Our people
Find out about the people involved in work at the Global Food and Environment Institute (GFEI).
Executive team
Our executive team set the strategic direction for the GFEI:
- Stephen Whitfield, Professor of Climate, Agriculture and Food, Director, School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability
- Stefan Kepinski, Professor of Plant Sciences, School of Biology
- Effie Papargyropoulou, Associate Professor in Sustainable Food Networks, School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability
- Sara González, Professor of Human Critical Geography, School of Geography
- Gülbanu Kaptan, Associate Professor in Behavioural Decision Making, Leeds University Business School
- Yun Yun Gong, Professor in Food Safety and Global Health, School of Food Science and Nutrition
- Roxana Barbulescu, Associate Professor, School of Sociology and Social Policy
- Ruth Wade, Lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture, School of Biology
- Tim Cockerill, Professor of Efficient Energy Utilisation, School of Mechanical Engineering
- Bassey Ebenso, Associate Professor, School of Medicine
Operations team
- Sarah Dennis, Institute Manager
- Victoria Hood, Communications Manager
- Valerie Stephenson-Lewis, Administrator and PA to Professor Stephen Whitfield
- Siân Evans, Research and Innovation Development Manager
- Gesa Reiss, Senior Innovation Fellow
External Advisory Board
- Professor Fiona Smith, Professorial Research Fellow at the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO), University of Sussex
- Sue Davies, Strategic Policy Advisor, Which?
- Dan Crossley, Executive Director, Food Ethics Council
- James Hopwood, Director – Agriculture, Grower Relations, McCain Foods
- Jemma Hynes, CEO & Technical Director, FoodSync
- Sithembile "Thembi" Mwamakamba, Director of Policy Research and Analysis, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
- Polly Cook, Chief Officer – Sustainable Energy and Air Quality, Leeds City Council
Contact us
For more information about the GFEI, please email the Global Food and Environment Institute via globalfood@leeds.ac.uk.