Our People

Jack has over 20 years of experience working in senior roles for government and international conservation NGOs, as well as in private philanthropy. He has project managed several large scale ecological restoration projects in Europe. He has a keen interest in turning ideas and plans into action and in making restoration happen.

Jack began his career in 2001, working for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the field of Sustainable Agriculture. In 2005, he joined Fauna & Flora’s corporate partnerships team, working with businesses to enable them to better understand, manage and protect biodiversity. In 2008, he moved on to work with Royal Society for Protection of Birds to manage two projects spanning seven Eastern Europe and Eurasian countries that sought to encourage and support small businesses to conserve and restore nature. Between 2010 – 2014, he managed two large wetland restoration projects in Belarus and Ukraine which sought to re-wet over 20,000 ha of degraded peatland to restore biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

In 2015, Jack played a leading role with Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) and its nine partners to set up and operate the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge, one of the largest conservation hubs in the world. He continued his interests in restoration by helping to advise CCI on the creation of the Arcadia funded Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme. Between 2017 – 2021, Jack moved on to work with Arcadia to help manage their programme of environmental grants. During this time, he began exploring the potential for creating a new European dam removal programme, which led to the creation of the Open Rivers Programme in October 2021.

Jack is a Geography graduate from Kings College London, specialising in Political Ecology.

Pao studied Forestry Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). She accomplished her MSc in Ecosystem Restoration at the University of Alcalá, UPM, Complutense University of Madrid and Rey Juan Carlos University. In 2011, she conducted her master’s practices and thesis on fishway evaluation with PIT and Radio telemetry in Massachusetts while she received training in technical and naturalised fishway designs. In 2012, while finishing her master’s thesis, Pao took her first training course on dam removal and started co-writing the Dam Removal Europe proposal along with the future founder of the World Fish Migration Foundation (WFMF).

In 2013, she started her own fishway design consulting business and implemented her first projects in northern England.

From 2014 until 2024, Pao worked to develop and implement different projects at WFMF related to the recovery of migratory fish populations and the longitudinal connectivity of rivers. In 2016, she coordinated the search for and collection of barrier inventories in Europe for the Hozion2020 project – AMBER. Thanks to initiatives such as World Fish Migration Day and Dam Removal Europe, Pao was able to meet thousands of people working on the recovery of rivers around the world. She has played a significant role in helping practitioners and other interested parties to start removing barriers in their countries.

Heather is an aquatic ecologist, specialising in water management – particularly regarding aquatic conservation and restoration.  

Prior to joining the Open Rivers Programme, she worked on environmental projects within the public sector as well as within international NGOs. She has worked in water quality monitoring for the Ontario, Canadian, and English governments, including both chemical analysis and biological identification of aquatic vegetation and macro-invertebrates. While with the Environment Agency in England, she monitored river levels and flows as well as short-term weather forecasts to predict peaks in river flows during floods. As an Environment Planning Specialist, Heather managed an aquatic monitoring and restoration programme in southern England, which brought together diverse stakeholders to contribute to the shared goal of improved water quality.

Heather also has experience working within NGOs at the International Water Resources Association and Wetlands International Europe. At Wetlands International, she spearheaded the Trans-European Swimways Programme, initiating a network of passionate fish advocates and developing activities to better understand and influence policies for migratory freshwater fish. 

Heather holds a BSc in ecology and environmental sciences from the University of Guelph (Canada) and an MSc in water science, policy and management from the University of Oxford (UK). 

In her spare time, Heather often seeks out water activities, such as swimming, kayaking, and cycling along the rivers of Europe. She is passionate about preserving these beautiful ecosystems and the species that call them home.

Beatrice is an environmental and ecological economist specialised in freshwater and marine management issues.

Throughout her professional experience, she sought to combine her passion for the outdoors, the environment and economics by helping communities that rely on rivers and oceans and by improving their access to these resources. Before joining the Open Rivers Programme, she gained experience in academic research and NGO advocacy. She conducted research at the University of Galway on marine ecosystem service valuation and the ocean economy and later joined the World Fish Migration Foundation as a Communications Officer, where she contributed to Dam Removal Europe and World Fish Migration Day–related projects.

