Meet the Global Gender & ESG Experts Behind Rise Sustainability
A Global Team with a Shared Purpose
At Rise Sustainability, our strength lies in our people. We are a multidisciplinary team of gender, ESG, and social impact specialists united by a shared commitment: to embed equality, ethics, and resilience into development projects and investments around the world.
From strategic advisory to grassroots implementation, our diverse experience spans Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Natasha Ezekiel – Founder and Gender Equity & Social Safeguards Specialist
Natasha Ezekiel – Founder & Director
Driving inclusive development across global markets
Natasha Ezekiel founded Rise Sustainability in 2018, fuelled by her deep commitment to advancing gender equality and social impact aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With over 16 years of experience, she brings specialist expertise in gender assessments, inclusive social management systems, and ESG strategy development to development finance institutions (DFIs), private equity funds, and global investors.
Having worked for leading firms such as Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in both the UK and Kenya, Natasha leads multi-sector projects across renewable energy, infrastructure, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and extractives. Her work spans Africa, Asia, and Europe, supporting public and private sector stakeholders to embed equity, safeguard communities, and unlock long-term, sustainable impact.
The Team
Giselle Bernard – Project Coordination & Technical Support
Championing GBVH prevention and gender-responsive investment
Giselle Bernard is a French-British PhD candidate researching the intersections of climate justice, development, and gender-based violence. She provides technical and coordination support across Rise’s portfolio of projects, particularly in GBVH risk mitigation and gender-smart investment strategies.
Her background spans research, field coordination, and policy engagement, supporting programmes across Africa and Europe to drive inclusive impact at both institutional and grassroots levels.
Dr. São Miguel Silva – Gender & Social Inclusion
Expert in gender-responsive development in fragile environments
Dr. São Miguel Silva is a cultural anthropologist and gender specialist with over 25 years of experience leading social inclusion programmes in post-conflict and fragile contexts. She works extensively across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean to advance gender equality, good governance, and inclusive value chain development.
Her global portfolio includes advisory roles with donors, NGOs, and local stakeholders to co-create socially transformative solutions that centre community voices and long-term resilience.
Elisabet Torà Mañós – Social Risk, Gender & Human Rights
Multilingual leader in human rights and ESG performance
Fluent in six languages, Elisabet Torà Mañós brings extensive global experience in ESG risk management, social safeguards, and gender equity. Her consultancy portfolio includes impact assessments, stakeholder engagement, and the design of community investment strategies across sectors such as transport, power, nature conservation, and infrastructure.
Elisabet’s deep commitment to human rights and intersectional inclusion shapes all aspects of her work, from land acquisition frameworks to gender-responsive due diligence and policy reform.
Glorious Musambai – Operations, Gender & Inclusive Development
Bridging commercial discipline and inclusive development systems across Africa and beyond
Glorious Musambai is a senior operations and partnerships professional with 20+ years of experience across international development, impact investing, and commercial leadership in Africa, Latin America, the UK, and the US. She combines private sector expertise in telecommunications, fintech, and enterprise development with deep knowledge of gender equality, social inclusion, and women’s economic empowerment.
Her work spans gender-lens investing, SME development, and access to finance, supporting programmes backed by funders including FMO, IFC, Global Affairs Canada, the EU, and USAID.
At Rise Sustainability, she helps strengthen gender-responsive systems through gender assessments, safeguarding frameworks, and GBV risk mitigation, translating international standards into practical implementation.
Hannah Phillipson – Research & Project Coordination
Multilingual researcher specialising in gender and stakeholder engagement
Hannah Phillipson brings a strong foundation in human rights and socio-economic research to Rise’s global work. She specialises in stakeholder engagement and gender-sensitive baseline studies, using qualitative and quantitative methods to deliver practical, data-driven insights.
Her experience includes project coordination, social research and consulting, as well as the use of digital tools to strengthen inclusion and social performance outcomes.
Hannah is multilingual, with bilingual proficiency in English and French, and basic proficiency of Spanish and Dutch, enabling effective collaboration across multicultural environments.
Ready to collaborate?
Contact Rise Sustainability to explore how we can support your gender equality and ESG goals.
Our partners
We work with ChewingRice (CR) to bring in innovative solutions into project delivery that go beyond good practices.
CR uses creative solutions and strategy to create ethical transformation. They have delivered transformational projects for clients such as The British Council, Swedfund & Equity Bank, to target both business growth and positive impact, for organisations, institutions, and society at large. Visit their website for more info: https://www.chewingrice.com/