Staff & Trustees | Sustainable Merton

MEET THE TEAM

Diana Sterck

CEO

Diana is a Chartered Marketer with over 20 year's experience working in public/private sector partnerships. She has been Chief Executive of Merton Chamber of Commerce since 2001 and is co-Chair of Merton’s Sustainable Communities and Transport theme group and the Economic Wellbeing Group. She has a passion for supporting local communities working together for a better environment, and is a lover of trees, plants, gardens and all things “green”!

Projects

Franki Appleton

The Wheel Project Manager

In both her professional and personal life, Franki has advocated for positive change for people and the planet through policy development, campaigns and community organising. For the past 10 years, Franki has experienced working in charities and within Government. Since moving to Merton in 2018, she has volunteered in local community environmental groups such as Merton Friends of the Earth and Merton Council’s Climate Emergency Working Group, and now she regularly volunteers as a Tree Steward at Mitcham Community Orchard and Gardens, a Sustainable Merton project.

She would describe herself as an intersectional eco-feminist and an eco-minimalist. She loves living with permaculture principles in mind: caring for people and the planet, sharing resources, and making low-waste lifestyle choices. In her spare time, she dances in a vintage Jazz troupe. She can also be spotted enjoying a solo litter-pick around the streets of Mitcham with her litter-picker “The Lorax”.

Hanna Dunnell

Merton Garden Streets & Community Planting Manager

Hanna moved to Merton in 2021 and immediately signed up to be a Street Coordinator for Merton Garden Streets knowing that planting up tree pits would add colour, life and nature to her neighbourhood. In 2024 she joined Sustainable Merton's staff team as the Project Manager for Merton Garden Streets and the recently launched Community Food Growing Project.

Prior to joining Sustainable Merton, Hanna completed her BA in "European Studies" with a strong focus on campaigning and social movements. She spent the last few years working for waste reduction charities and campaigning organisations. In her spare time, Hanna is usually at her allotment or spending time with her daughters.

Inger Larsen

Community Gardening Training Coordinator

Inger joined Sustainable Merton in the summer of 2021 and is very happy to be involved with their Community Gardens. With a degree in ‘Management of Natural Recourses’ from the ‘Norwegian University of Life Sciences’ and working as a part-time teaching assistant in a secondary school, she is very keen on everything that grows and how we can thrive and grow together in a sustainable way.

Two of her favourite activities are spending time at her local allotment and riding her bicycle.

James Molloy

Project Manager - Pollards Hill Waste and Recycling Project

Originally from Birmingham in the West Midlands, James joined the Sustainable Merton team in December 2022. He is currently leading the Pollards Hill Waste and Recycling Project. With a solid background in grassroots recycling campaigns dating back to 2016 with Team Jump, James has been involved in various recycling projects across London, collaborating with organisations like Southwark Council, Westminster Council, and Veolia. Notably, he has served as a Recycling Advisor on prestigious initiatives, such as the successful Green Rewards project in Hackney. James has a keen focus on community engagement and is passionate about empowering local residents to make positive changes in their environment.

Aside from his role at Sustainable Merton, James is a talented freelance composer, regularly contributing to Games, Films, and concert pieces. Music and performance have been lifelong loves for him. Additionally, he enjoys pursuing interests in fitness, yoga, and travel.

Katie Tubby

Growing Spaces Coordinator

Katie has a long career in the voluntary sector, managing volunteer-involving programmes and various community projects and services. An avid gardener and grower, she went back to school in 2020, to undertake horticultural training with the RHS. Keen to combine her passion for gardening and growing with her professional skills, she joined Sustainable Merton in 2022 as the Growing Spaces Coordinator. She has an interest in the role that community gardening and urban/peri-urban farms can play in tackling issues such as food insecurity and biodiversity loss alongside how gardening can support physical and mental well-being. When not gardening or at the allotment, she enjoys dancing, reading and hiking.

