GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
How F20 works
As an independent engagement group to the G20 and international network, we rely on a collaborative, transparent and globally representative structure.
Our aim is to build bridges between philanthropy, civil society, business, and politics, and advocate for G20 policies that align with the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
F20 exists to help philanthropy increase its collective influence, build trusted partnerships, and turn individual efforts into greater systemic impact.
Our Governance Structure
The F20 platform consists of three main organizational bodies working hand-in-hand:
LEADERSHIP
Our Leadership and the Troika Principle
To ensure smooth collaboration across borders and years, our leadership mirrors the G20’s official ‘TROIKA’ mechanism. Each year, we appoint a Chair and Co-Chairs from the former, current, and upcoming G20 host countries within our network. This structure allows us to easily share knowledge, maintain momentum, and bring diverse global perspectives to the table.
Our current F20 Steering Group leadership:
Dr. Natasha Matic
(Accountability Accelerator)
F20 Chair
Shannon Bernhardt
(Democracy Works Foundation)
F20 Co-Chair
Our Head Office Team
While our strategic leadership rotates, our Hamburg-based Head Office provides the steady, daily engine that keeps F20 moving forward. Under the leadership of our Secretary General, Katrin Harvey, our dedicated team manages everything from international relations and project management to communications and event planning.
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Katrin HarveySecretary General
MoreKatrin Harvey
Katrin Harvey is the Secretary General of the Foundations Platform F20.
Before joining F20, Katrin was Chief Operations Officer of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. In that role, she worked closely with global leaders and young changemakers to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as part of the legacy of former UN-SG Ban Ki-moon.
In over 15 years working in the fields of sustainability, climate action, clean energy, and organizational management, Katrin has managed projects in Europe, Africa, and Asia in partnership with philanthropic organisations, UN agencies, the EU, and governmental development agencies. In her work she focused on climate change adaptation, sustainable agriculture and food systems, clean energy access, climate change education and capacity building, public-private dialogue, and on facilitating South-South and South-North knowledge exchange among experts in energy efficiency, energy regulation and international law.
Katrin has academic degrees in language studies and international development.
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Sophie PedersenStrategic Partnerships Officer
MoreSophie Pedersen
Sophie Pedersen, F20 Strategic Partnerships Officer, joined in June 2026 and is responsible for F20’s advocacy and high-level convenings. Returning to her environmental roots, she aims to bring different stakeholders together to translate global climate challenges into shared action. Sophie holds a master’s degree in environmental law, with a background spanning legal practice, UN speechwriting, humanitarian volunteering in a war zone, and team management in a start-up. She is particularly concerned by food insecurity and supply chain vulnerabilities. As a multilingual communicator, Sophie enjoys finding connections between languages, seeing them as bridges that unite people.
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Dulce VegaProject Manager Communications and Outreach
MoreDulce Vega
Dulce joins the Foundations Platform 20 (F20) in July 2026 as Project Manager, Communications and Outreach. She is dedicated to shaping impactful, honest narratives and driving responsible communication strategies that encourage action. Dulce brings cross-industry communication and marketing experience to the team, having previously led initiatives within social entrepreneurship, ed-tech, and tourism. On a personal level, she is passionate about the future of food systems.
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Raissa JoploProject Support Officer
MoreRaissa Joplo
Raissa joined the F20 team in September 2025. Her focus is on sustainability transitions and how it relates to societal development. She brings experiences from various areas where she previously worked, like development cooperation, media literacy, business development, and renewable energy.
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Nicole FinkPartnerships Consultant
MoreNicole Fink
Nicole Fink has worked as Partnerships Consultant for the Foundation Platform F20 since September 2022. Her professional background is based in the hotel industry. She has further gained several years of working experience as office manager in different startups.
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Stephan ContiusSpecial Advisor on SDGs
MoreStephan Contius
Stephan Contius is Special Advisor on SDGs at Foundations 20 on an honorary basis since October 2022. He was Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Head of the Division for UN and Developing Countries and Emerging Economies at the German Environment Ministry.There he was involved in the establishment of the SEED Initiative, which is promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development, as well as of environment and climate change dialogues with Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Thailand. He was German co-lead negotiator for the 2030 Agenda and German chief negotiator for the UN summits on sustainable development in Johannesburg (2002) and in Rio de Janeiro (2012). His assignments at the Ministry also included G7 cooperation and project financing. He was seconded to the United Nations Development Programme in New York in 1990. In 1992 he was co-lead negotiator of the EU in the final negotiations on the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Mr. Contius studied law and political science at the universities of Berlin and Aix-en-Provence, and was recipient of scholarships of the German National Academic Foundation.
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Klaus MilkeInitiator und Strategic Advisor of F20
MoreKlaus Milke
Klaus Milke is the Initiator of the Foundations Platform F20 with the background as Founder and Chairman of Stiftung Zukunftsfähigkeit (Foundation for Sustainability), based in Bonn/Germany. From 1991-2019 he was also in the Board of Germanwatch, a German development and environmental Non-Governmental Organization, from 2005 on as Chair of the Board. He has graduated in economics, followed by studies of sociology and political science and – with experience in the executive board of a middle-sized company – he is today consulting governments, corporates and civil society groups. He is advising various networking and campaigning processes mainly on climate and energy and on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda “in, with and from” Germany.
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Kumi NaidooSenior Advisor
MoreKumi Naidoo
Kumi Naidoo is a South African human rights and environmental justice activist who is currently the President of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. He is the former Secretary-General of Amnesty International (2018-2020) and the first person from the Global South to lead Greenpeace International (2009-2015). He is an advisor for the Community Arts Network. He serves as a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Unity, Justice, Peace and Dignity. His family started the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism to build on the positive legacies left by popular South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through his music and life’s work. Through this Foundation, he co-founded the Global Artivism Initiative. Kumi is also the author of award-winning Letters To My Mother: The Makings of a Troublemaker and the host of the podcast Power, People and Planet.