Kellie Covington works with Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy and Sails of Change to develop practical solutions that reduce sport’s impacts on nature. Drawing on experience across offshore racing, sustainability strategy and conservation partnerships, she focuses on biodiversity protection and marine mammal collision risk reduction. Her work bridges science, conservation and sport, translating expertise into practical actions, both large and small, that help teams better understand, reduce and ultimately reverse their impacts on nature.
2026
Chelsea Tuach
Chelsea Tuach is national champion, international surfing sensation and ambassador of Barbados.
Ovidia Stanoi, Ph.D.
Ovidia Stanoi is a postdoctoral fellow in the Communication Neuroscience Lab and in the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media (PCMSS) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ovidia examines the cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying how people connect with one another, perceive social information, and coordinate to reach common goals. She draws on methods from different disciplines to study these complex social dynamics in real-world contexts. Her work has been published in top-tier journals, including PNAS, Emotion, Scientific Reports, and presented at numerous international conferences.
More recently, Ovidia has investigated what motivates people to engage in conversations about climate change with others in their social circles or remain silent. Her work shows that people often avoid expressing their thoughts about climate change because of miscalibrated expectations: they overestimate the social and emotional costs of these conversations and underestimate their potential rewards.
She is now designing interventions to test how conversations can change behavioral norms. Before joining Penn, Ovidia completed a Ph.D. in Psychology at Columbia University and a B.A. in International Relations at Brown University.
Monika Dharia
Monika Dharia never set out to build a company. She set out to solve a problem: why was every rain poncho made from petroleum-based plastic that gets used once and thrown away? Today, she’s the founder and CEO of GreenGear Supply Company, a Certified B Corporation making sustainable rain ponchos and bags for events, retail, and attractions. GreenGear’s EcoRain® Ponchos and EcoBags, made from renewable sugarcane instead of petroleum plastic, are trusted by organizations including the Philadelphia Eagles, Live Nation Canada, and the Boston Marathon.
Monika first identified the problem as an engineering student at Duke University, where daily thunderstorms and a lack of sustainable rain gear sparked the idea for what would become the EcoRain® Poncho. She graduated in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Engineering and an Economics minor and won the Sabin Sustainable Venture Prize at Yale. She went on to spend two years at Bain & Company before going all-in on GreenGear in 2022.
Under her leadership, GreenGear continues to advance its sugarcane-based materials and circularity models, pushing every generation of product toward better performance and a smaller environmental footprint.
After years of vision and work, GreenGear recently launched its social impact production model in partnership with Goodwill Legacy Group. Ponchos are now produced by a U.S.-based Goodwill Legacy Group team, giving people facing employment barriers an opportunity for steady work, with proceeds reinvested into financial coaching, stable housing, accessible healthcare and other supportive services.
For Monika, business is a tool for change: every product should protect the planet and lift up the people who make it.
Sašo Bertoncelj
Head of Sponsorships and Sports Projects at the BTC Company and a member of the Organising Committee of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup for Women in Ljubno, where he is responsible for financial planning, marketing and sustainability.
A former elite artistic gymnast European Games Champion, multiple European medalist and World Cup winner, who has transitioned from high-performance sport into sports management and international sports governance. He currently serves as Chair of the Athletes’ Commission and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games, as well as Vice President of the Gymnastics Federation of Slovenia.
In Ljubno, he established and leads the sustainability initiative Responsible Ljubno, which aims to embed environmental, social and governance principles into the organisation of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup event. The initiative is built around a comprehensive sustainability action plan, measurable objectives, transparent reporting and active engagement with sponsors, athletes, spectators, local community and other relevant stakeholders, with the ambition of creating a practical and replicable model for the future
Russell Blackman
Russell Blackman is Managing Director of Big Issue Media, part of The Big Issue Group, the social enterprise that has been helping people earn a living since 1991. He leads the Big Issue’s media, content and commercial partnerships, working with brands that want their investment to create real, lasting change.
Russell has been at the Big Issue for over ten years, and his career in brand building, digital media and publishing spans more than two decades. Before joining the Big Issue, he was Publishing Director at Dennis Publishing.
Through the partnership with giffgaff and Formula E’s Better Futures Fund, the Big Issue is helping young job seekers into work through its specialist recruitment service, Big Issue Recruit. Russell believes partnerships like this work best when every partner brings what they’re genuinely good at, and when impact is designed to outlast the campaign.
Maddie Plank
Maddie Plank is the Senior Sustainability Project Coordinator for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, where she leads sustainability strategy and initiatives across the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. A former collegiate basketball player with a background in Environmental Science, Maddie has built a career at the intersection of sport, sustainability, and community impact. She is passionate about harnessing the reach and influence of sports to advance environmental responsibility and create meaningful change in Indiana communities.
Chris Turner
Chris is CEO of B Lab UK, the charity building the B Corporation movement in the UK. Chris is also Campaign Director of the Better Business Act, aiming to change the law to ensure every company in the UK aligns their interests with those of wider society and the environment.
Chris has a varied background in the corporate and non-profit sectors working in the UK, US, Europe and Africa: he began his career in marketing, led successful startups, built a portfolio of innovative international development projects for a major foundation, and advised a wide range of clients on innovation and strategy.
Kate Harding
Kate has been working for Stadiums Queensland (SQ) for nearly 15 years, and in the role of Sustainability Manager she supports the execution of sustainable business practices and initiatives, in line with SQ’s ESG Framework, across the portfolio of 9 sites. Her role is critical in building knowledge and capacity for staff, stakeholders, and patrons around sustainability and ESG.
Kate has previously held Property and Facility Management roles within State Government, the University of Queensland, and at the Queensland Theatre Company, coordinating all aspects of operations and facility management for the Company Administration, Workshop, and the Bille Brown Theatre.
Outside of work, Kate is a solo Mum to 11 year old William, and enjoys getting out in nature and spending summer weekends at Redcliffe Surf Club, where she’s an Age Manager for Nippers and also a certified Bronze Medallion Surf Life Saver, doing patrols and getting out in the IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat) as a Crewie!
Greg Dingle Ph.D.
Greg Dingle, Ph.D., is a researcher at La Trobe Business School at La Trobe University. Greg’s research is focused on translating climate risks and impacts into strategic thinking and climate adaptation options and pathways for organizations. Greg’s research has been published in journals including European Sport Management Quarterly, the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Managing Sport and Leisure, Science of the Total Environment, the International Journal of Sport Marketing & Sponsorship, and the International Journal of Environmental Sustainability. He has been a consultant to government, the insurance industry, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
