Meet the team

Flying geese at Woodberry Wetlands by Penny Dixie

Geese at Woodberry Wetlands © Penny Dixie

Meet the team

London Wildlife Trust is run by a team of more than 50 staff, whose work is overseen by a Board of Trustees and represented by three high-profile ambassadors.

The majority of the Trust's conservation and engagement work is undertaken by 1,500 volunteers - find out more on our volunteering page.

Senior Management Team

The Senior Management Team is responsible for the operational delivery of the Trust's strategic aims.

David Mooney, Chief Executive Officer

A man standing in front of a green backdrop full of vegetation. The person pictured is David Mooney

David's journey with the Trust began in 2007, when he joined as an Education, Wildlife, and Outreach Officer in Hackney. He played a pivotal role in the development and delivery of Woodberry and Walthamstow Wetlands.

Over time, his role evolved to Director of Development, where he led the Fundraising and Marketing teams. As well as managing the development of London Wildlife Trust’s large-scale natural heritage and habitat restoration projects across London.

David's expertise extends to forging partnerships across the public, private, and charity sectors. He is passionate about nature recovery and reconnecting people to the natural world. Focusing on the transformation of urban spaces to benefit both people and wildlife.

Mathew Frith, Director of Policy and Research

Mathew Frith

Mathew Frith 

Mathew leads on nature conservation advocacy to exert a positive influence on policy and practice in London that helps to bring about a wilder, biodiverse and greener city, which is inclusive to all. He works on a range of partnerships, collaborative approaches and leadership to help achieve this.  He also leads on the Trust’s biodiversity research and climate change adaptation and carbon work, both with a range of peer and partner organisations.

Fascinated by the relationship between nature and society in cities, Mathew first joined the Trust in 1988, and has since served three terms as a member of staff, and (between 2002-09) as a trustee. He is a Full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management, Society for the Environment, and a Green Flag Award judge.

 

Leah McNally, Director of Learning, Youth and Communities

Leah McNally giving a talk sanding at a lectern on stage at camley street. Back of peoples heads are in the foreground.

Credit Katrina Duffey

Leah joined London Wildlife Trust in 2007, she has since held a range of senior roles as the organisation has grown and significantly developed. Leah is responsible for overseeing strategic areas centred around people’s engagement with nature and now leads on the development and delivery of a range of outdoor learning, youth and community programmes. She currently oversees the second phases of ‘Keeping it Wild’ and ‘Great North Wood Living Landscape’ as well as a range of partnership projects involving the public, private and charity partners across London. Leah leads on the Trust’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work and leads a team of approximately 10 staff.

Leah has previously led on the redevelopment of the Trust’s iconic Visitor & Learning Centre at Camley Street Natural Park in Kings Cross, overseeing the development, design and construction phases. Camley Street reopened to the public in October 2021. She has also overseen the first three years of delivery at Walthamstow Wetlands ‘Europe’s Largest urban Wetlands’ which opened to the public in October 2017.’ Leah was responsible for the Trust taking on an enhanced role as long-term Delivery Provider at Walthamstow from February 2021. She has also led the set up of operations (commercial and activity) at Woodberry Wetlands during the first three years after Woodberry was opened to the public by Sir David Attenborough in May 2016.

Leah has a wealth of experience and expertise in the areas of major project development and management, fundraising, visitor centre development & operations, community consultation & engagement, outdoor learning, youth involvement, community engagement and volunteering, all within the context of urban nature conservation. Leah's experience is wide-ranging and spans the arts, play, parks and conservation sectors. She has significantly increased on-the-ground project delivery during her time at the Trust through projects such as Woodberry Wetlands, Natural Estates, Crane Valley Community Project and Wild London Inclusive London.

Charlie Sims, Director of Visitor Experience

Portrait of Charlie Sims, Director of Visitor Experience

Charlie joined London Wildlife Trust in October 2021 having worked closely over the previous four years mobilising and managing Walthamstow Wetlands as a partnership project with the London Borough of Waltham Forest. 

Her background is in events and hospitality, with extensive experience managing cafés, high-profile events and overseeing visitor operations across a range of unique London heritage venues. 

