Charlene Collison

Charlene has over 20 years’ experience in futures, systems thinking, and organisational change for sustainability. She heads Forum’s Challenge Lab on Sustainable Value Chains, which works to make value chains of key land-based commodities net positive through employing sustainable and regenerative agriculture, providing decent livelihoods and using fair, transparent business models. She leads multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives across a range of sectors and themes, including directing the Cotton 2040 initiative. Charlene also leads strategy projects with a range of brands, particularly in apparel, with a focus on using futures tools to diagnose and act on emerging systemic challenges.  

Charlene is a facilitator on Forum’s School for Systems Change and supports Forum’s thought leadership on systemic and collaborative change processes. She is a member of ISEAL’s Stakeholder Council, an advisory body of sustainability leaders and experts. 

She has an MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility from Ashridge Management College, a BA in International Relations from the University of Puget Sound and a Diploma in Organisational Change and Development from Henley Management College. 

Before working with Forum, Charlene was an independent consultant to the UK government, businesses and NGOs to extend their thinking about the future, how to prepare for it, and how to create change in entrenched systemic issues. Clients of futures work include: The UK Government Office for Science’s Horizon Scanning Centre; The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement; The MOD, DFID and FCO. From 2003 – 2010 she worked with teams across government and NGOs in futurefocus, a creative futures and innovation facility in BIS. 

 

Twitter: @CharleneC6