Regenerating Nature

Steph is our Impact and Investment Lead for our Regenerating Nature Programme, drawing on her passion for connecting funders with nature-based solutions to help tackle climate change and halt biodiversity loss. Before joining SBN Steph was the Strategic Partnership Director at Sustainable Coastlines, and held numerous commercial and communication roles in media and record companies. She comes with over 25 years of experience in strategic partnerships, sustainability, business transformation, stakeholder engagement and communications, and has a Bachelor of Arts from Auckland University. She's a passionate skier and beginner surfer.

Rosie is part of our nature team. Her focus lies on empowering young professionals with the skills and knowledge to help their careers in nature regeneration. She also manages project partnerships, including the Puhinui Regeneration Project.

As an outdoor enthusiast, Rosie spends her free time tramping, mountaineering, surfing, rock climbing and trail running. Rosie's appreciation for these natural environments has fueled her dedication to sustainability. Despite earning a Master’s of Marketing, she questioned the industry's purpose and now aims to use her skills for positive impact. Descending from Rāngitane o Wairau, Rosie is passionate about fostering meaningful connections within the Māori community.

Gemma brings over seven years of professional experience in sustainability, which includes working at a global brand, sustainability consulting, and engaging directly with communities in the field.

Most recently, she served as the Sustainability and Social Impact Manager for Starbucks EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). In this role, she led the strategy team in developing the region’s sustainability and social impact strategy, focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1, 2, and 3), as well as minimising water use and waste, all in alignment with global Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) goals. Additionally, she developed data-driven, action-oriented impact roadmaps for regional teams. She has also partnered with supply chain teams to support trials aimed at reducing dairy farming emissions and enhancing biodiversity on farms in the UK.

Prior to her time at Starbucks, she worked as a sustainability consultant, collaborating with companies across various sectors on strategy, reporting, and communications. Gemma holds an MSc in International Marketing with a focus on sustainability in business, along with a BA in Geography. As an avid nature lover, she is passionate about helping businesses take meaningful action to regenerate nature.

Shawn Elise brings a love of forging connections to the Regenerating Nature team as a Project & Partnership Manager. Her focus is to connect business with community projects to amplify impact for nature. Shawn Elise comes to SBN from Sustainable Coastlines, where she helped build and manage the Litter Intelligence Programme, an initiative to build a national litter database through citizen science. Prior to that, she worked with Litefoot to assist community sport facilities to reduce energy, water and waste. Shawn Elise recharges exploring bush & beach, pottering around the garden, doing yoga or boogieing down to funky house.