Team

Team

At UWC, our mission is to inspire young people to put their talents and energy into driving change around the world, no matter which future path they choose.

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Advancement

Our team is responsible for three main areas of work:
 
Communications – We coordinate and implement global comms campaigns across the movement, promoting UWC as a whole on digital and traditional media, whilst also supporting UWC schools and colleges and national committees in their comms efforts.
 
Engagement and Outreach – We are responsible for the implementation of campaigns that aim to nurture and activate the UWC community at large – i.e. UWC Day, UWC Pledge, UWCx and UWC Hub. The team also deals with partnerships and approaches like-minded organisations to join forces to achieve UWC’s strategic objectives.
 
Philanthropy – We engage and steward our donors, and cultivate significant relationships to support the philanthropic trajectory of UWC International, whilst also supporting philanthropic activities of UWC schools and national committees, as well as implementing and managing UWC International funded scholarship programmes.

Emily Hopkins

Emily Hopkins

Senior Communications & External Relations Manager

Emily is UWC International’s Senior Communications & External Relations Manager. Her responsibilities include external communications, crisis and internal communications, content creation and marketing. 

After completing a degree in Law and Politics, Emily has spent the last twenty years working for a variety of charities in the UK including the Money Advice Trust, Girlguiding, UNIAID and benevolent funds supporting engineers, doctors and the Royal Air Force. Her experience covers all areas of communications, marketing, digital and fundraising and she has worked on projects including the Chelsea Flower Show and British Grand Prix.

Away from the office, Emily is an avid theatre goer, enjoys exploring all that London has to offer, reading, baking, Lego, playing with her cats and spends too much time watching racing cars drive round in circles.


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Clara Cruz

Clara Cruz

Digital Communications & Systems Manager

Clara is UWC International’s Digital Communications & Systems Manager. She is a Portuguese UWC Adriatic alumna (1996-1998) who for many years led the volunteer-run Portuguese UWC National Committee while keeping her day job as a professional video editor.

As part of the Communications team, Clara runs digital communications – i.e. social media, website content – and internal communications – liaising with and supporting all 18 schools and colleges and UWC’s network of over 150 national committees.

Prior to joining UWC International she worked as a video editor for Red Bull Media House in Austria, after years working in Portugal between media production companies and national TV stations. Upon finishing her pre-Bologna 5-year degree on Sound & Image at Escola das Artes da Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Oporto, Clara joined UWC Portugal as a volunteer in 2008 where she was able to put to good use her varied set of interests and skills. However, it was while working on communications for the Portuguese UWC National Committee that she found the best way to combine her expertise on media and communication and her passion for UWC, finally joining UWC International’s team in June 2017.
Apart from her Portuguese native language, Clara speaks English and Spanish, can communicate in Italian and to some extent in French. A gadget/internet enthusiast, Clara won’t rest until she finds the best possible solution to a problem.


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Louise Goldsmith

Louise Goldsmith

Communications & External Relations Coordinator

Louise is Communications & External Relations Coordinator at UWC International, where she plays a key role in developing and delivering communications across a range of digital and print platforms – from publications and campaigns to speeches, articles and social media.

Her role combines strategic planning, editorial oversight and project management. She works with colleagues across UWC’s international network – including schools, national committees and partners – to strengthen messaging, share stories of impact and build understanding of UWC’s mission and work. She has led projects that combine data and storytelling to communicate UWC’s long-term impact and global reach. 

Louise began her career as a broadcast journalist with the BBC and has since worked across the public, nonprofit and corporate sectors as a journalist, consultant and communications professional. She brings experience in content strategy, media training, stakeholder engagement and advocacy, with a particular interest in education, social impact and equity.

She brings curiosity, clarity and a values-led approach to her work, and is committed to using communication as a tool for connection and change.


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Alex Tyner

Alex Tyner

Digital Communications Officer

Alex is the Digital Communications Officer at UWC International. As part of the Communications team, Alex uses digital tools such as social media, websites and online resources to support internal and external communications around the movement. He collaborates with, and supports the UWC schools and colleges and UWC’s network of over 150 national committees (NCs).

