Board

Our Board are the guardians of the Resource Centre’s identity, and play a full role in strategy and the accountability of the management team.  The Board is diverse and composed of activists, academics, former business people, and specialists.

Board members (see below for bios):

Namit Agarwal

Alejandra Ancheita

Shawna Bader-Blau

Mutuso Dhliwayo 

Isabel Ebert

Heather Grady

Michael Hirschhorn

Kirsty Jenkinson

Chris Jochnick

Seema Joshi

Claudia Saller

Note: For legal purposes, some members of our international board serve on the board of our UK-registered charity, and others on the board of our US-registered non-profit.  Further information available on request.

Board Member Bios:

Namit Agarwal

Namit Agarwal is the Social Transformation Lead working at the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). He aims to influence the world's most influential companies to respect the rights and entitlements of people in the workspace, supply chains and communities. He works towards holding companies accountable through WBA’s Social Benchmark, the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the Gender Benchmark.

Namit brings in experience of influencing public policy, companies and investors on issues of transparency, accountability, human rights and gender.

Before WBA, Namit worked with Oxfam India, CARE India and Samhita Social Ventures in the areas of advocacy, campaigning, program design and communication. He strongly believes in evidence-based advocacy and multi-stakeholder dialogue.

He is a member of India's National Human Rights Commission core group on Business, Environment and Human Rights, a Steering Committee member of the GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives and an Advisory Committee member of Fair Finance Asia. He is an MBA from ICFAI University and Commerce graduate from Calcutta University.

Alejandra Ancheita

Alejandra Ancheita is the Founder and Executive Director of ProDESC. Since 2005 she has led processes aimed at the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, achieving unprecedented results such as the application of accountability mechanisms to major transnational corporations. Her work has benefitted particularly women, groups of workers, and indigenous and agrarian communities. Due to the impact of the work she has done, in 2014 she was awarded with the Martin Ennals Award by the International Human Rights Community. Likewise, in 2015 she received recognition from the Mexican Senate for her continuous work as a defender of the rights of workers, migrants and indigenous communities. Alejandra Ancheita is a member of several boards from NGOs, foundations and organizations around the world.

She has a Law Degree from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) and Master in International Law and Global Justice from Fordham University School of Law (USA). In 2019, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Paris Nanterre (France).

Twitter: @AAncheita

Shawna Bader-Blau

Shawna Bader-Blau leads the Solidarity Center, the largest global worker rights organization based in the United States. Since October 2011, she has served as executive director of an organization of more than 220 staff in Washington, D.C., and 26 field offices, implementing programs in about 60 countries. She has been with the organization for 14 years.

Shawna is an advocate and activist for safe, dignified and family-supporting livelihoods—where workers can exercise their fundamental labor rights and have a voice in shaping work conditions and public policies that impact their lives. She is a leading advocate helping link the human rights community with the labor movement’s struggle to protect worker rights. She works to ensure that worker rights issues are part of policy discussions on international development and within the women’s movement and broader civil society.

Shawna regularly testifies as an expert on worker and human rights at U.S. congressional briefings and hearings. She organizes and co-convenes discussions on the protection of worker rights in times of closing space and increased impunity, bringing together rights defenders, workers, UN agencies, governments and labor unions to find common solutions. And she represents the Solidarity Center at conferences and policy discussions around the world, promoting social justice, gender equity, decent work and more inclusive economic development and democratic societies.

Shawna has worked in the field of international development and human rights for 17 years and has lived or worked in more than 25 countries. Prior to her appointment as executive director, Shawna served as the Solidarity Center’s regional program director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She is an Arabic speaker and a recognized expert on authoritarian regimes and civil society. She holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Shawna also currently serves as vice chair of the Board of Directors of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

See testimony and speeches by Shawna Bader-Blau.

Paul Clough

Paul is currently the Finance and Operations Director at the Kings Fund. Paul’s responsibilities include managing the Fund's finances and investments; providing effective business systems and processes; and generating income from commercial events and facilities.
Paul has worked for 20 years in senior finance and broader leadership roles in the charity sector based in the UK, Malawi, Namibia and the Netherlands. He has worked in Director level roles for Oxfam GB, ActionAid International, the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme and the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Paul is a trained executive coach and has an active interest in leadership and organisational development.

