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Our History / Origin of funds
Established in 1975 with funds from Tesco, which was the family business at the time, the Kreitman Foundation has supported a range of charitable areas over the years.
The current trustees came onboard more recently and began by focussing on the smaller area of gender norms in UK education (further background in our blog), initially driven by an interest in the LGBTQI+ rights of children and young people and the desire to build trustee skills in an arguably smaller domain than climate.
The core focus of the foundation is now the climate crisis.
Richard
Trustee
Passionate about wellbeing, nature and the environment, Richard took over as Chair of the Kreitman Foundation in 2017. He has been focussing largely on the charity’s climate direction, best philanthropic practices and grant-making; working closely with Rowena to introduce new themes to the foundation's work from climate justice to rewilding to supporting frontline environmental defenders. Previous experience includes his role as a trustee of the Pandana Charitable Trust, with a particular humanitarian and health and welfare focus. Outside of foundation work, Richard occasionally performs as a ballet Character Artist / actor and spends as much time in nature as possible!
Rowena
Trustee
Rowena is an experienced grantmaker having worked in philanthropy for a decade, specialising in climate and social justice. Previous experience includes Open Society Foundations, supporting green and just transitions across Europe; the Baring Foundation across the International Development and Strengthening Civil Society programmes; 10 Years' Time, helping funders to become experts in the causes they care about; and within the International Human Rights team at the Oak Foundation. She holds an MSc from Durham University in human rights and development.
James
Trustee
James is a Chartered Surveyor, with a keen interest in ESG and green financing and largely focusses on the Foundation’s financial journey.
Keen to maximise the Foundation's charitable impact, this will include looking beyond ESG to managed private market opportunities and direct impact investments, with a view to ensuring charitable objectives are not only met but exceeded across both grantmaking and investments.
Emma
Honorary Advisor
Emma acted as trustee for the Kreitman Foundation between February 2018 and June 2022 and now lives in New York.
Emma trained as a social welfare lawyer at a Legal Aid firm in London between 2010 and 2012 and, in December 2012, joined Leigh Day's international department, where she worked on corporate accountability cases.
Between March 2015 and October 2018 Emma worked almost exclusively on a high-profile regulatory investigation and prosecution of her firm and, in September 2018, launched a new service advising and supporting regulated professionals with compliance and professional regulatory, disciplinary and ethics queries.
Fluent in Spanish, Emma has been interested in conservation and welfare issues from a young age and has looked for opportunities in her work that champion access to justice for all and promote equality.
Anna
Honorary Advisor
Anna has worked in fundraising and events for over 10 years; starting out in the charity sector with The Soldiers’ Charity and most recently in her role at Act IV, with a focus on fundraising and strategic development in the Arts. She has a strong interest in the Kreitman Foundation’s current focus areas and the philanthropy world as a whole.
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