NEW GCA ADVISORY BOARD AND EXPERT COUNCIL MEMBERS
08/07/2026
The Global Commons Alliance welcomes five new member representatives to its Advisory Board and two additions to its Expert Council, following its annual elections.
ADVISORY BOARD
Joining the Advisory Board are Jean Oelwang of Planetary Guardians, Maja Groff of the Climate Governance Commission and MEGA, Mario Neto Borges of Tropical Water Research Alliance, Salvatore Coppola-Finegan of EcoCitizen, and Wendy Broadgate of the Earth Commission and Future Earth. They will serve alongside existing members David Akana of Mongabay, Naoko Ishii of the Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo, and Rachel Jetel of Systems Change Lab, with the continued chairmanship of Margarita Astralaga.
EXPERT COUNCIL
Two previous Advisory Board members who have been involved with the GCA since its earliest days now join the GCA’s new Expert Council: Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Co-Chair of the Earth Commission, and Dominic Waughray, Executive Vice President at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Members of the Expert Council — all distinguished leaders in fields relevant to the GCA’s vision and mission — provide the GCA with strategic, scientific, and thematic guidance in their respective areas of expertise. In addition to its two new members, Expert Council members also include Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and President AFPAT; Marco Lambertini, Convener, Nature Positive Initiative; and Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Malaysia, and Planetary Health Alliance Advisory Board Member.
SAFE AND JUST VISION
GCA Chair, Margarita Astralaga says: “Congratulations to our newly elected Advisory Board members, and a big thank you again to all the excellent candidates who stood for election. Thank you also to Johan Rockström and Dominic Waughray who have played foundational roles in shaping the GCA since its inception. We’re excited to begin working with the newly composed Advisory Board and Expert Council to progress jointly into our vision of a just world, on a safe planet.
“Together, this group brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge across science, governance, business and civil society, and their guidance will be invaluable as we continue our work in the lead up to the COP31 climate talks and COP17 conferences to Combat Desertification and on Biodiversity later this year and beyond. This renewed board will strengthen our collective ability to address the urgent challenges facing our planet’s shared systems, to create a better future for all.”