Responsible for the operational management of the Trust's visitor centre nature reserves; Walthamstow, Woodberry and Camley Street as well as generating commercial income through a programme of ticketed events, private hire, retail and cafés.

With an emphasis on visitor experience, she is focused on developing the customer journey across all our reserves. Ensuring that visitors feel welcomed and engaged with a diverse offer that appeals to a broad range of audiences across London and beyond.

 

Board of Trustees

Our Board of Trustees are volunteers, elected at our annual general meeting, who oversee the strategic direction of the Trust and are ultimately responsible for the organisation’s viability and legal responsibilities.

Rufus Radcliffe, Chair

Rufus Radcliffe

Rufus joined ITV in 2011 as Group Marketing and Research Director, leading a transformation of all of ITV’s marketing and research activities. In January 2013, ITV rebranded its entire business, creating a multi-award winning identity and leading to a new marketing approach across all of ITV’s touch points. This work has led to ITV winning Media Week’s brand of the year, Drum’s rebrand of the year, the Grand Prix at the Transform Awards and ITV’s first ever IPA Effectiveness Award. More recently Rufus oversaw the marketing of ITV’s first new channel launches for over eight years, as well as the re-launch of on-demand service ITV Hub.

Rufus previously spent 10 years at Channel 4. Joining as part of E4’s launch marketing team, Rufus played a key role in the launch of one of the UK’s most successful youth brands, winning Media Week’s launch of the year. Rufus helped lead the further development of the Channel 4 family with the launch of More4 and the pioneering 4oD service.

Rufus started his career in advertising, working at McCann Erickson and JWT as an account manager, working on blue chip FMCG clients including Kellogg, L’Oreal and Nescafe, as well as Gulf Air’s first ever UK advertising using the language skills he developed studying French and Arabic at Oxford University.

Dr Stephen Snaith, Honorary Secretary

Dr Stephen Snaith - trustee

Stephen is a Non-Executive Director of the British Coatings Federation and currently runs his own Marketing and Business Consultancy. Formerly Global Marketing Director for the Trade Business in AkzoNobel’s Decorative Coatings Division, he retired in 2015, after 33 years of service.

With extensive knowledge of marketing, business, brand, and communication strategy and customer insight, he held previous roles as Director of Marketing in EMEA and UK Trade Marketing Director for AkzoNobel and ICI.

He has lived and worked in the UK and Malaysia and graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in chemistry followed by a doctorate from the University of Cambridge, when he joined ICI.

With a lifelong interest in nature and wildlife, Stephen firmly believes that engaging and demonstrating the awe and wonder of wildlife to people will ensure that wildlife flourishes and people enjoy the benefits in wellbeing that this brings. He wants to be an active part of the London Wildlife Trust which has a vital role in making this connection real and tangible for all Londoners in the short and long term.

Hannah Fox, Treasurer

Hannah Fox

Hannah is a chartered accountant with a background in audit and forensic accounting before moving to the not-for-profit sector 8 years ago. Since then she has been Head of Finance/Finance Director of several charities; her current role is at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). When Hannah moved to London, she missed the countryside but soon realised that London has plenty of wildlife and green spaces of its own. Hannah really enjoys helping on task days at her local nature reserve and is a member of their Friends Committee which helps to manage the reserve. Hannah would love the opportunity to use her experience to help London’s wildlife to thrive.  

Dr John Tweddle

Dr John Tweddle

John is an ecologist with more than 15 years' professional experience at the Natural History Museum (NHM) and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He is passionate about increasing public engagement with nature and developing new, shared understanding of the UK's flora and fauna.

John is Head of the NHM's Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, a facility that aims to further the appreciation, study and understanding of UK natural history. The Centre's work ranges from answering public wildlife identification enquiries, to provision of identification training and resources, large-scale public events, citizen science and research into conservation-relevant aspects of UK biodiversity.

He has previously worked on the OPAL citizen science programme, NBN UK Species Inventory, Millennium Seedbank Project (ex-situ conservation) and as a consultant palaeoecolgist.

