Introducing Alef Trust’s New Non-Executive Directors

**Alef Trust is delighted to introduce two new [Non-Executive Directors](https://www.aleftrust.org/about/team/), Dr Jude Currivan and Ruth Layton, whose appointments bring a rich depth of experience, insight, and values-led leadership to the organisation. Together, they strengthen Alef Trust’s commitment to transformative education, conscious leadership, and the integration of scientific, ethical, ecological, and contemplative perspectives. Their combined backgrounds, spanning cosmology, systems change, sustainable food systems, governance, and lived spiritual inquiry, will support Alef Trust as it continues to grow its work in consciousness, human potential, and meaningful [social transformation](https://fieldsofchange.org/)**.

Dr Jude Currivan: Expanding the Vision of Alef Trust

The appointment of Dr Jude Currivan as a Non-Executive Director marks an important moment for Alef Trust. It reflects a strengthening of leadership while reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to approaches that bring together science, consciousness, and transformative education.

Dr Currivan’s background spans several fields. Trained as a cosmologist, her work explores fundamental questions about the nature of reality, while also engaging with philosophical and experiential perspectives. Over time, she has developed an approach that connects scientific understanding with lived experience, particularly through an emphasis on the interconnectedness of life. This perspective sits naturally alongside Alef Trust’s focus on inner development as part of wider social and ecological change.

Before turning her full attention to research and writing, Dr Currivan held senior roles in international business, an experience which brings a practical understanding of organisational structures and decision-making. In her role as Non-Executive Director, she contributes not only intellectual insight but also experience in governance and strategic development, supporting the organisation as it continues to grow.

Her connection with Alef Trust developed through shared networks and interests. Initial contact came through collaborations linked to her wider work, including her film A Radical Guide to Reality. Through these interactions, she engaged with members of the Alef Trust community and recognised a clear alignment in values. This connection gradually developed into a more sustained relationship, grounded in a shared interest in consciousness and human potential.

A key theme in Dr Currivan’s work is the idea of an interconnected universe. Drawing on developments in cosmology, quantum science and evidence across numerous fields of research, she points to a growing shift towards understanding reality as relational rather than separate. This challenges more reductionist views and opens the way for broader approaches to knowledge. Within an educational setting such as Alef Trust, this supports models that bring together scientific and experiential ways of knowing.

Her work also extends into global conversations on sustainability and systems change. As an associate member of the Club of Rome and part of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, she contributes to wider discussions on human development and collective wellbeing. These areas are increasingly reflected in Alef Trust’s programmes and priorities.

Since the late 1990s, much of Dr Currivan’s work has been focused on contributing to the collective good. This can be seen in initiatives such as **WholeWorld-View**, which she co-founded in 2017 to support a more integrated understanding of reality and encourage meaningful change, an emphasis on service which aligns closely with Alef Trust’s mission.

In her role as Non-Executive Director, Dr Currivan will help guide the organisation’s strategic direction while supporting its continued development. Her perspective adds depth to the board and supports a governance approach that values reflection, range of perspective, and long-term thinking.

This role reflects Alef Trust´s broader commitment to education as a transformative process — supporting awareness, responsibility, and connection in a complex and changing world.

Together, these two appointments reflect Alef Trust’s continuing commitment to thoughtful governance, transformative education, and the integration of diverse perspectives in service of conscious, ethical, and meaningful change.

Ruth Layton: Experience, Ethics, and a Contemplative Perspective at Alef Trust

The appointment of Ruth Layton as a Non-Executive Director at Alef Trust brings a thoughtful and grounded perspective to the organisation’s leadership. Her contribution is shaped not only by a diverse professional background, but by a deliberate shift towards a more reflective and community-based way of living.

Ruth now spends much of her time in a rural, off-grid community in southern Portugal. Life there is centred on simplicity, mindfulness, and shared living. This marks a clear change from the pace of her earlier career, yet it also informs the perspective she brings to her current role. Rather than stepping away from contribution, she has chosen a different way of engaging.

Her professional path began in veterinary science. After around a decade in practice, she realised that her interest lay less in treating illness and more in understanding why animals became unwell in the first place. This led her to specialise in animal welfare and to move into work focused on food systems, particularly those connected to livestock and production.

Ruth went on to co-found a sustainable food consultancy, working with major global companies across the food sector. This included large retailers and multinational brands. At the time, she believed meaningful change could be driven from within these systems. Over time, however, she came to see the limits of what large, complex organisations are able to change, particularly when driven by scale and profit structures.

Across more than twenty years, she travelled extensively, studying food systems around the world. This experience provided both practical insight and a broader understanding of alternative approaches. It also shaped her current thinking, which places greater emphasis on smaller, interconnected models rather than centralised systems.

A consistent theme in her work is the importance of scale. Drawing on both experience and observation, she notes that trust, care, and ethical awareness tend to weaken as organisations grow beyond a certain size. In smaller groups, people know one another, relationships are visible, and accountability is more immediate. This has led her to support networks of smaller enterprises that can work together while maintaining human connection.

Ruth´s relationship with Alef Trust began as a student in one of its early MSc cohorts. At that time, she was already on a spiritual path but was seeking a framework that could bring intellectual grounding to her experience. The programme offered a way to integrate personal insight with academic study, something that continues to shape her outlook.

Her decision to take on a Non-Executive Director role reflects this long-standing connection. While she is no longer actively engaged in corporate consultancy or international travel, she brings a depth of experience that remains highly relevant. Her contribution is not based on ongoing activity, but on perspective, reflection, and lived understanding.

At the centre of her view is a simple but important point: the challenges facing the world cannot be addressed through technical solutions alone. Structural change must be accompanied by psychological, ethical, and conscious development. This is where she sees Alef Trust playing a vital role, offering an educational space that supports deeper awareness and responsibility.

Her appointment highlights a quieter form of leadership, one that draws on experience, clarity, and a commitment to values that extend beyond conventional measures of success.

You can keep up to date with other press features and interviews by visiting our Alef Field online magazine, **here**.

Warm regards,

The Alef Trust communications team

AlefTrust #NonExecutiveDirectors #ConsciousLeadership #Medium #TransformativeEducation #ConsciousnessStudies #HumanPotential #TranspersonalPsychology #EthicalLeadership #InnerDevelopment #SystemsChange #Governance #SocialTransformation