Saeeda Ather

Community Fridge Coordinator

Saeeda joined Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge as a volunteer in November 2023 and officially took on the role on Coordinator in July 2024. She brings with her a wide range of expertise from her extensive professional background in hospitality, retail, volunteering, and education (working in Merton’s primary schools for over 13 years as a teaching assistant). Her passion for sustainability and social cohesion in our society is a driving force behind her efforts in making a difference in the community and reducing waste. Merton’s lush green spaces equipped with outdoor facilities, especially tennis courts, are the most fascinating feature of the borough for her as she enjoys long nature walks and playing tennis with her son in her spare time.

Siobhan Hurley

Community Fridge Manager

Siobhan has a background in programme management across a variety of sectors, including corporate, charity and international development. A keen baker, who has previously run her own food business, Siobhan joined Sustainable Merton in 2023 excited by the chance to combine her passion for food equity with her experience in operational and partnership management. Originally from the US, Siobhan has lived in Merton for over 17 years and has been an active volunteer supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the borough.

Matthew Marks

Community Fridge E-Bike Rider (Courier)

Matthew has always been interested in technology and sustainability, combining the two for projects such as a solar-powered rainwater harvesting system for his home. He started volunteering at Merton's Community Fridge to demonstrate that deliveries can be done by bicycle, and so was happy to join the team running the cargo bike. He has lived in Merton for 35 years and enjoys making music in groups such as Colliers Wood Chorus and Colliers Wood Community Orchestra.

Cat Schiller

Community Fridge E-Bike Rider (Courier)

Cat has a background in teaching and has taught in primary schools in Merton for over 30 years. She is particularly interested in reducing her environmental footprint and conserving resources. As well as working for Sustainable Merton, she volunteers at a scrap scheme that gives surplus materials creative uses, saving them from landfill. She joined Sustainable Merton in August 2024, collecting food donations from local organisations and supermarkets for Merton's Communtiy Fridge. Having previously volunteered in a Community Kitchen and Drop-in centre, Cat is passionate about supporting those experiencing food insecurity, whilst reducing the amount of food going to waste.

Cat is a regular tennis player, enjoys gardening and is a keen cyclist. She is also interested in the arts and enjoys getting creative!

Communications

Amy Coyne

Communications Manager

Amy joined Sustainable Merton in 2013 as an office volunteer, and later that year took on the role of Office Administrator. She now works with the team to coordinate the charity's growing communications channels, and is proud to support the volunteers who are the heart of the organisation.

Amy enjoys long walks on Merton's commons and wishes to explore more of the UK's beautiful landscapes.

Mary Hanover

PR & Social Media Consultant

Mary is passionate about helping NGOs and ethical brands expand their reach with PR and social media. She recently joined Sustainable Merton to provide additional support and help launch The Wheel. Previously Mary managed the celebrity & influencer marketing for the World Refill Day annual public awareness campaign and worked at COP26 in Glasgow managing PR for a Youth Climate Summit. She is a Womble in the true sense of the word, having grown up in the middle of Wimbledon Common where, as a child, she used to ride her pony after school every day. More than 40 years on, and she still lives in the same spot on Wimbledon Common with her husband and three children! She is delighted to be working with the team at Sustainable Merton on the array of local projects, helping her own borough achieve a greener, more sustainable future.

Finance

Bernadette Cook

Finance & Accounts

My role at Sustainable Merton is to manage all the financial functions. I started working with Sustainable Merton in 2021 to help them set up systems and financial processes to manage their growing income and grant funding. This has given me the opportunity to use my experience of developing reporting systems to provide useful Financial Information.

Linda Lee-White

Finance & Accounts

I joined Sustainable Merton in 2021 to provide essential day to day bookkeeping support working with the Finance Manager to ensure we pay our invoices on time and also make sure we are receiving monies due to us.

Trustees

Ben Cuddon

Chair of Trustees

Ben is a teacher and climate change educator. After studying History (Edinburgh) and then Middle Eastern Studies (Harvard), he did a PGCE at Cambridge University to become a history teacher. He taught in London schools for two years before setting up Climate Ed, a charity delivering specialist climate education to children. He is a trained facilitator with Carbon Conversations, a carbon reduction scheme. He is also a board director of the Surefoot Effect Community Interest Company and a Community Champion with Sustainable Merton.