Beatrice holds a BSc in Economics and Business from the Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, and a MSc in Social-Ecological Economics and Policy at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, graduating with a thesis on the estimation of dam removal costs for the implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. Alongside her work, she is a whitewater and freestyle kayaker, representing Italy on the international scene. In 2024, she ranked 7th at the Extreme Kayak European Championships in Czechia.

Maria Inês da Conceição has a background in strategic communications for nature conservation. With over seven years of experience in the field, she has developed strong expertise in promoting and managing high-impact conservation initiatives across Europe. Prior to joining the Open Rivers Programme, she served as Communications Advisor at the World Fish Migration Foundation in the Netherlands and as Corporate Relations and Communications Officer at WWF Portugal. In these roles, she led communications for high-profile conservation projects and managed partnerships with major brands, demonstrating her ability to build meaningful collaborations that advance environmental goals.

Maria Inês holds a Master of Public Administration, specialising in Public Management and Leadership, from Leiden University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She is a strategic thinker and dynamic communicator.

Christiane has been running her own operations consulting business since 2018, focusing on offering financial, administrative and operational management support to NGOs. In addition to this role, Christiane is Executive Director at an international not-for-profit association, Women in Aerospace Europe.

Christiane is passionate about leading business transformation projects. She has a proven track record in introducing innovative initiatives and has steered transformations that increased operational efficiency and strengthened stakeholder connections across EMEA, North and Latin America working for global consulting businesses, non-profits, universities, and startups. She is known for her entrepreneurial mindset and thinking ‘outside the box’ with the ability to see the big picture and bring structure to define processes, identify goals and achieve results.

Christiane holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and administration from the Tec Milenio in Mexico, a technical degree in Solar Energy from Maurer Institute in Spain and a diploma in Mindfulness, Emotional Management and Positive Psychology from the European Institute of Positive Psychology (IEPP). Christiane was also Mountain Bike Champion (Mexico 2001) and 4th in the Mountain Bike World Cup (Napa Valley, California 2002).

Yegor holds a PhD in Agronomy and Bioengineering from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and Universiteit Gent, where his research focused on climate variations and tree growth patterns in tropical regions. In 2022, he founded Sabali Expeditions and served as Head of Research, designing interdisciplinary programmes on mangrove ecosystems and climate resilience, whilst fundraising for and captaining the scientific sailing expedition aboard Sabali from Brussels to Tahiti. During the expedition, he directed a documentary film on mangrove conservation. His adventurous spirit has also led him to swim across the English Channel and row across the Atlantic to raise money for charities.

From 2024 to 2025, Yegor served as a Biodiversity Expert at the Belgian Federal Public Service, contributing to the development of European environmental regulations such as the Nature Restoration Regulation. He also led exploratory work on biodiversity credits markets. Currently, as Founder and Consultant at Lichen Environmental Advisory, he advises on environmental finance and biodiversity conservation, developing frameworks for biodiversity credits and nature markets to attract private capital to conservation projects. His previous work included developing solutions to mobilise private capital for dam removal and floodplain restoration in Europe, leveraging biodiversity credits and blended finance mechanisms.

Benoît has nearly 20 years of experience in integrated river basin management. Fascinated by rivers, he began his career in the UK in 2002, with the Dutch consultancy Royal Haskoning, in the coastal and rivers division. For the last 10 years, he has been working for the Rhône Mediterranean and Corsica water agency as an expert in hydromorphology and river restoration.

He is the author or co-author of several technical guides, including a guide on space for river and on the management of braided rivers. The water agency plays a key role in enabling river restoration and it is estimated that it has contributed to remove over 800 weirs or dams on the Rhône Mediterranean basin. Benoît is a contributor to the ECRR technical newsletter and is a member of the European community of practice on river restoration. He loves spending time hiking with his family, reading, gardening, beekeeping, birdwatching, stargazing and photography. He also works as a volunteer with the local authorities of his village to protect, promote and restore local biodiversity.

Britta-Antje Behm has been Head of the Unit “International Agreements Rhine and Danube, Water Framework Directive, Support Schemes” at the Ministry of the Environment Climate Protection and the Energy Sector in Baden-Württemberg since May 2011. Her focus lies on the preparation and implementation of the River Basin Management Plans and the Programmes of Measures for the region as well as on the financial support of communities in the field of water policy. The fields of activity also include ecological aspects of hydropower.

