Jem is a Professor of Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cumbria in the UK. He is a strategist, researcher and educator on social and organizational change, advising senior leaders in business, politics and civil society. After 23 years working on sustainable development, in 2018 he switched focus to helping shift attention to preparing for societal disruption and breakdown due to environmental change and other factors. He founded the Deep Adaptation Forum and Scholars' Warning. He was educated at the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol and Harvard.