Juliet Boyd

Trustee

Juliet is a retired consultant anaesthetist and palliative care doctor. She joined Transition Town Wimbledon in 2009 and became chairman in 2011. This organisation merged with Sustainable Merton in 2013.She campaigns on the links between climate change and health. She coordinates the Wimbledon Churches green group which promotes the Christian responsibility for sustainability.

Gillian Leigh

Trustee

Gillian is a retired doctor who worked part time while bringing up her twin sons. She started a club for mothers of twins and is author of a self-help book All About Twins. She did voluntary work for Home Start Merton, Sustrans Cycling Campaign and the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons. She has a BA degree in Fine Art and is on the steering group of the Phipps Bridge Community Garden Project.

Kuziva Punungwe-Mutandiro

Trustee

Kuziva was born in Paris and grew up in France, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Austria before coming to London for further education. She completed a BSc degree in Psychology from Goldsmiths University before moving on to the University of Westminster to study Marketing Communications at a MA level. She has a background in fundraising for many charitable organisations including but not limited to Marie Curie, Refugee Council and International Rescue Committee. Kuziva currently works at Mind managing client accounts and assisting many organisations in better supporting the mental health of their staff. She initially found out about Sustainable Merton through becoming a Community Champion, and volunteering with the Community Fridge which she still does to this day.

Su Stroud

Trustee

Su was born in S. Korea but grew up in Southern California in the US and has been living in SW London for over 13 years and Merton for 8 years. Su has over 30 years of broad experience in HR, Technology and Sales across different sectors and countries. She has worked with 8 start-up/SME companies in the UK, including impact companies in technology, property and professional services. Su is committed to sustainability, especially with recent ongoing experience of working with organisations that aim to make a real difference to the world we live in today and now with Sustainable Merton. She also volunteers at Merton’s Community Fridge and is a Sustainable Merton Waste Warrior picking up litter in and around Wimbledon.

Ruth Baber

Secretary to Trustees

Ruth took voluntary redundancy from university administration in 2005. She is on the steering group of the Phipps Bridge Community Garden Project. She has recently completed an MSc in Environmental Management at Birkbeck College.

Ruth plays the viola in the Wandsworth Symphony Orchestra.

Anna Laidler

Trustee

Anna is an HR and Payroll professional with BA in English and MA in Law & Management. Originally from Lithuania, Anna moved to London 14 years ago, 6 of which she has been living in Morden with her family. Having recently joined the wonderful team of Community Champions at Sustainable Merton, Anna is honoured to have been elected a Trustee of Sustainable Merton, and is hoping to be able to contribute to the charity’s wonderful work by providing insights into employment legislation, payroll & benefits related matters, and continuing her volunteering journey with the charity locally in Merton – every little effort helps to make a difference!

Alan Maries

Trustee

Alan has a background in construction materials research and environmental management of major road and rail projects, with a particular interest in sustainability. He has lived in Wimbledon for nearly 40 years, and became involved in local issues through membership of local residents’ associations, the Wimbledon Society and the Green Coffee network, using his professional experience in assessing the impacts of local planning developments. He has also participated in launching the Wimbledon Town Neighbourhood Forum, believing strongly in the need for individuals to help shape the future of their immediate localities.

Alysha Randall

Treasurer Trustee

Alysha is a qualified accountant with over 20 years experience. She is currently working as a Portfolio CFO, working with many small businesses as well as training future Finance Directors.
She has been campaigning for the environment, saving forests & reducing waste for decades. Alysha moved to Merton 5 years ago with her family. She enjoys cycling locally, yoga and cooking.

Anca Tacu

Trustee

Anca is proud to be a trustee of this wonderful charity, having been a committed Community Champion for over two years. As part of the Sustainable Merton Energy Team, Anca was one of the authors of the ‘Energy Saving Handbook’.

Anca brings her expertise from her work in the Policy Impact Unit within the UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) and her academic studies. She is particularly interested in the strategic direction and governance of Sustainable Merton.

Ambassadors

Tom Walsh

Community Ambassador & Founder

Tom was trained in applied biology before becoming a green activist first with the Green Party and then as a co-founder of Sustainable Merton. He has always believed in the vital role we all have in helping to solve the problems of climate change and the role of grassroots organisations like SM reflects this.

Tom is married to Wendy and has two grown up children, Ben and Katie.