Linda brings more than 20 years of experience in EU policymaking and in-depth knowledge of environmental, humanitarian aid and overseas policy.  She was an elected Member of the European Parliament between 1998 and 2019, including five years as Chair of the European Parliament Development Committee, responsible for parliamentary oversight of EU development and humanitarian aid policies. During this period, she led efforts to embed the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals into the EU 2030 Agenda.

Linda is also former Vice President and Coordinator on Environment/Public Health/Food Safety for the Socialist and Democrat Group in the European Parliament. She played a lead role in the revision of the Emission Trading Directive – the extremely complex and controversial EU carbon pricing policy. She also served as chief negotiator on the Tobacco Products Directive as well as Pharmacovigilance Regulation, which resulted in tightening medicine-safety legislation across the EU.

Returning to professional life, Linda spent four years as the Executive Director for European Relations at the European Climate Foundation during which time she managed in-country programmes to build political and public support for climate action.

After visiting Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in 2005, Linda began organising International Women’s Day fundraising events for projects supporting women and girls in developing countries. She founded and chaired the European Parliament Fair Trade working group from 2005 until 2019.

Linda holds a BA (Hons) in Languages from Heriot Watt University and a MA (Maitrise) in International Relations from Universite Libre de Bruxelles. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.