John's experience spans these areas, with emphasis on supporting people to develop their natural history skills and wider connection with nature, and partnership working. He has extensive strategic planning and grant-writing experience and research interests in the impacts of environmental change on the UK's biodiversity (past, present and future) and citizen science.

Kapila Perera

Kapila Perera

Over the last ten years Kapila has championed the use of evidence in improving organisational decision-making. Most recently Kapila worked at the think tank Doteveryone and led their research on the gig economy and public attitudes to advocate for a more responsible technology sector. Prior to that Kapila worked at the disability charity Scope where he helped transform them into an evidence and impact led organisation. Before that Kapila started his career as an Economist in the public sector. He wants to be a trustee because he loves London, but dreams of it being wilder and more nature-friendly. He hopes to help the Trust make wildlife more accessible to more Londoners. 

Tony Richardson

Portrait photograph of Tony Richardson

Tony’s career in nature conservation encompassed a variety of roles with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), from threatened species breeding programmes, through to nature reserve management, visitor centre creation and operation, and as Chief Executive.

Tony was initially based at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire and later in Llanelli, where he delivered and operated WWT’s wetland based visitor centre in Wales, alongside the local authority. Then, back at Slimbridge, he was to manage the Millennium Conservation Visitor Centre and oversaw the creation and opening of the London Wetland Centre in Barnes in 2000, in partnership with Thames Water and Berkeley Homes. These were three quite different places to share his passion for birds and nature with new audiences, young and old alike.

In 2003, Tony became the RSPB’s Director for South West England, responsible for nature reserves, visitor centres and commercial operations throughout the region, until retiring in 2015. During his time in Exeter, he was on the Heritage Lottery Fund’s South West Committee and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership Board.

Since retiring in 2015, Tony has been a Trustee of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, Chair of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and a Biffa Award Board member. He is currently Chair of the Isles of Scilly AONB Partnership.

Tony moved back to the Southeast three years ago and now lives in South West London, where he is discovering and rediscovering some wonderful urban and suburban nature rich sites, both locally and further afield in London.

Andrew Stephen

Portrait photo of Trustee Andrew Stephen

Andrew is currently Chief Impact Officer for Foodsteps, a London based tech company that provides environmental impact data for food. He founded foodmadegood.org and oneplanetplate.org during his tenure as CEO of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). The SRA is a London based not for profit organisation that helps hospitality businesses make better decisions for the planet and for wildlife.

Andrew has held board positions with the Zero Carbon Forum and WRAPs Courtauld Commitment. The common thread between all these is the focus on addressing the climate and nature crisis through changing our food system. Andrew brings knowledge of hospitality, food and climate and aims to help support the trusts hospitality work, and its use of food to engage new audiences in conservation.

Andrew is a geography graduate and has an MSc in Business Strategy and the Environment. He has two small children, Elijah and Maeve who share his love of animals and time spent in nature. He wants them to grow up in a world where nature and biodiversity are protected and once again thrive.

Rachel Starling

Portrait photo of Trustee Rachel Starling

Rachel is a Chartered Environmentalist with over 40 years’ experience in providing environment and sustainability advisory services. She has worked in the Property, Infrastructure and Government sectors, most of it in London and the Southeast. She has developed company environment and sustainability strategies and led their implementation, through engagement of staff and integration of processes, leading to the generation of significant environmental benefits.

Rachel has extensive experience over the full range of environment and sustainability disciplines, giving her a wide understanding of their application and integration to make a successful business. Her experience was instrumental in achieving the high standards of environment and sustainability performance in her roles on construction and operation of the High Speed 1 railway.  This was recognised nationally by two industry awards. She was the Winner of the National Rail Awards - Outstanding Personal Contribution (Management) award (2013) and received an MBE for Services to the Rail Industry (2014).

