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EUROPEAN SUSTAINABILITY ACADEMY

Leadership for positive impact

ESA Team

The success of ESA depends on the passion and support of its people. This initiative is a collaboration between Greek and UK thinking, and between sustainability experts and community members, about the importance of sustainability principles and the responsibility of business.

Sharon Jackson

Sharon Jackson MSc. – Director

Sharon is also Director of Carlton CSR -UK, Associate Faculty at Cranfield School of Management, Associate Scholar at University of Cumbria, Institute for Sustainability and Leadership, Visiting Lecturer at Murray Edwards College- Cambridge University and Visiting Research Fellow at Athens University of Economics and Business.

Before embarking on a teaching and research career, Sharon worked for 15 years in global commerce in senior roles in the electronic component sector, developing international business through global distribution and supply chains.

Email Sharon.Jackson@EuroSustainability.org 
Mobile UK.: +44 (7785) 901164
Mobile Greece : +30 (6957) 483886

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In her 20s she was awarded her first board appointment and has gone on to hold several other directorships in both businesses and NGOs.

In 2000, demoralised by the lack of ethical business conduct in the electronics sector at that time, after gaining her 'Certificate in Further and Adult Education Teaching' she left the industry to develop customised executive learning programmes in the context of responsible business principles at the core of organisational development. She has developed ground-breaking 'Corporate Responsibility Leadership' programmes for directors and senior managers which are delivered in wilderness and mountainous places of natural beauty in Europe, Australia and China.

Sharon teaches business managers and directors how to combine fundamental business good practice and wealth creation with corporate responsibility as a core facet of global sustainability. Her programmes are designed to stimulate innovative and profitable business through aligning values based leadership with organisational sensemaking. She also undertakes long term consulting engagements to help businesses embed sustainability principles at the heart of their organisational development and strategy.

Her academic work includes the recent completion of a 2 year empirical study to explore the reasons for disconnect between organisational intentions to embed CSR and actual CSR outcomes. Sharon is continuing this research through a part time PhD at Cranfield University with a focus on 'The relationship between managers' sensemaking and organisational aspirations to embed sustainability principles'. Her research to date has revealed a unique contribution to theory and practice in terms of how individuals' sensemaking processes can be incongruent with organisationally espoused sustainability intentions and a barrier to enactment.

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ESA Associates

Ramona da Gama

Ramona da Gama - Business Coach

Ramona da Gama is a business and strategy growth coach who helps SMEs to accelerate their growth, entrepreneurs move from employment to starting their own businesses, and large corporations to increase their value through sustainability, employee engagement initiatives and change management. Ramona provides her expertise to ESA as a regular guest speaker and business development advisor. She is also a mentor in the Women (and Men) Innovators for Sustainable Enterprise programme (W/MISE) Greece and India and a core member of the ESA India project team.

Email ramona@ramonadagama.com
Mobile UK: +44 (7884) 073085
Web www.ramonadagama.com

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It is Ramona’s first-hand experience of founding and running three businesses: a media sales consultancy, a Kensington-based jazz club, and her coaching practice, as well as being instrumental in large organisations’ business strategies, including the launch of EasyJet, that qualifies her to coach and train others. She has also worked with Times Newspapers, The Mail on Sunday, Virgin Atlantic and Shirlaws team on The Lloyds Bank/TSB Group merger.

Ramona is passionate about making a difference to businesses and individuals. In her sustainability work she assists large organisations with cultural change, which takes the form of establishing and implementing initiatives that invest in the business’s human capital as well as corporate social responsibility. As well as working closely with ESA - Crete, Ramona speaks regularly on sustainability at other organisations including the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group.

More broadly, Ramona works with organisations to develop and train their managers to become leaders, who empower their teams to achieve the overall vision for their organisations. She is a certified coach and has worked with Shirlaws Coaching delivering Business Management Coaching, and Performance Coaching International delivering Leadership and Coaching programmes. She is a mentor and coach for The Debrett’s Foundation.

Ramona’s writing includes articles on Entrepreneurship and Career Development for The Telegraph and The Guardian.

