Team

Ryan Anderton
Research Officer
Ryan joined Publish What You Fund as Administrative Assistant in January 2020 to work on the DFI Transparency Initiative.
Ryan holds an MSc in Environmental Change and International Development from the University of Sheffield, which he obtained in 2019. He conducted research in Kenya for his dissertation on the impacts of human-wildlife conflict on indigenous pastoralist communities. Ryan has travelled extensively around South America, where he has volunteered for numerous NGOs and lived in Colombia for four years teaching English.

Sam Cavenett (nee Collin)
Communications Manager
Sam joined the Publish What You Fund team in August 2018. She leads on our communications and marketing activities, including the website, social media, newsletter and brand.
Sam has over 20 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, including communications roles at Responsible Finance and EIRIS. She also gained extensive research and project management experience at the New Economics Foundation and Foundation for Assistive Technology.

Alex Farley
Project Manager
Alex joined Publish What You Fund in April 2020 as Project Manager for our gender financing project. She now leads our work on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Alex has a background in gender and humanitarian research and project management, working in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, Uganda. Alex has authored papers on gender and migration and SRH in humanitarian programming, including for the South African Institute of International Affairs. Alex holds an MSc in African Development from the London School of Economics.

Gary Forster
CEO
Gary joined Publish What You Fund in July 2018. Before this he was the CEO of the INGO Transaid from 2011 until 2017 having joined the organisation as a volunteer in 2006. With a background in logistics from his time at Procter and Gamble, and qualifications in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Gary has spent much of his career designing, implementing and evaluating health programmes throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Since joining Publish What You Fund Gary has played a key role in designing and launching the DFI Transparency Initiative and oversees the organisations other programmes. Gary is also chair of the board of trustees at Charity Finance Group.

Linda Grimsey
Operations Manager
Linda joined Publish What You Fund in November 2011, directly after our transfer to an independent organisation. She oversees all finance, human resources and operations activities, including the annual audit, reporting to Companies House, budgeting, recruitment and contracting. Linda has extensive experience in finance and operations for the not-for-profit sector. She has worked in diverse roles over the past 30 years, including for a large London university and a women’s aid center. She holds certificates in Accountancy, Management and Human Resources from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Institute of Management.

Paul James
Research Manager - DFI Transparency Initiative
Paul joined Publish What You Fund in January 2020 to work on our DFI Transparency Initiative. Prior to this Paul completed a PhD in Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester, focussing on land reform and agriculture in South Africa. While completing the PhD Paul undertook various teaching and further research responsibilities. He has also worked as a Global Policy Intern with the One Campaign and volunteered in East Africa. Paul holds a MSc in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London.

Elma Jenkins
Senior Research Officer
Elma joined the team in May 2019 initially to carry out research for the UK aid transparency review. She now conducts research for the 2022 Aid Transparency Index as well as providing research support for both the DFI and Women’s Economic Empowerment projects. Her varied work experience includes working for a consultancy on an East African big data project, volunteering with the Fairtrade foundation campaigns department and managing a yoga studio reception. Elma has also lived and worked in the Netherlands for three years, and gained an MSc in International Development from the University of Amsterdam during which she studied budget transparency in Uganda. Since returning to the UK she has been nurturing an interest in data visualisation tools and civic tech. Currently Elma co-chairs the committee for the Transparency Working Group within Bond.

Sally Paxton
US Representative
Sally leads on US implementation of aid transparency commitments from Washington, DC. She also plays a key strategic role in our Women’s Economic Empowerment project and DFI Transparency Initiative. Sally has worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the Global Health Policy and Advocacy Program, and at the International Labor Organization. She was appointed by President Clinton to serve as Deputy Solicitor of Labor from 1999-2001 and as a Special Associate Counsel to the President at the White House from 1996-1999. Sally received a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, a B.A. from Middlebury College in 1978, and is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland. Sally joined Publish What You Fund in March 2012.

Alex Tilley
Head of Research
Alex oversees Publish What You Fund’s research across our various projects and leads the Aid Transparency Index.
He previously worked for over six years at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, managing grants for projects relating to transparency and governance of extractive resources in developing countries. Prior to NRGI, Alex managed the Bolivia Information Forum, a research and advocacy organisation with a focus on human rights and development. Alex has a master’s degree in Humanitarian and Development Practice from the Architecture Department at Oxford Brookes University and graduate studies in economics from Birkbeck College. Alex joined Publish What You Fund in January 2019.