A great at deal of our work centres around helping working class communities, grassroots organisations and trade unions to campaign for progressive change – and if you would like to discuss collaborating and campaigning with us, get in touch! You can contact us via the contact us page, or email info@wccalliance.org.
We also collaborate with middle class-led groups, academics, think-tanks, NGOs and charities, because we see this as a vital step towards transforming working class livelihoods, and creating solutions to the climate crisis and other societal inequalities. As a team our interests are broad, our key areas of focus are:
- Raising awareness about working class forms of environmentalism.
- Raising awareness about working class needs.
- Improving the relationship between the working class and mainstream climate movement, as well as improving the relationship between the working class and non-profit sector.
- Effectively communicating climate change to the working class.
- Diversity and inclusion – not just in the climate movement, but in daily life more broadly (such as the workplace).
We are always happy to consider work that sits outside of these themes. As a team of experienced researchers, campaigners and communications professionals, we are able to provide services such as campaigning assistance, workshops, public speaking, desk-based research (including report writing) and qualitative research. We can also help to organise conferences, workshops, day schools and panel discussions.
You can click on our names to view our individual specialisms below. We are keen to work with any individual, organisation or collective that fits our interests and aligns with our values. Please contact us or email info@wccalliance.org to discuss further.
Please note that any requests to interview our members will be declined.
Emma River-Roberts – Founder and Co-Director
Emma founded the WCCA in 2023, having spent several years organising in the mainstream climate movement, and feeling disenfranchised at the lack of space for the working class, and those from working class backgrounds to have their voices heard. With ten years of qualitative research experience, she provides research for academia, think-tanks and charities about various topics relating to working class environmentalism. She regularly speaks and writes about these topics for activist, academic and non-academic audiences. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology from Sussex University, specialising in working class environmentalism, and is pursuing a part-time PhD at Goldsmiths University about the impact of climate change upon the working class of England, and how best to communicate the climate crisis to them. She lives in England.
Sasha Josette – Co-Director
In addition to being our Co-Director, Sasha also works as a freelance consultant providing organising strategies, training and political advice to various campaigns and political organisations. She has particular interests in participatory policy making, and electoral organising campaigns, and has decades of experience mobilising with working class communities across the UK and Europe. Sasha was previously Director of Organising for the European Community Organising Network, and team lead in the Community Organising Unit for the Labour Party where she focused on community organising, collaborating with policymakers, and directly engaging with working class communities to understand their concerns and policy suggestions. She lives in England.
Kevin Picado – Staff Writer
Kevin is a technical communicator with degrees in philosophy and physics, currently pursuing a part-time master’s in degrowth, ecology, economics and policy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is passionate about making information accessible to wider audiences, and has previously worked as a scientific communicator for a non-profit organisation focused on women in science. His interests span ecological economics, political ecology, data analysis, and the history and philosophy of science. A native Spanish speaker, Kevin is fluent in English (C1 level) and has intermediate proficiency in French (B1 level) and basic knowledge of Polish (A1 level). He lives in Costa Rica.
Chris Shaw – Research Associate
Christopher returned to academia aged 40, after a career in marketing. He left his role as Knowledge Exchange Research Fellow at Oxford University in 2015 to join Climate Outreach, where he was Head of Research until 2023. Since then he has worked as a consultant, specialising in researching and designing high impact climate communication strategies. Christopher is a Director of DeSmog UK, and a Research Associate in the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex. He has published two books; The Two Degrees Dangerous Limit for Climate Change: Public Understanding and Decision Making (2016) and Liberalism and the Challenge of Climate Change (2023). He lives in England.
The WCCA 