As a Client Representative for Environment and “critical friend” her interest in working as a Trustee developed. She is a currently a trustee for The Southwood Foundation in 2018, following her work assisting with the preparation of the application for Charitable status and developing relevant objects and strategies. Rachel is also helping to develop a volunteer hub, connecting volunteer ecologists with community groups requiring ecological advice, in Sussex with the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

 

 

Shara Samra

A person smiling at the camera

Shara works at the European Climate Foundation in the UK Programme, supporting the UK climate community to ensure a fair transition to net zero emissions. Prior to joining the ECF, Shara has worked in various roles in policy and political campaigns in not-for-profit organisations. Shara started her career as a graduate at Green Alliance, an environmental think tank, working for the Greener UK coalition. Shara has lived in London for several years, after moving from her hometown in the Midlands, and is excited to support the Trust to empower citizens to connect with their local natural world.

Shara holds a BA in International Relations and a MSc in Sustainability and Consultancy.

Youth Board

The Youth Board consists of 12 motivated young people (aged 16-25) who are passionate about London’s wildlife and amplifying young people’s voices. In addition to this, Three members of the Youth Board are Young Advisors attending Board meetings and being a conduit between the Youth Board and the Board of Trustees.

A group of people stand and and kneel in front of a background full of trees

Andrew Dixon

"Being a part of last year’s Young People’s Forum was one of the best things that I did all year. Meeting all of the young people who shared a passion for London’s wildlife, was a brilliant experience. The opportunity opened my eyes to the amount of wildlife present within the city, and the importance of bringing Londoners together with it. I always felt like I was learning something new and making a difference and am continuing to advocate for London’s young people and wild spaces and learning along the way." 

Isabella Mahoney

"As a young person myself and would like to transfer my knowledge and positive experience to be the platform and voice for young people across London. In my day to day job I support diverse entrepreneurs to ensure that the startup ecosystem is more inclusive and representative of those who are from underrepresented backgrounds, and also have a passion for community building.  I am super passionate about wildlife and conservation and hope to one day start my own charity within it!"

Alan Yap

"I started my conservation journey early 2020 as a volunteer at CSNP. As much as I enjoyed working outdoors, immersed in nature, something felt off with the lack of representation of young people in this sector. There are still a lot of barriers for young people such as the low number of entry-level jobs, poor ethnic diversity, financial difficulties, and mental health issues. As a Youth Board member, I can help increase inclusitivity for young people who come from a range of backgrounds. By attending those meetings, I will ensure that the voices and interests of youth are not only heard, but acted on."

Jazzie Peffly

"Growing up, I'd always felt a sense of inner peace whenever I was outside immersed in nature. Nothing soothed and melted my worries like fresh air, the smell of fresh grass and plants, or hearing birds chirping on a sunny day. The trees always made me feel protected and reminded me of the beauty and strength of life. Nature was and is my world. I knew I wanted to spend my life protecting it and everything it's home to, hence why I'm studying Geography at university."

Kamron Roberts

"My passion for conservation & community building is ever-growing. After volunteering as an officer at TCV’s green gym and feeling as though I’m making a real difference in my local community. I see the importance of youth, community, green spaces, well being & wildlife. They are all directly related! I also volunteer at Crane Park Nature Reserve! My greatest goals and aspirations are so closely intertwined with mankind and conserving."

Katie Morello

"It is no secret that spending time in nature is linked to both cognitive benefits and improvements in mood, mental health and emotional well-being nature has time and time again come to my rescue! I am determined to be an advocate for other young people and demonstrate the fundamental role they can play in determining the future of wildlife spaces in London. I believe the time has come to involve a younger generation who could benefit from the guidance of experienced figures while being able to contribute new ideas and bring an often disregarded perspective."

Charlotte Fraser

I work for an environmental charity (the Eden Project) as a researcher and writer, where I curate exhibits and work with the Art and Culture Team to create the written content for art exhibitions about connections to nature. I want to be more directly involved in encouraging young people to engage with and celebrate nature, especially in a London context. 

Nishat Khurshed

I love nature and sustainability. I currently volunteer at different groups such as: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, Friends of Bethnal Green gardens, Friends of Meath Gardens and a local grassroots organisation called Mohila Ongon Association. I am also a member of the British Lichen society and love to research about fungi and lichen in my own time. I am also an artist working on a project with 2.8 Million Minds. 2.8 Million Minds is a collective responding to a crisis in young people's mental health in the capital. I want to get more involved in environmental conservation, trustee and charity governance and other areas to be able to nurture the wildlife that brings me so much joy and comfort.

