Next Generation

Dr. Madeleine Orr is a sport ecologist at Loughborough University London, where she is the Program Director for the MSc Sustainable Sport Business. She is the founder and co-director of The Sport Ecology Group, an international consortium of academics who drive climate action in the sport sector through research and public education initiatives. Orr’s research examines the impacts of climate change on sport, with a focus on resilience and adaptation. She recently authored the ‘Sport for Nature Report’ for UNEP, and is recognized as a global thought leader in sport. Her research has been covered in global news outlets including ESPN, BBC, Reuters, and Time Magazine, and she has been named to the Environmental Educators 30 Under 30 list by NAAEE (2020), the 30 Under 30 in Sustainability list by Corporate Knights Magazine (2020), and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list (2021).

Marisa Schlenker (USA /GER) – Community and program manager at the Yunus Sports Hub. With more than seven years experience in the sport for development sector, she has worked as a trainer, program manager, partnerships coordinator, gender specialist and more recently in monitoring, evaluation and learning roles.

She has a masters in sport for development and conflict resolution from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and is finishing her second masters at Konstanz University in Public Administration and Political Science. She has worked on many sustainability in sport research projects, is a member of the Sport Ecology Graduate Mentorship Programme, provides programme support to SandSI’s football4climate initiative and most recently joined the Sustainability Reference Group of the International Biathlon Union.

She is engaged in the FARE Network’s LGBTQI and Ethnic Minority Women in Football working groups. In 2018- 2019, she was the lead researcher of the EU funded Global Goals World Cup Erasmus + project.

A professional snowboarder and entrepreneur with passion for culture of going up and down the hill. At the heart of my lifestyle is movement, through which I find a connection to nature. With my own work, I want to highlight he different possibilities of moving around in nature and encouraging people to believe their own stories.

Oluseyi Smith BEng MSc OLY is a retired two-time summer (London-2012) and winter (Pyeongchang 2018) Olympian in Athletics and Bobsleigh. He remains involved in sport as a member of the IOC’s Sustainability & Legacy commission, as a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, and is an IOC Young Leader. Oluseyi is passionate about renewable energy research and projects, one of which is Racing to Zero (https://www.racingtozero.ca) which he developed through his IOC Young Leader mandate.
This project combines sustainability best practices with expert knowledge in grassroots, local, volunteer-run athletics meets.

Amalia is a marine scientist and outdoor enthusiast. She is passionate about conservation and bringing people together to increase ocean access and to protect the ocean. She is the Community Manager at I AM WATER Ocean Conservation, which uses the sport of snorkeling to protect the ocean