Alex is a dual-national Canadian-British citizen who holds a Master’s degree in International Cooperation and Development from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. His connection to the UWC movement runs deep, having lived at Pearson College, mentored UWC students on the KULE Foundation project, and worked as a Parliamentary Researcher for MP Stephen Doughty (UWC Pearson College, 1996-1998) – former chair of the UWC Great Britain National Committee. 

Throughout his career, Alex has worked with various NGOs and within the UK political system, focusing on humanitarian and educational projects. These experiences have fuelled his passion for the intersectional role that education plays in promoting human rights, peacebuilding and broadening the horizons of youth globally.

In his spare time, Alex is an avid adventurer and outdoorsman. On weekends, you’ll likely find him hiking and camping in the wilderness, or exploring one of his many passions, such as carpentry. He approaches life with enthusiasm, always seeking new ways to grow and engage with the world around him.


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Marta Escanuela Nieves

Marta Escanuela Nieves

Engagement Coordinator

Marta is the Engagement Coordinator at UWC International. She plays a crucial role in managing UWC’s ongoing engagement activities across the movement. This includes working with committed colleagues across the vast UWC network and maintaining and improving UWC’s global community engagement initiatives, such as UWCx, UWC Day, UWC Hub and content-driven events.

Marta is from Spain, where she graduated in Advertising and Public Relations. After this, she completed a Masters in International Development at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Her strong belief in the transformative power of education led her to work on various educational initiatives in Europe and Latin America. Of particular note, she was in charge of an education programme to close the education gap for low-income demographics, including refugees and asylum seekers and promote social mobility through employment opportunities.

Marta has a passion for the intersection of art as a means of self-expression and a tool to address social issues. In her spare time, she enjoys writing and street photography. She is also always looking forward to salsa dancing.


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Giuseppe Barresi

Giuseppe Barresi

Website Delivery Project Manager

Giuseppe joined UWC in April 2024 as the Website Delivery Project Manager working in the Communications & Engagement team. In this role Giuseppe will be managing the delivery of the new UWC public facing website due to be launched in August 2025.

His recent work history in the Education and Not-for-profit sectors has seen him manage new website build projects for Kaplan International Pathways, the Diocese of Guildford and The Royal Parks.

Previous to that, Giuseppe spent the best part of 20 years working in various roles within Digital and Sports (Football, Golf, Tennis) leading digital teams and working in various content and live event related roles for organisations such as the International Management Group, The DP World Tour, The Football Association, The Lawn Tennis Association and DeltaTre/UEFA. Giuseppe’s career has now gone full circle as he started his working life as a TEFL teacher working in schools in the UK, Argentina, Australia, Italy and Mexico.

When not managing website builds Giuseppe can be found cooking Italian food, cycling around Tooting Common or watching his son’s playing football.


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Peter Verhille

Peter Verhille

Senior Adviser, International Fund Development

Peter is the senior adviser for international fund development consultant for UWC International. His career spans over 30 years in public affairs, corporate communications and fundraising. Peter has provided fundraising consulting services to UWC since 2011. Working from his base in Belgium, he previously held senior leadership positions in several global PR firms, as Managing Director and European Director. Peter co-founded Brussels’ first “Think-Do Tank” which combined a commercial consultancy with a not-for-profit forum for multi-stakeholder engagement with European public policy.  Peter began his career as a researcher and lecturer in mass media and communications at Ghent University, Belgium. He holds degrees in Social Science and Politics, Media and Communications (Ghent University, Belgium) and Communications Policy Studies (City University, London).

An alumnus of UWC Atlantic College (1978-1980), Peter was an active volunteer for many years on the UWC National Committee of Belgium. He also served as a member of the Fundraising Task Force for UWC Maastricht, leading to its launch in 2010.

Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)20 7269 7804

Delphine Poschmann

Delphine Poschmann

Director of Development and Funded Programmes

Delphine joined the Philanthropy team at UWC International in May 2020 and is based in Berlin. Her role is to be responsible for the development and implementation of UWC International’s philanthropy strategy and coordination of fundraising across the UWC movement in close cooperation with the UWC International Office, the UWC schools and colleges as well as the UWC national committees. 

Delphine has 20 years of work experience in philanthropy, corporate responsibility, consulting and international development. Prior to joining UWC International, Delphine was an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan. From 2015 until 2020, she oversaw a large part of JPMorganChase Foundation’s philanthropic activities across Europe, Middle East and Africa, defining and implementing country philanthropic strategies to promote a more inclusive economic growth and working closely with a wide range of charities and international organizations supporting access to skills & jobs, small businesses and improving financial health. Delphine was also leading on the foundation’s regional strategy to support small businesses. 

Delphine previously worked over ten years at PlaNet Finance, now known as Positive Planet, a network of nonprofits promoting a positive economy through financial inclusion and microentrepreneurship. In her last role as Technical Director, she was responsible for overseeing the organization’s project portfolio and was managing key donors relationships. She started her career as a consultant at Bearing Point in Berlin, Germany, where she moved back with her husband and their twin children in 2018. Delphine holds a master’s degree in Management from the ESCP European Business School, a German Diplom-Kauffrau and a master’s degree in Humanitarian and Development Assistance from the University of Paris XII. Delphine speaks English, German and her native French.


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Lachlan Keen

Lachlan Keen

Senior Development Manager

Lachlan joined UWC International in January 2019 and he is based in London. Lachlan works with the Global Philanthropy Team to develop initiatives that enable generous supporters of UWC to contribute to its vision of using education to unite people, nations and cultures. In practice, Lachlan’s role will involve undertaking research, developing funding applications and acquiring gifts to assist UWC to realise its ambitious fundraising targets. 

Lachlan has worked in various fundraising roles for over eight years, at tertiary institutions and non-government organisations in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Most recently, Lachlan was employed as the Major Grants and Philanthropy Manager at the peacebuilding and conflict prevention organisation, Saferworld, and prior to that held a development position at the National Gallery in London. In Australia, Lachlan worked as a Development Manager at the University of New South Wales in a role that focussed on acquiring funding for scholarships for educationally-disadvantaged students. Lachlan also spent three years working in fundraising roles in Malawi and Zimbabwe for World Vision International and was responsible for managing donor relationships for the organisation’s water & sanitation and child protection programmes.

Lachlan graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work and currently undertaking a Master of Laws at the same institution. Lachlan spends a large amount of his spare time running around the parks of London and is slowly trying to improve his French and Portuguese language skills.

Phone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7800 


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Natascha González Pearson

Natascha González Pearson

Funded Programmes Consultant

Natascha joined the Philanthropy team at UWC International in 2024. She primarily manages the RISE partnership and various funds within the UWC Refugee Initiative.

With a BSc in International Relations from L.S.E., she began her career as a political analyst for the International Crisis Group. However, driven by a deep belief in the transformative power of education, she transitioned to the Development and Social Impact sectors. As a project manager, she has dedicated herself to supporting youth empowerment and peacebuilding initiatives, such as the EDUCAPAZ programme in conflict-stricken regions across Colombia.

Natascha’s association with the UWC movement began in 1993 as a student at Atlantic College, and later, through joining the UWC National Committee in her native Colombia. Between 2005 and 2009, she served as the Head of National Committee Development at UWC International and later co-founded the National Committee in Sudan while residing in Khartoum with her family. Recently, she took the lead in the UWC Short Course ‘Programa Impulso,’ dedicated to addressing segregation and encouraging collective empowerment among youth in Colombia.

Outside of work she enjoys cooking, discovering beautiful illustrated books and graphic novels and finding interesting podcasts with her children. Natascha speaks Spanish, English and Swedish, and is based in Stockholm.

Email: [email protected]