About Us

Astrid is a kick-boxing, feminist urban economist, passionate about the power of cities. Most importantly she is the mother of a fiercely amazing little girl. Astrid is an independent researcher and consultant, currently based in Kampala, Uganda. She has worked extensively, throughout her career, across policy and research in various government and non-governmental organisations. Although her research focus is on municipal and infrastructure finance as well as urban economic development and strategic planning for cities more broadly, her passion lies in ensuring that the voices of women, from all backgrounds and walks of life, are heard in every place a decision is being made. Find out more about Astrid here.

Giles is a development economist with more than a decade of experience working in the international development sector. Having spent a large part of his career working directly with communities, parliamentarians and experts from the around the world, he has become acutely aware of how different a problem can appear when taking a ‘birds-eye view’. Although diversity alone won’t bridge this divide, he is convinced that for an organization to serve its beneficiaries effectively the composition of its leadership team should mirror the communities being served – whether this be gender, religion, race, disability, and sexuality. Find out more about Giles here.