Laudato Si’ Movement is pleased to announce that board chair Dr. Lorna Gold will devote her time more fully to the movement. Dr. Gold has been with Laudato Si’ Movement since its beginnings, serving as the organization’s chair of the board of directors since 2020

Dr. Gold has been working for  LSM’s partner organization FaithInvest for the last four years first as Director of Movement Building and then as interim CEO. Dr. Gold is now stepping down from that demanding role in order to more fully devote her time to Laudato Si’ Movement.

Dr. Gold commented, “’It has been a huge honour for me to serve with FaithInvest over the last four years and to support the organisation in its development from a start-up to an established organisation with successful training programmes and advisory in the area of faith-consistent investing. FaithInvest has a bright future ahead and I sincerely wish the team every success.”

“I remain deeply committed to the mission of the organisation and in particular, to supporting the role that all faiths can play in solving the major environmental challenges of our time, including tackling the climate emergency. The transformation of our investments is key to achieving that.”

In explaining her decision to leave, she went on: “I have made the difficult decision to move on from FaithInvest to enable me to dedicate my time more fully to the mission of the Laudato Si’ Movement.”

“I will remain Board Chair of the Laudato Si’ Movement and look forward to exploring new projects in the coming year. 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the seminal encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, and is a Jubilee Year in the Catholic world. I trust that in making this decision to focus my work on Laudato Si’ and Catholic environmental action, I can continue to support the vision of FaithInvest in the future.”

Dave Zellner, Board Chair of FaithInvest, said, “Lorna has served FaithInvest with professionalism and unwavering commitment to our mission. We are confident that Lorna will continue to make meaningful contributions for a more sustainable world. We wish her well in her future endeavours.”

“The FaithInvest trustees have begun the process of identifying our next leader. Our diverse and experienced trustees, the Leadership team, and our Founding President Martin Palmer are fully engaged and committed in pursuit of the mission and vision of the organisation. We have a robust and exciting upcoming schedule of activities and events that will capitalise on the momentum achieved thus far.”

Susana Réfega, Executive Director of Laudato Si’ Movement, said, “Lorna’s gifts over the past nine years have been incredible, and we’re deeply grateful to her for investing even more deeply in the potential of the movement.”

“As we look forward to the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’ and the Jubilee Year, we thank the entire movement for the richness of their contributions through encounters, the Season of Creation, advocacy work, and so much more. Complementing the gifts of our members with the gifts of a leader like Lorna is a true privilege. We look forward to deepening our collaboration over the years ahead.”