Taha Tariq

I have long harboured an ardour for the environment and the wonders it holds, which has drawn me to the exhilarating world of photography. My camera lens, primarily focused on landscapes and nature, has allowed me to encapsulate the exquisite beauty of the world around us, while concurrently fostering an unwavering commitment to conservation. This passion for conservation is deeply rooted in my lived experiences, having grown up in areas of London like Newham, Ilford, and Dagenham, where there is an acute lack of conservation and respect for wildlife. It's not just the absence of green spaces but also the lack of awareness regarding their importance that drives my desire to make a difference.

Maria Namani

Understanding the current political and environmental issues is key which is why I have joined Green New Deal rising. This is because we desperately need committed individuals protecting people in the UK as well as all over the world from the climate crisis. I wholeheartedly believe that as a team, and as a community, we are able to achieve ambitious goals. 

Ryan Asher

In my work, I have supported clients across Europe in developing their strategic response to the nature & biodiversity crisis and applying nature-based solutions to support decarbonisation. Working to stop nature degradation and climate change is the most defining challenge of our lifetime, and I want to empower those my age to take the things they learn to all aspects of their personal and professional life. I would hope to bring a bridge from my professional career and enthusiasm with Nature to inspire those around me to involve themselves as much in nature as possible.

Queen Tanimowo

I feel as though the lack of rural outdoor activities for young people is part of the amalgamation of reasons for the mental health crisis faced by young people and I hope to be able to dismantle that. I feel as though wildlife field trips, for example when I was lucky enough to be selected to visit the lake district it was eye opening to be able to experience nature and climbing mountains. I hope to be able to make opportunities like this more accessible for disadvantaged young people. 

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors represent London Wildlife Trust in the media and use their influence and profile to raise awareness of our work.

David Lindo

London Wildlife Trust ambassador David Lindo

© Penny Dixie

David Lindo, naturalist, writer and broadcaster, joined London Wildlife Trust in June 2016 as the Trust’s first ambassador. David helps to promote the Trust’s work across London, sharing the Trust’s vision of a London that is alive with nature, where everyone can experience and enjoy wildlife.

David has been fascinated by wildlife and nature since childhood and is seldom seen without his trademark binoculars, one eye to the sky as he scans for wild birds. Known as the Urban Birder, David was brought up around Wembley and is now a regular television presenter, always happy to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with a wider audience. He is a familiar figure on Wormwood Scrubs, his favourite ‘patch’ for spotting the capital’s birdlife. Visit David's website: theurbanbirder.com

Alison Steadman

London Wildlife Trust ambassador Alison Steadman

Olivier Award winner Alison Steadman joined the Trust as an ambassador in November 2016. Well known as an actress, Alison is also a wildlife enthusiast and nature documentary TV presenter, with a passion for the wild.

Alison’s love of nature started as a child in a small Liverpool back garden, and she fully supports the work of the Trust in engaging urban children with nature and wildlife. She is keen to ensure as much of London remains natural as possible, as she says: “It’s really important we keep our garden species. These big housing developments can be really unfriendly to nature and we need to do more to keep our green spaces."

Tom Holland

London Wildlife Trust ambassador Tom Holland

© Daniel Greenwood

Award-winning author Tom Holland joined the Trust as an ambassador in March 2017 and is proof that an interest in nature and wildlife can be sparked at any age, at any time. The historian moved to London in his early 20s, and it was this change that brought about his interest in the natural world: “Being in the city and seeing foxes and suddenly becoming intensely aware of the wildlife around me made me realise what I had missed in the countryside. You think of all the obstacles to wildlife there are in London, and yet it is all around us.”

Tom is the author of acclaimed works of history such as Persian Fire and Rubicon, and has written for the Evening Standard on the need to protect London’s dwindling hedgehog population. His favourite London species are the hedgehog and the sparrow: “I find it upsetting their numbers have declined so much. Sparrows are the spirit of London’s wildlife.”