Eamon O’Hara (Executive Director)

Eamon initiated and co-founded ECOLISE. He has been managing EU projects and initiatives on local development and the environment since 1994, both in Ireland and in Brussels where he worked with AEIDL and the European LEADER Observatory. In 2007 he lead the external communications team for the EU LIFE programme, with responsibility for coordinating the activities of 15 experts in communications and the environment. Eamon holds a bachelors degree in environmental science, a masters degree in climate change and sustainable development and post-graduate qualifications in business administration, project management and rural development. He now lives in France. 

Robert Hall  (Deputy Director)

Originally from California (USA), Robert immigrated to Sweden in the 1980s during his studies in international relations and economics. He later went on to complete an Intl MSc in environmental engineering and sustainable infrastructure. Since the 1980s Robert has worked for the Swedish government, UN, EC and OSCE in a number of countries mainly in international development cooperation, internationalisation of education and strengthening democratic institutions. He is also currently an elected member of the regional ‘parliament’ on Gotland. Robert has been active in the ecovillage movement since 2008 when Suderbyn Permaculture Ecovillage, which he co-founded, joined Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) Europe. Robert was involved in the foundation of ECOLISE from 2013-15 and served as president from 2017-2019.

Iva Pocock (Communications Coordinator)

Iva has been deeply involved in communicating on sustainability both professionally and as a volunteer since the early 1990s. She has worked for a number of environmental, development and justice NGOs, both national and international, based in Ireland and Sri Lanka. As a journalist she has written extensively for the Irish Times, among other media, covering social and environmental stories. She lived for six years in Brussels, Belgium, where she is proud to have instigated a small community garden. She is a founder member, in 1999, of Ireland’s first ecovillage, where she and her family now live. Iva holds a bachelors degree in geography and a masters degree in journalism. 

Juan del Río (Network and Outreach Coordinator)

Juan is an international facilitator of community transformation and social an ecological innovation processes. He has worked for 15 years designing and implementing projects and trainings on local resilience, systemic change and sustainability in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. He has been involved in several social movements and transnational networks, developing skills as a network weaver and outreach expert. He is co-founder of Transition Spain and member of the project Municipalities in Transition. He is also the author of “Guía del movimiento de Transición”, and codirector of the film ALTER NATIVES. Juan holds a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Sustainability. He lives in Cardedeu, Spain, where he has a permaculture garden. 

Tom Henfrey (Research Coordinator)

Tom works at the interface of research and practice in community-led initiatives, including previous academic appointments at Kent, Durham and Lisbon Universities and the Schumacher Institute. He co-founded an ecovillage in southern Spain, has been a core member of several Transition initiatives, and holds a permaculture design certificate. His role in ECOLISE builds on previous and ongoing collaborations with Transition Network, leading to the establishment of the Transition Research Network, and the Permaculture Association (Britain). He currently lives on a canal boat at a community growing project in the South Pennines, Northern England. 

Abdul Otman (IT & Operations Manager)

Born in Libya, raised in France, Abdul holds an engineering degree in Digital Technologies from Telecom SudParis and a Masters of Science in Information and Communication Technologies from the Asian Institute of Technology. He has a strong IT background as well as in project & operations management with significant experience in building teams and inspiring them to be agents of change. Abdul lives in Suderbyn Ecovillage, Sweden, and is a Council member of Global Ecovillage Network Europe, and chairperson of Baltic Ecovillage Network. abdul.otman@ecolise.eu

Celine Fabrequette (Policy Officer)

Celine has a Masters degree in EU Law & EU Social Affairs. She has worked for the UK permanent representation, the European Commission and an international private sector company. In her spare time, she volunteers for diaspora youth organisations. Ahead of the 2019 European elections she developed and lead the implementation of #DiasporaVote, a youth lead and youth implemented campaign to encourage people of colour to register, run and vote during the elections. Celine is French and has been based in Brussels for six years. She speaks English and French and Spanish.

Evan Welkin (Social Media Officer)

Evan is a child of the intentional community movement, raised in the Pacific Northwest of the United States exploring collectives, co-housing and communes. As a communications, fundraising and organizational development professional, he works with NGOs, local government and businesses to create abundance and catalyse change. He has a particular passion for movement building and collaborative community regeneration using art, media and the written word. He lives in Italy where he and his family are developing an ecovillage.

Pauliina Helle (Network & Outreach Officer)

Pauliina is a passionate network weaver. She is educated as an art educator and enjoys pedagogical planning and group process facilitation. She has long been interested and engaged in social enterprises that work for social change, justice, solidarity and sustainability. For some 20 years she has been involved in the ecovillage and intentional community movement, dedicated to regenerating sustainable social and natural environments. She is qualified wilderness guide and Ecovillage Ambassador. Pauliina lives with her family in a tiny home beside a lake in Finland in a small intentional community.

Nara Petrovič (Research Officer)

Nara is a Slovenian writer, lecturer, translator and facilitator, practising luxurious simplicity while engaging in societal transformation. He is the president of Sunny Hill eco-community.  He served on the ECOLISE council Between 2015 and 2020. In 2010, Nara was one of the key initiators and coordinators of World Cleanup Day in Slovenia, which mobilised 13.5 percent of the population in cleaning up illegally dumped waste. He subsequently trained and mentored cleanup teams from more than 100 countries and supported the global coordination of the Let’s do it! World Cleanup 2018 campaign, which activated 17.8 million people in 157 countries. 

(Katy Fox, Ecovillage Transition in Action Project Manager)

Katy is a social anthropologist, community organiser, teacher and ecosocial designer. She is passionate about social and cultural transformation. Most recently, Katy founded Mycelium, an ecosocial design agency to focus her livelihood on permaculture design, regenerative living and community resilience capacity-building for the benefit of all – for the time beyond our self-terminating civilisation. Previously, Katy founded CELL  the Centre for Ecological Learning Luxembourg, which she led until 2018. Katy speaks six languages, loves singing and lives on the Belgian/Luxembourgish border with her family.  

(Sara Silva, CRIC Project Manager)

Sara is a landscape architect and a facilitator for sustainability. She is an active advocate for cultural change in the north of Portugal, freelancing with grassroots organisations, NGOs and municipalities, and involved in the urban agriculture, circular economy and solidarity economy movements. She is the co-founder and coordinator of Cidade Mais, a project and an annual festival for the promotion of social transformation and sustainable development, and is a member of the Municipalities in Transition core team. She’s also a co-creator of the Awakened Life Project, a community in the mountains of central Portugal dedicated to consciousness and collective transformation.

(Ricardo Silva, Transformative Learning Project Manager)

Ricardo has been writing, designing and coordinating innovative projects for almost a decade. Originally with a MSc in Innovation Management, he has become active in climate action movements such as Extinction Rebellion, Ende Gelände or Stay Grounded – founding his own collective Camp Collapse, to support individuals in their own journey of socio-ecological transition.