LALITA RAMDAS,  Board Chair

Lalita Ramdas is an educator and activist, and the founder-director of "ANKUR", a non-profit organization working for Alternatives in Education and also a founding member of the Board of Greenpeace India.  Her early career in formal primary school teaching and broadcasting has been followed by a career in development work through education with marginalized and minority communities, with a special focus on gender and women and within an overarching Human Rights, Peace and Justice framework.  She has a degree in English Language and Literature from Delhi University.

She is the founder-director of a non-profit organization working for Alternatives in Education.  She has been actively involved with the Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education and with the International Council for Adult Education, of which she served as President for five years. 

Lalita has written extensively on issues pertaining to Literacy, Gender Justice, Education Policy, Education and Human Rights, Peace and Nuclear Issues, and has been published in a range of publications - national and international.  She has lectured widely in all continents (except Antarctica!).  She was one of the "1000 Peace Women" nominated collectively for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.  She has received other awards from her government and NGOs in recognition of her contribution to Community Education and to Women's Development.

Lalita currently co-ordinates a group which addresses access and equity issues in rural primary education with a special focus on indigenous and other minority groups.  She is very active in leading peace initiatives with students from both India and Pakistan and with the anti-nuclear and peace movement in India.  She recently served (September 2006) as a Judge on the People's Tribunal on Poverty and Debt held at the International People's Forum at Bataam, Indonesia (parallel event to the AGM of the World Bank and the IMF).

Lalita is a founding member of the Board of Greenpeace India and prior to being elected Chair of the Greenpeace International Board, was Board Chair and Trustee of Greenpeace India. She came to Greenpeace through her commitment to non-violence. As well she serves on a number of national Boards of NGOs.  Lalita's three-year term of office as GPI Board Chair began on January 1st, 2007.

Lalita loves music - from Western and Indian classical to Jazz, country and Bollywood film songs. She loves to cook, reads avidly, enjoys connecting with friends - more and more through Facebook! And has a passion for travel and dancing.

She is married to a former Navy man and they have three daughters and three grandchildren.

Lalita lives in Village Bhaimala, Alibag, in Maharashtra, India.

AYESHA IMAM

Ayesha Mei-Tje Imam has worked extensively on research, advocacy and education to protect and extend women's human rights under customary, secular and religious laws, on human rights generally and on democracy and sustainable development.
 
She is a board member of the international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) and a founding director of BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights in Nigeria, with which she received the John Humphrey Freedom Award in 2002.  Currently she is also on the Board of WEDO (Woman's Environment and Development Organisation).  The co-initiator and director of the first Gender Institute in Africa, Dr. Imam has also served as the Gender Policy Advisor for the United Nations Institute for Economic Development and Planning in Senegal and the Head of the Department of Culture, Gender and Human Rights at the United Nations Fund for Development (UNFPA) in New York.  She was also the first Chair of the African Democracy Forum, a network of African democracy activists. 
 
Ayesha has lectured and carried out research at universities and research institutes in Nigeria, the U.K., Canada and Senegal.  She has published widely for both academic and activist uses.  She has written and/or edited numerous journal articles, books and program reviews, including 'Engendering African Social Sciences' and two special issues of 'Africa Development': Re-Visiting Gender I and II.
 
Ayesha has a long-standing commitment to social and economic justice and environmentally sustainable development, which she sees as intrinsically linked to each other.  In 1982 she co-edited 'Green Revolution in Nigeria?' a critical review of the package of industrial technology and modified seed agriculture then being advocated by the Nigerian Government and the World Bank.  In her work and activism she focuses on the intersectionality of gender, environment, class (and others) to achieve holistic, sustainable, and equitable solutions.
 
She continues to advocate for, research and write on, and to train in human rights - including women's human rights, gender awareness and mainstreaming, gender and development, evaluation and research for activists in NGOs, planners and functionaries in government, and for researchers. 
 
