ma'at environment fund

Maʽat stands for the ancient concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice.

Ma’at was the Egyptian goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and deities who brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. The name of our Fund reflects the influence of the concepts of Ma’at on our values. Our activities aspire to demonstrate an understanding that our actions in life affect not only ourselves, but others’ lives as well – the principles of harmony and balance.

Meet The Trustees

The management and Trustees of the Fund are David Holberton and Gabrielle Riera.

Both are professionally qualified, culture-fair having lived and worked across multiple continents, and very well-travelled. Extremely results oriented, we bring passion and a sense of adventure to everything we do.

David Holberton

David has been an active angel investor since 2009 and is a long-time supporter of charities in the environment, healthcare, heritage and culture, public policy and education sectors.

As an investor he looks for projects that have social impact but are also capable of generating a satisfactory financial return. His charitable interests are informed by extensive travel in remote areas of developing countries all over the world, together with a keen awareness of history, and a desire to give back in a way that will have demonstrable impact.

David is a Chartered Accountant and has a degree in Economics & Politics from the University of Exeter. He acts as locum CFO to SMEs in the UK and the Netherlands. He is a former Treasurer and Trustee of the Canon Collins Trust, a charity that provides educational scholarships to change-making students from the southern Africa region.

Gabrielle Riera

Gabrielle has worked since 2005 in different capacities as an investment manager, advancement director, advisor, trustee, and consultant leading to better resourced and efficient efforts to effect positive environmental and conservation change.

As an investment manager and fundraiser, she brings the ability to understand the drivers and trends of an industry to most effectively develop investment strategies and navigate within a governmental and political context. She offers a breadth of knowledge working at the intersection of the competing aspirations of stakeholders and environmental campaigns to achieve sustainability and growth.

Gabrielle received an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Previously Gabrielle generated funding for various entities including the New York Economic Development Corporation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and most recently the Sierra Club, the largest, oldest, most influential U.S. grassroots environmental organisation.