Mutuso Dhliwayo

Mutuso Dhliwayo is the Executive Director and a founder member of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA). ZELA is a public interest environmental law organisation that works to promote democracy, good governance, sustainable development, transparency and accountability in the natural resources sector. This based on the understanding that depending on how natural resources are exploited and the rents generated therefrom managed, they can either result in the protection and promotion of human rights that are recognised under national, regional and international law. He has just completed a Leadership Transition Fellowship Programme at the University of Indiana’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the United States of America supported by the Ford Foundation. 

He holds a dual masters in Constitutional and Human Rights Law (LLM) from Midlands State University, Zimbabwe and a Masters in Environment and Development from University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws Honors degree (LLBS) Degree from the University of Zimbabwe. He is registered with the High Court of Zimbabwe as a legal practitioner, notary public and conveyancer.

He has research and advocacy interests in business and human rights, transboundary natural resources management, wildlife and the extractive sector. He spearheaded the establishment of ZELA’s business and human rights / responsible investments programme which was called Pillars in Practice based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2012. 

He sits in boards that include the African Coalition on Corporate Accountability, Global Greegrants Fund for Southern Africa, the Publish What You Pay Africa Steering Committee and Women University in Africa.  

He is a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) and the Association for Research on Non-Profit Organisations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).

Isabel Ebert

Isabel Ebert is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Business Ethics at the University of St. Gallen. Isabel serves also an Adviser to the United Nations in the field of technology and human rights (OHCHR B-Tech). She holds a PhD in Organizational Studies, with a specialization in Business & Human Rights in the technology sector (supervision Prof. Florian Wettstein, University of St. Gallen; Prof. Gina Neff, University of Oxford). Isabel Ebert spent the 2019/2020 academic year as a visiting researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute and was part of a multi-disciplinary research project on the use of Big Data in workplace monitoring in multinational companies from 2018 to spring 2020. Prior to this, she served as the EU representative of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre from 2015-2018.

Heather Grady

Heather Grady is Vice President at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. She leads the organization's strategy and program development in global philanthropy, including collaboratives, global programs, research, publications, presentations and other initiatives. Previously Heather was a Vice President for Foundation Initiatives at The Rockefeller Foundation where she oversaw an annual grantmaking budget averaging $65 million. There she was responsible for a portfolio including strategic initiatives in a range of areas including climate change, health systems, agriculture, impact investing, and philanthropic sector support. As a member of the Executive Team she participated in setting direction for the Foundation and ensuring the Program Team, a diverse group of professionals in New York, Nairobi, and Bangkok, was effective and highly engaged in achieving shared goals and objectives.

Previously Heather served as the Managing Director of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, founded by former Irish President Mary Robinson. She led the development and implementation of organizational strategy focused on catalyzing leaders to act in concert across government, UN, business and civil society sectors, and expanding public understanding of rights and development issues and solutions. She directed the programs on employment, climate change, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and contributed substantially to programs on women’s leadership, corporate responsibility, and health. During this period she served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she co-created and taught a graduate course on climate change, as well as a graduate course at Trinity College Dublin.

Before returning to the US in 2004, and for almost two decades, Heather lived and worked in countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East in settings as diverse as Viet Nam, Sudan and Egypt. She managed a range of long-term development and humanitarian programs in these regions that focused on a range of themes including education, livelihoods, health, agriculture and microfinance. Her areas of expertise include economic development and the role of business in society, climate change, rights and social justice issues, and collaborative leadership.

Ms. Grady is a frequent speaker at conferences and has authored numerous publications.  She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard, and a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College. She is conversant in Chinese and Vietnamese. She serves on a number of Boards and Advisory Groups including The B Team, the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, and SXSW Eco. She is based in San Francisco with frequent travel to New York and internationally.

Michael J. Hirschhorn

Michael is founder and CEO of mebl | Transforming Furniture, which supports changemakers across the furniture industry in transitioning to circular, climate-positive practices. As a platform for education and innovation, mebl's aim is to catapult sustainable principles to the forefront of the furniture sector.

From 2008 - 14, Michael served as Executive Director of the International Human Rights Funders Group, a global peer-learning network comprised of several hundred grantmaking institutions committed to strengthening human rights philanthropy worldwide. From 2003-08, Michael was Executive Director of the Coro New York Leadership Center, dedicated to fostering informed, engaged participation in public decision-making in New York City and beyond. During Michael's tenure, Coro launched new participatory civic engagement programs for immigrant leaders and NYC public high school students. From 1995-2001, Michael served as Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center, a comprehensive training and technical support center committed to advancing adult literacy education in New York City.