Ayesha currently lives in Dakar, Senegal

Dimitrios has had a long career in Human Resources, Governance and managing his small ship construction and operation business.  From 1966-1973 he studied Administration and Personnel Management in Greece and Sweden. From 1973 until 1983 he was Human Resources Manager in two different international companies.

Since 1989 he is Managing Partner and Board Chair of Pan Yachting S.A. involved in organizing and operating environmental and historical cruises on board his sailing vessels.
Since 2006 he is Executive Vice President of Variety Cruises, involved in eco-cruises and tourism.

For 14 years he has been alternatively, Secretary General and Vice-Chairman of the Greek Charter Yacht Owners Association and from 2003 and for two consecutive terms, he had been elected Board Chair of the same Association and also editor of the SEA & YACHTING magazine
He was also appointed (2003 – 2007), Member of the Greek Committee of Maritime Policy.

From 2003 he was active member of Greenpeace Greece, assisting the Greek Board & Organisation in various projects, which included actions against genetically modified products, fundraising through direct dialog, auto payment methods, communication and major donors.

Dimitris Vassilakis lives in Athens.

FABIO FELDMANN

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, on May 14th, 1955, Fabio Feldmann was elected as a federal legislator from the state of São Paulo for three consecutive terms (1986 - 1998) and was also appointed Secretary for the Environment of the State of São Paulo from January 1995 until 1998. Throughout his mandates in Congress he worked to promote awareness as well as to establish consistent policies and rules in all fields of sustainable development and human rights protection. One of his major legislative contributions is the creation of one of the world's most advanced constitutional texts with respect to environmental protection and the rights of indigenous people. 

It was his remarkable expertise and his commitment to the cause of sustainable development that lead Brazilian Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, to appoint him the Executive Secretary on the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change in 2000, and soon after selected him once again to a key post, as the Presidential adviser for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. In 2005 he helped to create the Paulista Forum on Global Climate Change and Biodiversity, of which he is the Executive Secretary. For that he is active in promoting capacity building in the area of climate change, as well contributing to the drafting of a Brazilian Political Strategy for Climate Change so as to allow Brazil to achieve its objectives, thus, complying with its commitments under the United Nations Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.

As an active environmentalist at Law School, he became one of the founding members of many of Brazil's main environmental organizations, such as OIKOS, the S.O.S. Mata Atlântica Foundation (of which he was the first president), Funatura, and Biodiversitas, making him an exemplary leader for the environmental cause. In addition, he assisted International NGOs such as Greenpeace to establish a base in Brazil. In addition, provided counsel to many International NGOs such as Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, LEAD International, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Ecological Footprint, the IAG board of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Rainforest Foundation and Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazon. In many cases he also served as a board member of these important organizations.

In addition, Mr. Feldmann has organized, written and sponsored several innovative publications on sustainable development issues.  As an active participant in both Brazilian and Global Sustainable Development Issues, his statement was included in the Brundtland Commission's final report. He has also lectured at various prestigious academic institutions, as well as places including the World Bank and has lectured once at the United States Congress. In recognition of all his work, he received the United Nations' Global 500 Award in June 1990.

Currently, Mr. Feldmann directs Fabio Feldmann Consultores, a consulting firm specialized in sustainable development and environmental issues.

KOON-CHUNG CHAN

Koon-Chung Chan is a freelance writer. He has published 12 books in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He lectures widely and is a much-sought-after contributor to newspapers and magazines in these regions.

He worked as a reporter at an English newspaper in Hong Kong before starting the monthly magazine "City" in 1976, for which he was the chief editor for several years and publisher for 23 years until the magazine was acquired. He started screenwriting in 1981 and went on to be a producer of more than ten Hong Kong movies and three US movies. He was involved in the investment and management of many media-entertainment businesses in the regions, including newspapers, magazines, television, internet media, music and book publishing.

