I have almost 20 years’ experience in environmental conservation, covering community and business mobilization, land use planning, fisheries management, government engagement alongside policy development. I spent the bulk of these years working with both fishing communities and various marine and coastal governing agencies to establish good fisheries management in Malaysia. I currently facilitate the implementation of sustainable fisheries and responsible aquaculture activities spanning both site and national levels, alongside coordinating business and consumer engagements across shark fin, seafood and food waste issues. I am also leading the development of a narrative on sustainable food systems for Malaysia. 

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I am a disruptor-innovator, perpetually on the prowl for new ways to address old challenges. I have interest in behavioural science that can be applied to changing behaviour of producers, businesses and consumers towards sustainability. In my work, I spend a lot of time managing relationships across public and private sectors, and have had to use many tools like influencing, conflict management, and negotiation to achieve our conservation goals.

Saqib Sheikh is a writer, educator, social entrepreneur and certified coach. He is co-founder of Urban Hijau (uhijau.org), a sustainable permaculture farm in Kuala Lumpur. He coaches professionals and organizations on ways to transition towards sustainable social impact. Saqib also lectures on media and communication at Sunway University, where he is the adviser for the Sunway Students Environmental Society.

Jay Desan has over 15 years experience in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory and a PhD in standards of sustainability. She is passionate about food and sustainability and co-founded BoomGrow because she believes clean greens should be accessible to all. BoomGrow is a fast growing tech farming company on a mission to transform farming by producing 100% clean and nutritious goodness, introducing trust and traceability back into the food system through patent pending Machine Farms.

Clara has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector where she managed programs that empower low-income communities and educate youth in schools through CSR strategic partnerships at Yayasan Generasi Gemilang. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance, Accounting and Management from the University of Nottingham through a scholarship under the Star Education Fund. She is the first and only Malaysian Atlas Corps Fellow and served at the Center for Asia Leadership Initiatives for a year under this prestigious program.

In 2019, she started a social enterprise called Graze Market that focuses on bridging the gap between food waste and hunger. It is through this journey where she learns about the grit of being an entrepreneur and how to build a business with purpose. She enjoys mentoring and coaching individuals to succeed in what they aspire to do and to become who they are destined to be. Her motto is that we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Riana is an International Business Management graduate from the University of Nottingham with 6 years of experience managing various stakeholders in Yayasan Generasi Gemilang (GG). Her role as Section Head for Partnerships sees her working closely with corporate companies to align their CSR goals with GG’s work in order to meet social needs.

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Believing that all CSR programs should be meaningful and impactful, she is constantly on the lookout for partners to collaborate with, putting the strength of a few together to maximise the impact of projects she takes on. From initial meetings to churning out impact reports, she and her team of 2 manages the 20 over corporates that work with GG on a yearly basis.

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In addition to managing corporate partners, Riana specialises in grant seeking. Her ability to effectively apply for and receive new grants on behalf of GG ensures the teams on-ground have the resources they need to continue educating and providing basic needs for children & families from vulnerable communities.

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Being a dancer and an overall active person, Riana believes that a person’s health and well-being is important and isn’t shy to encourage others to eat well and sweat it out.