Meet the Urbem Team

Sasi is a Sri Lankan-Singaporean with a corporate background in financial technology. She grew up in an animist culture, surrounded by Hindu/Buddhist storytelling and now resides in Lisbon. She was inspired during the Covid pandemic to re-think the way we live our urban lives and she strongly feels part of the problem of environmental destruction is lack of access to nature in our daily lives and therefore a lack of ability to value nature and realise our connection to the whole. She initiated Urbem as a way of filling this gap and has other sustainability interests including regenerative agriculture and architecture.

António is a Biologist and educator. Currently one of the coordinators of FCULresta – the first tiny-forest in Portugal at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon – member of the board and consultant in Urban Forestry for URBEM.

Ivo Rosa is a dedicated environmentalist with a passion for protecting wetlands and promoting sustainable urban ecology practices with focus on nature based solutions. With a foundation rooted in self-guided learning, Ivo developed a keen interest in naturalism from a young age. This curiosity led him to pursue formal education in biology in the University of Evora and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL).

Ivo’s professional experience spans various roles within the environmental sector, including positions as an environmental educator and ecosystem manager. In these roles, he leveraged his knowledge and passion to educate communities about the importance of preserving natural habitats and implementing ecologically sound practices.

João Fernandes is by profession an IT project manager for the financial industry, working full time for a major bank in Portugal. Personally, his many interests include participating in environmental and social causes. Urbem has allowed him to work on these two areas simultaneously, and he has been impressed and dedicated to this mission since he joined.

Rita Barrela is a full-time auditor in a government organisation. Although she is a mother of 3 children on top of juggling a full-time job, she still makes time to dedicate herself to important causes such as the environment. She wants to inspire her children and others to create the conditions for a better life and a better future. Urbem brings together two elements that fulfil her: the environment and personal relationships.

Hugo is working on his contribution to the ‘wonderful recovery’ – in David Attenborough’s words – that he believes needs to happen this century. That means reinvigorating our life support systems in a way that expands everyone’s options for the future. He has over 20 years of experience from consulting at PwC/Strategy and to his work de-risking pathways for circular startups across Africa.

A British native turned Lisbon resident via Turkey, New York, Vancouver, and Valencia James is passionate about making our urban spaces accessible to all through ecological stewardship and watercourse restoration, and rebuilding community through natural spaces.