Sam Hall | Director

 

Sam joined CEN after having served as a Policy Adviser to Michael Gove when he was Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He was also the Head of Research at the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, leading their work on energy and the environment and authoring several policy reports.

John Flesher | Deputy Director

 

John joined CEN in 2020, following several years working in Parliament, most recently as Policy Adviser to Zac Goldsmith. He established CEN’s international programme, working with centre-right political parties and organisations across the world, and now coordinates our work across UK and international programmes.

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Isabel Goodwin | Head of Outreach

 

Isabel joined CEN in 2022 after working at the Conservative Councillors’ Association. She leads our outreach programme, working to promote environmentalism amongst the conservative grassroots.

Max Anderson | Senior Communications Manager

 

Max joined CEN after working as Senior Communications Manager at Bright Blue. Prior to this, he worked as a Communications Adviser to Samuel Kasumu’s Mayoral Campaign and a Parliamentary Assistant to Dame Caroline Dinenage MP. Max leads our communications and media programme, working to promote our work and supporters.

Kitty Thompson | Senior Nature

Programme Manager

 

Kitty joined CEN after university, having interned with several sustainability-focused start-ups. Alongside her work at CEN, she is also undertaking an MSc in Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. Kitty leads CEN's nature programme, with its work covering water quality and security, agriculture, habitats and land use change, resource efficiency and security, and ocean conservation.

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Fin McCarron | Senior International Programme Manager

 

Fin joined CEN in 2021 after graduating from Glasgow University. She runs CEN's international case study programme and coordinates work with centre-right political parties from across the world. Fin also leads on CEN's work on international climate and nature.

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Sam Payne | Senior Climate Programme Manager

 

Having been involved with CEN’s mission since the inaugural CEN Academy in 2022, Sam now leads the Climate Team. Coming from the North East of Scotland, Sam has a deep appreciation for the natural environment and the energy industry. Sam is also an Aberdeenshire Councillor and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

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Caitie Gillett | Clean Air Programme & Fundraising Manager

 

Caitie joined CEN in 2021 after completing a BSc in Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton. While at university, she completed an internship at Defra and with Zac Goldsmith. Caitie leads CEN’s clean air programme, and now also works on fundraising.

 

Bert Evans-Bevan | Nature Programme Officer

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Bert joined CEN in 2024 having previously interned with several conservation and agricultural organisations. Working on the nature team, he is particularly interested in land use and nature policy.

Elinor Bale | Climate Programme Officer

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Ellie joined CEN after working in the renewable energy sector. Prior to this, she earned a BA (Hons) in Russian and Politics specialising in environmentalism in the post-Soviet space. She went on to study an MA in Russian and post-Soviet politics focusing on research into the relationship between the Russian legal system and environmentalism. 

Maanya Patel | Outreach Officer

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Maanya joined CEN’s Outreach team after working as Director of Outreach at the British Conservation Alliance and graduating from Oxford. She is a regular environmental and political commentator, including sitting on the Climate Engagement round table at London Climate Week. She is particularly interested in inspiring young conservative environmentalists through our Next Gen Cen Programme. 

Emma Ware | Office Manager

 

Emma studied law at King's College London and has worked for BDO in its Renewable Energy Finance team as a project manager. She has produced policy ideas on domestic anaerobic digestion and recycling innovation which was selected for the Conservative Policy Forum yearbook. She is passionate about promoting environmentalism to the conservative grassroots.

 

Philippa Broom | Senior Adviser

 

Philippa Broom OBE is CEN’s senior adviser. She served for 14 years as Director of the Conservative Party’s International Office with responsibility for international relations and the Party’s Westminster Foundation for Democracy programme. She has worked in over 40 countries and has an extensive political network across the world. In 2018 Philippa was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honour List for public and political service.