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Christos Sotiropoulos

Christos Sotiropoulos - Astronomer

Christos Sotiropoulos has been our resident Astronomer at ESA since opening in 2012.

He lives in Chania, Crete and is also an English teacher, Salsa teacher and certified ‘online learning’ teacher.

Christos is National Co-ordinator for the amazing group ‘Sidewalk Astronomers’  which is a voluntary group to encourage every person to look up to the sky and make their own personal connection between this earth and our universe. He is also the National Co-ordinator for the globally inspirational organisation ‘Astronomers without Borders’, the not for profit organisation which aims to create a more connected world by giving people insight to the sky where conflict and nationalistic boundaries do not exist.

Christos has taken our guests, including African Princesses, on an amazing journey from Crete to the edge of the Universe. He has the skill to take people back in time to Ancient Greece to learn about the Myths hidden behind the constellations.

Stella Diomantaraki

Stella Diomantaraki - Cretan Gastronomy Expert

Stella Diomantaraki is our resident fine dining catering manager and a qualified sommelier at ESA.

Born in Crete and living close to ESA with her husband and business partner (Chef), Stella works with ESA to recreate traditional Cretan food for our guests and to educate people about the health benefits and exquisite taste of local Cretan food and wine. She has a special interest in the edible flora of Crete and ancient Cretan recipes and wines. In 2013 at the first ESA Global Women Empowerment Summit, Stella was given a ‘WE – Women Empowerment’ Award in recognition of her professionalism and tenacity in building a successful sustainable enterprise in Crete and for her inspiration as a role model for other Cretan women.


Shibu Cheruvelil

Shibu Cheruvelil PhD - Director AIDI

Shibu Cheruvelil PhD, is the Founder & Executive Director of Agency for Integrated Development Initiatives (AIDI) in Delhi. Shibu provides his expertise to ESA in the Women (and Men) Innovators for Sustainable Enterprise programme (W/MISE) Greece and India. He is also a core member of the ESA India project team.

Over 18 years, he has had considerable experience with NGOs in India, Asia -Pacific countries, Europe and USA, managing International Public Health, Women Empowerment, Child Education, Gender Discrimination, Sustainable Development, global and national policy advocacy initiatives and multi developmental programs. He gained his extensive leadership management skills in the international development sector. In his ‘Country Leadership’ roles he has been responsible for oversight of country operations, liaising with National and International Government Agencies, CSR & Bilateral Organisations, Financial Planning and Budget Management, Multi-Partner Management, Global Advocacy Management, National and International Key Staff Management. Prior to this, he introduced a leading AIDS Healthcare Foundation (USA) in to India for HIV Testing & Treatment and setting up the Global Fund (GFATM)’s largest HIV/AIDS programs for India.

Shibu played a key role in the success of the historic International Congress on Education and Child Labour at New Delhi in September 2005. Also, he worked for international policy advocacy programs based at Washington, D.C during 2012.

Email dr.cheruvelil@gmail.com
Tel. India: +91 (8826) 852199

Host your event at ESA     

Powered only by Cretan sunshine, ESA is a beautiful building rooted in the earth amongst ancient rocks and olive trees, surrounded by nature. Its construction is a leading example of sustainability in practice. ESA is an experiential and creative place where people feel enlivened, uplifted and creative. Great living and great learning happen at ESA. A perfect setting for:

Leading sustainable enterprise

Our passion is contributing towards co-created sustainable enterprise for positive impact on communities and the natural environment on a global scale. Leadership and entrepreneur issues of adaptation, resilience, authenticity, sustainable-self, values connected sense-making and the continued emancipation of women (WISE) to take up more leadership roles in the world are at the core of the ESA sustainability experience.

Make sense of sustainability

Crete is the sustainable destination of the past and of the future.

Home of the Minoans, one of the earliest civilisations on earth, nestled between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Crete is rich with mythology, gastronomy, music, art and agriculture. You can have your own authentic experience of a sustainable lifestyle and feel first-hand the strong connection between nature and community.