He was one of the three founders of the Hong Kong environmental group Green Power and a founding member of the organic farm Produce Green. He has sat on the Environmental Board and the Agriculture and Fishery Board of the Hong Kong government.

Koon-Chung lives in Beijing, China.

STEVE FRANCIS

A Qualified Chartered Accountant and Bachelor of Business Studies (Accounting) with Honours, Steve brings a portfolio of business, financial and governance skills to the Board including human resource management, risk management, internal audit, project management, strategic planning and financial management. Steve is particularly interested in the effect of consumption, tax policy and user-pays legislation on environmental and social issues.

Steve began his career in an international audit and consulting firm, working in New Zealand and Luxembourg.  He is currently the Finance Director for Lombard International Assurance S.A., a Luxembourg-based life insurance company, and related companies (members of Friends Provident plc, a UK FTSE-100 life insurance company) with activities throughout Europe, and is a member of its Management Board, Finance Committee and Risk Management Committee.  He is responsible for all aspects of finance and actuarial services and was responsible for establishing the internal audit and risk management functions.  Steve is also a member of the Board of Directors of Lombard International PCC Limited, a related Guernsey-based life insurance company.

In 2000, he became a member of the Greenpeace Luxembourg Board and was its Trustee for three years.  Steve was a founding member of Greenpeace International's Board Audit Committee, and was elected to the Greenpeace International Board in March 2008.

Steve lives in Luxembourg. 

IRMI MUSSACK

Irmi Mussack brings onto the Board of Greenpeace International a wealth of NGO governance experience, many years of management experience, a deep understanding of Greenpeace from various angles and multilayered international and multicultural experience.

She is an environmentalist at heart and by professional training, and a manager and strategist who perceives herself a global citizen.

Irmi Mussack holds a Masters of Science degree in Resource Management from Canterbury University, New Zealand, and a Bachelors degree in Horticulture (Diplom-Ingenieur FH) from the University of Applied Science Weihenstephan in Germany.

Before Irmi "bumped" into Greenpeace in 1985 in Sydney harbour to charter as cook on the first and second Greenpeace Antarctic expedition, she was a self-employed orchadist and landscape gardener for several years.

Her Greenpeace "apprenticeship" led her to becoming a volunteer worker, public speaker, Antarctic campaigner, on-board campaigner, international lobbyist, campaign unit head and finally Board member of various Greenpeace entities, and Board Chair of Greenpeace Nordic. During her time in New Zealand, Irmi was also an active member of ASOC (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition).

Starting in 1993, Irmi was elected onto the Board of Directors of Greenpeace Sweden, which followed by becoming a member of the Board of Directors of Greenpeace Nordic. From April 2001 until the end of March 2009, she was the Chair of the Board of Directors of Greenpeace Nordic.  From 2007 until the end of March 2009, she also served as a voting member of Greenpeace Canada.

Since October 1996, Irmi has been employed as CEO at Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bildungszentrum Reinfeld e.V., (Association German Pension Fund Educational Centre Reinfeld), comprising a University of Applied Science, a seminar hotel and student apartments. She is the start-up CEO and head of administration, responsible for everything except teaching/curriculum.

In addition, since 1997 she has been the moderator and spokesperson of the non-partisan initiative "Runder Tisch Reinfelds Zukunft" (local round table working on Agenda 21 issues). While not being a member of any party, she was member of a City Council committee on economy and environment from May 2003 until April 2008. Since May 2008 and on-going, she only acts as a stand-in for the committee "city development and economy" and "building and environment".

Irmi was founding member of TraveArt e.V. (TraveArt Association to initiate, support and conduct regional, national and international art and cultural projects, and to conduct cultural education of children, youths and adults). However, because of her commitments, she stepped down from her active membership in 2008.

Constantly striving for a healthy life-work balance, she loves to spend time with family and friends, enjoys gardening, making music, bicycle rides and water sports - and savours the occasional cooking.

Irmi lives in Germany.