Hannah Brown is the Campaigns and Church Engagement Officer for the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT), which is made up of the Baptist Union, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, working together for peace and justice. Hannah works with the team to ensure that its campaigns are run effectively, and helping to empower local churches to engage with social justice and effective change-making. Hannah has a background in local church partnership and engagement, and enjoys exploring how churches can communicate for effective change. She is particularly excited to see how JPIT can empower the church to be a voice of hope and transformation, particularly for those marginalised and disempowered by the systems of society.

Talia Chain is the CEO of Sadeh Farm, a UK-based Jewish farm and environmentally-focused retreat centre. Talia founded Sadeh in 2016 as a charity that promotes Judaism and environmental education. Through Sadeh Farm she applies regenerative farming practices as she transforms the site into a space that can host a variety of occasions, from celebrating Jewish festivals to offering volunteer fellowship programmes. Talia’s love of food-growing was inspired during her attendance at the Adamah Programme at the Isabella Freedman centre in the USA, 2015. Talia can most often be found weeding and planting her vegetable beds at Sadeh. She is also involved with the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion Jews. Her Jewish faith inspires her activism, and her activism aims to encourage others to be inspired to care for people and the planet.

Gopal Patel is Director of Bhumi Global and has worked for over a decade with Hindu communities internationally to address global environmental concerns, such as climate change. He has been involved in campaigns and projects on greening Hindu temples, wildlife conservation, and training young people for climate action. Gopal has been invited to speak at the White House, UN Headquarters in New York, the British House of Lords, and has been honoured for his work by Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace. He currently serves on the multi-faith Advisory Council of the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and as Advisor to the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Gopal is a graduate of King’s College, London, and has spent time living in Hindu ashrams in India and England. He is currently based in New York City.

Kaspalita Thompson, known as Kaspa, is a Buddhist teacher in the Amida Order, a psychotherapist, and a Buddhist activist. For the past two years he has facilitated Buddhist Action Month for the Network of Buddhist Organisations, encouraging groups and individuals to be socially and environmentally engaged and he is a core member of Extinction Rebellion Buddhists. He co-leads a Pureland Buddhist temple in Malvern, Worcestershire with his wife Satya. He has two small dogs, a cat and three rabbits.

The event is hosted by Dr Shanon Shah, Interim Network Coordinator of Faith for the Climate. Shanon balanced careers in human rights advocacy, journalism, and theatre and music in his native Malaysia before relocating to London in 2010. He holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from King’s College London and is a Fellow of the London-based Muslim Institute, contributing regularly to its flagship quarterly publication, Critical Muslim. Shanon became Interim Network Coordinator of Faith for the Climate in March 2020.