Jake originally joined Policy Connect on a 6 month secondment from his PhD at the University of Edinburgh to lead the NERC-funded Zero Plastic Waste project. After completing this project Jacob returned to his PhD part-time and joined Policy Connect on a part-time basis to manage the All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group. He stayed at Policy Connect until June 2021, when he took up a full-time role as a Senior Research Associate at the University of Lancaster.

Jake holds a PhD in environmental governance from the University of Edinburgh and has degrees in zoology and human geography as well as a Graduate Diploma in economics. Jake edits the newsletter for the European Society of Ecological Economics and is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. 

Outside work, Jake enjoys reading, cycling and hiking (preferably in Scottish mountains).