From 1994 she worked in different departments of the Ministry, e. g. Emission Protection, European Affairs and Chemical Policy. She started her professional career in the Regional Authority. Mrs Behm studied law at Tübingen, Germany, and finished her Second State Examination in Stuttgart, Germany.

Karolina Gurjazkaitė is an environmental expert and advocate with an interdisciplinary background of social and environmental sciences. She has been working for four years on freshwater policy, aiming for dam removals to be included in the Lithuanian laws and strategic plans. In 2020, through a crowdfunding campaign, Karolina initiated, led, and oversaw the first ever dam removal project in Lithuania to encourage more river restoration projects. Since 2018, she has been hosting seminars and bringing experts together to enable dam removals and open rivers in Lithuania.

Laura is a practising fisheries and water resource manager, specializing in ecological restoration consulting for aquatic systems. Her expertise and passion, centre on the restoration of rivers through the reestablishment of natural functions and aquatic connectivity. She is considered one of the leading experts in United States on barrier removal and alternative fish passage techniques, regularly lecturing, instructing, and publishing on these topics, including assisting with the instruction of courses for the University of Wisconsin and Yale University. In addition to engineering and river science, her work has emphasized reconnecting communities to rivers, and the socio-economic complexities relating to the balance between natural resource management and healthy river systems.

Laura has been involved in hundreds of river restoration, barrier removal, and fish passage projects throughout the U.S.; working on all aspects of the projects from inception through design and construction, both as a licensed professional engineer designing and managing the projects and as a non-profit project partner when she was the Chief Engineer of American Rivers.

Laura received her bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from University of Vermont, her Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, and has conducted two years of post-graduate work at the University of Southampton, focusing on international issues relating to the removal of dams and the restoration of aquatic connectivity. Laura integrates both engineering and a deep understanding of river science into her restoration work.

Maja works as a Legal Expert (Juriste) at international environmental law NGO ClientEarth, in Brussels. As a member of the Wildlife and Habitats team, she focuses on hydro-energy projects and their impacts on rivers, species, and habitats, making sure they comply with the EU and international environmental laws. Before joining ClientEarth, Maja worked as a paralegal for an international law firm in Glasgow, after interning for the UNCITRAL Secretariat in Vienna and working for a private law firm in Bosnia and Herzegovina after her studies. Maja acquired her law degree in 2014 from the Faculty of Law, University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and in 2016, she graduated with distinction from the University of Strathclyde, where she obtained her LLM degree in International Economic Law.

Olle Calles currently holds the position of Professor in Aquatic Ecology, River Ecology, and management research group (RivEM), at Karlstad University in Sweden. He is an expert in remedial measures in regulated rivers and is currently leading several projects on river restoration including dam removal and fish passage solutions.

He is also involved in the large EU-projects RIBES (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network) and LIFE Connect (EU-LIFE). The applied research questions are typically identified and developed in collaboration with representatives from the authorities and stakeholders, and deal with real-world problems trying to find practical and cost-efficient solutions to these problems. His expertise is often asked for by authorities, companies and organizations, and public outreach is a central theme in his work.

Pencho is a hydrobiologist who is currently doing his PhD in University of Forestry – Sofia (Bulgaria). His research is focussed on the impact of hydropower plants on river ecosystems, in particular on fish and macroinvertebrates.

Pencho graduated with a Masters degree in Biology in 2015 (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”). He has worked as part time assistant in Zoology in University of Forestry (2017). As a scholarship holder of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) Pencho has spent one year (2018) in the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB – Berlin), working on river restoration. He is an associate of the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Pencho has 10 years professional experience as a freelancer focussed on biodiversity projects.

As a member of Balkanka Association (an environmental NGO), Pencho puts a lot of effort into protecting Bulgarian rivers. Balkanka has stopped dozens of devastating projects. Its activity led to demolition of three operational water abstraction facilities in 2020 and 2021.

Apart from hydrobiology, Pencho sometimes works as a field ornithologist. He is keen on fishing and gardening.