Steering Committees

Luke Chamberlain is a Campaign and Policy Officer with Environmental Justice Australia, where he is working to secure the permanent protection of Victoria’s native forests, building on recent legal victories that ended most large-scale logging in the state. He also coordinates an investigation with the Environmental Investigation Agency into biomass sourcing in Eastern Europe, exposing links between logging in the EU’s last intact old-growth forests and supply chains tied to Germany.

Before returning to Australia, Luke spent a decade in Europe, where he played a central role in building an alliance of more than 120 NGOs to challenge the use of forests as fuel under the banner of renewable energy. He has also campaigned with The Wilderness Society and led the Ethical Paper campaign, which helped drive Nippon Paper’s decision to stop sourcing wood from Australia’s native forests.

Luke has collaborated with the Environmental Paper Network for many years, particularly in the biomass space, and is committed to strengthening global cooperation to confront the threats that paper, pulp, and biomass markets pose to the world’s forests.

Sonia Demiray is the founder and Executive Director of the Climate Communications Coalition, located just outside Washington, D.C. She applies her extensive communications expertise to advance her lifelong passion for environmental conservation and climate justice, with a strong focus on forest protections. Sonia is an active member of the Biomass Action Network among others and builds new coalitions and messaging strategies to address burgeoning environmental issues. As a member of the Steering Committee, she will guide and support EPN to help reach its mid and long-term goals, improve connectivity, and ensure science-driven solutions to growing environmental issues. Sonia graduated in Sciences of Information from the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, obtained a strategic communications accreditation from McCann-Erickson World Group, and obtained an M.A. in Mass Communications in Baltimore. Through her previous communications firm, DemirayINK, she served international, Federal, and regional clients across the Americas and Europe for over 20 years. Sonia is currently enrolled in the Graduate Program on Forests and Climate Change with Oregon State University to obtain a data driven and science based understanding of the current climate, biodiversity, and pollution crises, and to help strengthen her advocacy around forest protections.

Syahrul Fitra is based in Indonesia and works as a policy, political, and legal analyst with a focus on environmental justice, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and forest protection. He has been engaged in environmental and human rights advocacy for over a decade, working with local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society organisations to push for policy reforms and forest governance in Indonesia and globally. His experience spans from grassroots organizing to international policy forums, with a passion for linking law, politics, and activism.

Syahrul is actively involved in initiatives around sustainable forest use and equitable climate action, and he contributes to several global advocacy networks. When he’s not researching policy or drafting analysis, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching movies, and rediscovering photography.

His favourite thing about our Global Paper Vision is that it brings together over 100 NGOs from different countries into one powerful network. For him, this manifesto is an important platform that can drive meaningful change for the planet we all share.

Peter Gerhardt is based in Germany and is on the steering committee. He has been an activist and campaigner since 1996 with focus on international social and environmental issues. Peter conducted successful campaigns that linked transnational corporations like Procter&Gamble, IKEA, Aracruz or Asia Pulp and Paper to environmental destruction. He is the director of denkhausbremen, an organisation that works to ensure a fair distribution of the global resources. When he is not working or steering the EPN he likes to survive in that lovely chaos created by family and friends. His favourite thing about the Global Paper Vision is that the Vision is challenging wasteful paper consumption.

Dan Howells works for Green America as the Climate Campaigns Director. He has been associated with EPN on and off since 2005. Dan brings over 20 years of campaigning, organizing, and fundraising having worked at organizations including Greenpeace, Pew Charitable Trusts, and Stand.Earth (formerly Forest Ethics) and others.

Dan has led successful corporate campaigns, and engaged in policy outreach, organizing, media relations, and fundraising. He also has many years of working on legislative and regulatory issues at all levels of government. At Green America he works on issues such as biofuels from forests, HFCs at major grocery store chains, and renewable energy and energy justice campaigns.

Carolina Juaneda is an experienced advocate for transparency, accountability, and robust social and environmental safeguards in multilateral development finance in Latin America. Since joining the Bank Information Center (BIC) in 2017, she has worked closely with local civil society organizations and communities to advance stronger protections and more inclusive decision-making in projects supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank.

At the IDB, Carolina has contributed to significant policy advances, including improved environmental and social safeguards and enhanced access to information. She also played a key role in advocacy efforts that led to the strengthening of the IDB’s Amazon Forever Program. As an active member of the IDB Working Group—a coalition of regional and international organizations focused on influencing the bank’s policies and operations—she has supported initiatives to expand civil society participation within the institution.
As Environment Director and LAC Coordinator at BIC, Carolina leads advocacy efforts across Latin America, coordinating with a broad network of civil society partners. Her work emphasizes the rights and priorities of Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendants, and traditional communities affected by development projects.

