a broader, global audience. She is passionate about amplifying local voices in new spaces by producing powerful stories for different media. She believes in the power of communication, in particular in storytelling, for generating change, changing behaviors, and creating conscience.

Alvarado has more than 25 years of experience in international politics, human rights strategy and operations, sustainable development, public health, environmental and humanitarian intervention in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 

Rebecca Oliver is a Sustainability Strategist, Associate at Purple IVY, Validation Lead at Green Assets Wallet.

Focus areas: integrated strategy and sustainable finance. Specialties: Strategic development of innovative projects and organisations, including risk management. Engagement, dialogue and scenario processes to build the right partnerships for solving complex challenges. Specialist in food systems, climate change, sustainability and corporate strategy. Systems approach to global issues.

Isak Stoddard is Acting Program Director at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS) at the University of Uppsala and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. In this role he mainly works on developing transformative and transdisciplinary approaches to higher education as a response to the global environmental and social challenges of our times. Isak is also the coordinator of a new 10-year research-initiative on climate change leadership, centered around a series of visiting professorships at Uppsala University made possible by a donation from Zennström Philanthropies.

Isak has an educational background in engineering physics, systems technology and energy systems. A dual citizen of Sweden and the United States, he is now based in Uppsala (SE).

ADF is deeply grateful for the contributions from Paula, Rebecca and Isak since this is of importance for developing the initiative Beyond Silos and Fragmentation.

ADF will continue to invite ADF-advisors and experts on sustainability in Garden Talks and outreach activities.