OUR TEAM
OUR PEOPLE
Meet our team of change makers!
In our work, we believe that the people who are most affected by a problem should be the ones most involved in finding an appropriate solution. This means that the people we work with are the most important part of our team on any specific project. The decisions we make at United Edge are always informed or led by our clients and those most affected by our clients' work.
As we grow we aim to continue this philosophy so that we can cultivate leadership without hierarchy, independence without silos and cooperation without acquiescence. Each of our projects has a flat structure. When our projects are paid (they are often voluntary), we always follow a profit-share model. We keep a flat structure, and we invest in our community. This keeps us current, responsive, and effective.
Our network of associates leads the vast majority of our work. All of our associates have been through an intensive course on the Justice Based Approach and are deeply committed to embedding those principles in their work and lives. They are professionals and activists who often work on multiple projects with different organizations and regularly drive United Edge's work forward pro-bono.
Like our associates, our core team are deeply passionate, highly skilled, and widely experienced. Most importantly we practice what we preach. We're deeply committed to work/life balance. Our work isn’t 9-to-5. It's how we live our lives -- every single day.
DANIEL BEVAN
Having first built his expertise in programme design and child rights, Daniel specializes in participatory approaches, client-led programming, capacity building, training, and monitoring and evaluation. He is deeply passionate about systemic change, social justice and critical thinking. Daniel has worked with partners as varied as governments, child and youth groups, the UN, academic institutions, activists, INGOs and affected communities. He is a strong advocate for exploring alternative models to development and is particularly interested in alternative economics and shared ownership initiatives, as well as radical conservation and rewilding.
SHIELA R CASTILLO
Shiela thrives when working with others on projects that help create a truly positive and lasting impact. A trained educator, she has always taken a capacity-building approach in her work for social development. A self-confessed generalist, her experience includes project development, management, and monitoring, participatory practices, organizational development, and stakeholder engagement. Shiela is a deeply passionate communicator and activist for solving the climate crisis, ending speciesism, and creating visions on the futures of justice. She is a foresight practitioner and is interested in the transformative power of cultural creatives and civil society.
RHONWYN HAGEDORN
Rhonwyn specializes in coaching, facilitation, training, and organizational development. Her background is in supporting grassroots-level projects focused on sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation, cultural preservation, and pro-poor community development. Rhonwyn also has extensive experience in team building and leadership development through group drumming experiences, which, along with her experience with United Edge, has connected her to humanitarians and social change professionals all around the world. Rhonwyn is deeply passionate about bringing people together and creating positive change through everyday activism. She is also an anthropology enthusiast and dinosaur aficionado!
MATT KLETZING
Matt specializes in facilitating cooperation and partnership between change makers as well as strategy development, learning and accountability. In a career spanning six continents and thousands of years (from publishing ancient Aramaic texts to designing learning strategies of the future), Matt has a varied social science research background and drive for impactful communication. He has supported the work of numerous social change organisations, from grassroots community groups to large networks of the world's leading humanitarian agencies. He is passionate about humanitarian action, progressive policy making, financing reform and innovation, as well as vegan living.
OUR ASSOCIATES
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“I have never seen someone apply as much perseverance and passion as the two directors of United Edge. I’m writing that in permanent ink.”
Start Fund MEL Manager, World Vision, UK