Carolina holds a BA in Political Science from the Catholic University of Córdoba and a Master’s in International Development Management from American University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. Prior to joining BIC, she worked at FUNDEPS, an Argentine civil society organization focused on environmental and social justice, and at the Instituto Federal de Gobierno, providing technical assistance on ESG policy. She currently serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Environmental Paper Network and as an advisor to the Accountability Research Center.

Ashley Jordan provides advocacy and data analysis expertise for NRDC’s work to halt and reverse global nature loss. Since 2022, she has led NRDC’s Issue with Tissue publication series, which exposes the destructive forest sourcing practices behind major U.S. tissue brands and helps consumers adopt sustainable alternatives. She advances marketplace strategies that drive companies to adopt forest- and climate-friendly policies that uphold human rights and protect public health. Ashley joined NRDC in 2018 and previously supported the organization’s Canada Project as a corporate campaign coordinator. She holds a B.A. in international relations and is based in Austin, Texas.

Susan Kinsella is the Director of Conservatree and initiated the founding of the EPN. With over 30 years of technical experience in environmental paper issues, she works with major purchasers on choosing, specifying and contracting for environmentally responsible papers and paper products. She holds a dual BSc in Psychology and Sociology from Purdue University, and a Masters in Speech Communications from San Francisco State University. 

Merel van der Mark is based in the Netherlands and is a campaigner with Rainforest Action Network. She previously coordinated EPN’s Pulp Finance working group, with the aim of making investors aware of the risks of investing in the pulp and paper industry, and aware of the need to adopt strong policies for these kind of investments. She lived several years in the Brazilian Amazon, campaigning for local and international NGOs, among others for Greenpeace, to protect the rainforest and its people. She has also worked for BankTrack as Forest Campaigner and on the ForestsandFinance.org project. Her favourite thing about the Global Paper Vision is that it has been translated into clear guidelines for financial institutions, in the “Green Paper, Red Lines” document.

Neva Murtha leads Canopy’s Second Harvest Campaign and works with Canada’s major magazine publishers and North America’s leading printers to develop visionary procurement policies for forest conservation and agricultural residue paper development.

Monika Nolle is based in Germany and is on the EPN’s steering committee. She has worked on environmental, forest and human rights issues since 1987, when she founded ARA together with about 25 students. Global education and campaigns for fair, reduced and sustainable consumption/production are main fields of her activities. She is one of the initiators of the German paper network “Papierwende”. When she’s not working for ARA or steering the EPN, she hikes through the forests with her dog, reads, cooks, enjoys life with her big family and friends. Her favourite thing about our Global Paper Vision is that this manifesto with 140 supporting NGOs shows that we are a strong global network with a lot of energy to reform the paper world.

Camila Paz Romero is part of Colectivo Viento Sur, a grassroots movement in Chile working on biomass and pulp and paper issues. She has long been an advocate for Indigenous rights, territorial defense, and the protection of Mother Earth, and is a key person supporting the Environmental Paper Network’s presence in South America.

Born in Chile and based in Wallmapu, the ancestral territory of the Mapuche Peoples, Camila holds a degree in Anthropology from the Austral University of Chile and an International Diploma in the Design and Management of Public Policies grounded in the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendent Peoples. Her work has centered on amplifying Indigenous voices—especially those of youth and women—in national and international spaces such as the United Nations, with a focus on climate change, biodiversity, and the full participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making.

Scot Quaranda has been with Dogwood Alliance since 2000 and has served as a campaign organizer, field director, campaign director and is currently the communications director. In his role, he is in charge of storytelling, creative, media relations, and PR. He has a dual BA from Drew University in Psychology and Philosophy and has worked previously with the Fund for Public Interest and in music PR for artists such as Buddy Guy and Ani DiFranco.

Caroline Vesey is the Senior Policy Manager at the Bank Information Center (BIC), an independent nonprofit in Washington, DC that advocates for raising the environmental, social, and transparency standards of development finance institutions (DFIs). Caroline joined the organization in 2020 to manage BIC’s engagement with civil society and deepen its outreach and advocacy toward the U.S. Government and Congress. Since then, her role has expanded to include supporting communities around the world seeking justice and accountability for environmental and social harm caused by DFI projects. Before joining BIC, Caroline worked in policy at the state and federal levels. Her most recent role was in a congressional office, where she focused on financial services topics. Caroline holds an MA in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration and a BA in International Studies from the University of Denver.