Aya Ferguson: Director of Consulting, SUMS Consulting
Aya has spent over 15 years leading teams to deliver complex change and transformation across a breadth of sectors including local and central government, health and transport, specialising in Higher Education. With a background in commercial consulting, Aya has been both a client and associate of SUMS and joined SUMS as Head of Consulting after several senior roles in UK universities including Programme Director at University of Westminster, Head of Portfolio and Change at Kingston University, Head of Change Management at King’s College London, Transformation Director at University College London and most recently Director of Change and Improvement at University of East London.
Nick Hillman OBE: Director, HEPI
Nick Hillman OBE has been the Director of HEPI since January 2014. He previously worked in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as the Special Adviser to the Rt Hon David Willetts MP (now Lord Willetts) when he was the Minister for Universities and Science. In 2020/21, Nick was shortlisted for the first Prospect magazine Think Tanker of the Year Award. He is an Honorary Fellow of both Queen Mary University of London (2016) and the National Conference of University Professors (2022) and also a Companion of the British Academy of Management (2022).
Charlotte Bonner: CEO, EAUC
Charlotte became CEO of EAUC in February 2023 and now leads the charity’s strategy to embed impactful sustainability action across post-16 education at pace and scale. She co-leads the Department for Education-funded Climate Ambassadors programme.
Charlotte has shaped national reforms to teacher training and professional standards, and is regularly called upon to provide evidence and advice to policymakers. Alongside this, she supports institutions directly through tools, guidance and programmes that embed sustainability across operations, teaching and leadership. Her published research spans the student experience during COVID-19, sustainability in the FE workforce, and how sustainability features in English qualifications.
Prior to joining EAUC, she held senior roles across HE, FE and youth sectors. She managed the UNESCO ESD prize-winning Green Impact programme for nearly a decade and co-founded SOS-International. Charlotte has also worked as a consultant and teaching associate, and brings nearly 20 years’ experience in sustainability and education.
Donna Lyndsay: CEO and Founder, The True Position
Donna Lyndsay is a veteran strategist and spatial data specialist with 35+ years in geospatial, Earth Observation, and environmental sectors, leading innovation-focused product and communication strategies across industry, government, and startups. She drives market development and thought leadership in Environment, Energy, and Adaptation, backed by deep stakeholder engagement expertise and a global network. Her work spans generative AI and digital MRV with Ordnance Survey, serving as a UK ESA Regional Ambassador, securing funding for sustainable space-enabled projects, and representing UK female innovators in the InnovateUK–Getty Exhibition.
Thomas Owen-Smith: Principal Consultant, SUMS Consulting
Tom Owen-Smith is a Principal Consultant at SUMS Consulting. He has supported institutions across the higher education sector to embed sustainability, societal impact and cross-sector partnership into the core of their mission, strategy and operations. An advocate of collaboration in addressing complex challenges, he manages SUMS’ strategic partnership with EAUC and co-chairs HESPA and SUMS’ Community of Practice on Sustainability in Strategy and Planning. He also convenes sector-level insight and policy initiatives, most recently on UK universities’ estates and land use, and is a regular conference speaker, panel chair and workshop convenor.
William Phillips: Data Analyst, The SUMS Group
William Phillips is a data-driven consultant specialising in environmental risk analysis, data modelling, and sustainability solutions for the higher education sector. He is skilled in unlocking previously inaccessible or invaluable data by prioritising realistic, easily comprehensible and actionable outputs. His goal is to empower members to make informed, sustainable choices. By combining Python frameworks with the latest AI tools, he helps members quickly develop problem-solving solutions. He harnesses his environmental background and technical expertise to provide an adaptable, future-oriented perspective well suited to the HE sector.
Register now
In this webinar, we will explore the insights of SUMS Consulting’s new report ‘University lands: Mapping risks and opportunities for the UK higher education sector’ and the accompanying geospatial mapping tool.
Register for the University Lands webinar here