Prior, Michael was an Assistant to the Chancellor of the NYC Public Schools. In this role, he was part of the team responsible for implementing the Chancellor's lead systemwide school reform initiative. In earlier years, Michael served as Deputy Executive Director of Educators for Social Responsibility in NYC, as well as Director of the Center for Educational Change at the School of Education at Brooklyn College.

In addition to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Michael serves on the boards of several philanthropic and education, human and immigrant rights organizations, including Witness, Just Vision, EMPower/The Emerging Markets Fund, and the NY Immigration Coalition. Michael received his BA in American Studies from Yale University and his MBA & MSW from Columbia University.‎ He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Jimena Martinez -- who founded and directs Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance -- and their twins are away at college.

Kirsty Jenkinson

Kirsty is Managing Director & Sustainable Investment Strategist with Wespath Investment Management. 

Until 2014, Kirsty was Director of the Markets and Enterprise Program at the World Resources Institute (WRI), based in Washington DC., which focuses on harnessing markets and enterprises to expand opportunity and protect the environment. 

Prior to her work with WRI, Kirsty was a Director in the Governance & Sustainable Investment team with F&C Asset Management in London.  Using the influence of F&C’s $200bn of investments, the team encouraged companies around the world to address a diverse range of environmental, social and governance issues; Kirsty led F&C’s human rights engagement   Before F&C, Kirsty spent the first six years of her career at Goldman Sachs in London working in Fixed Income sales and research analysing corporate securities. 

While in London, Kirsty was a member of the Amnesty International UK Business Group and was a member of the Human Rights Watch London Committee and Chair of the Human Rights Watch London Network.

She holds an MA in International History from the University of Edinburgh.

Chris Jochnick

Chris is President and CEO of Landesa. For ten years prior to that, he led the private sector work of Oxfam America including corporate campaigns, business and human rights, value chain assessments and social enterprise. He initiated a number of innovative partnerships with Fortune 500 corporations and served as Oxfam’s representative to various multi-stakeholder initiatives, including the work with UNSR John Ruggie. 

Chris has worked for over two decades on issues of business and human rights, including seven years in Latin America supporting grassroots campaigns around extractive industries, trade and human rights. He co-founded and directed two nonprofit organizations devoted to economic and social rights -- the Center for Social and Economic Rights in New York and El Centro de Derechos Economicos y Sociales, in Ecuador. 

Prior to Oxfam, Chris worked as a corporate attorney with the Wall Street law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he advised companies on environmental and social responsibilities. He co-edited the book Sovereign Debt at the Crossroads (Oxford, 2007) and has published and lectured widely on issues of human rights, business and development. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former fellow of the Echoing Green Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. He teaches a class on business and human rights at Harvard Law School.

Seema Joshi

Seema Joshi has worked globally and has 20 years of professional experience in law, corporate accountability, human rights and natural resources. Currently, she is Deputy Program Director for Global Issues/Head of Business and Human Rights at the Secretariat of Amnesty International. In this capacity, she provides strategic leadership to Amnesty’s body of work on corporates, seeking to improve accountability for human rights abuses in the areas of extractives, agribusiness, corporate crimes, and supply chains. Previously, Seema work as Legal Advisor/Interim Team Leader at the London based NGO, Global Witness.

While living in Asia, Seema managed and implemented a UN regional development programme to improve environmental access rights for local communities. She is a qualified Canadian lawyer and was called to the Alberta Bar in 1999, where she practiced commercial litigation. She holds an LL.M from the London School of Economics, as well as a JD and Bachelors of Arts from the University of Manitoba, in Canada. 

Claudia Saller

Claudia is in charge of developing and conducting education programs for trade unionists at the Chamber of Labour of Lower Austria.

In her prior function as the Director General at the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) she worked towards binding EU regulation on business and human rights. Major results are not only the current negotiations for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Complementary pieces of legislation were published in recent years, too, the main ones concerning deforestation, batteries, corporate reporting, and products made with forced labour. ECCJ has been and still is at the very heart of a European civil society movement making sure that the impact of business on human rights and the environment is a serious public issue which European decision-makers cannot ignore.

Claudia has also served as the first director of the Austrian civil society network NeSoVe, advocating for binding legislation on business and human rights at national level.

In her current function in the Austrian trade union movement, she brings her expertise not only from the EU political process but from working at UNI Global Union, a trade union federation representing service sector workers. She has facilitated transnational coordination of worker representatives within global corporations and represented their interests at European level.

She holds a degree in political science from the University of Vienna and has recently completed an Executive Masters in International Association Management from Solvay Business School, Brussels.