About Us | Staff

Head Office

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  Dr Lucy Rogers – Chief Executive

  Lucy has a background in conservation science and conservation delivery. With a PhD in small mammal ecology from the University of Aberdeen, she worked for a number of years with FERA (now the Animal and Plant Health Agency) at Woodchester Park managing projects on badger ecology and TB epidemiology.  Prior to joining the VWT, she was Director of Delivery Programmes for Avon Wildlife Trust, leading the strategic planning, development and delivery of their conservation and community engagement work. Lucy was appointed as Chief Executive for the Trust in 2018. Office: Ledbury.

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  Hilary Macmillan – Head of Communications

  Hilary has worked part-time for the Trust since 2000. She leads on media relations and the editing and production of Trust publications. She also plays a key role in HR. Hilary has a background in conservation education and is a qualified teacher. After a number of years in mainstream teaching, she became Head of Education for a County Wildlife Trust. This was followed with the setting up of a successful Environmental Education Consultancy. She currently teaches in the independent sector alongside her role with the Trust. Office: Ledbury.

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  Angie Powell-Stevens – Head of Business and Finance

  Angie joined the Trust in 2014. Prior to this, she spent 16 years in the hospitality industry near Abergavenny, and gained a diploma in hospitality management before moving into finance. Since then, Angie has worked in both the domiciliary care and education sectors and as a senior internal auditor for a local county council. She has completed the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) and ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) exams. Office: Ledbury.

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  Julia Bracewell – Design and Communications Officer

  Julia joined the Trust in 2018 as Design and Communications Officer. She has a background in conservation education and in the production of publications. Julia’s past career has included working for Kent Wildlife Trust as Education Officer where she helped develop the education programme, before taking on the role of Publications Officer and producing a range of education and marketing materials. Julia has also worked for Christian Aid as a writer and editor and, more recently, she worked for a small environmental and development charity based on an organic dairy farm. Julia is a qualified graphic designer, has a degree in Botany, an MSc in Creative (non-fiction) Science Writing and is a qualified science and primary school teacher.

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  Gemma Fisher – Volunteering and Community Engagement Officer

  Gemma joined VWT in 2017 after completing a BSc in Outdoor Education at Liverpool John Moores University, and is nearing the completion of postgraduate studies in Environment, Culture and Society with Lancaster University. Prior to and during her studies, Gemma has worked with young people in the UK and USA through programmes that aim to enhance their connections to the outdoors and their communities. In addition, Gemma coordinated staff development for these programmes. Gemma's role within the Trust involves further developing existing volunteer projects, training opportunities and wider engagement. Office: Ledbury.

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  Helen Henderson – Business and Administration Officer

  Helen joined the Trust in 2018 as Business and Administration Officer. She has a background in administration from, most recently, Active Training and Education (ATE), a non-profit organisation aimed at promoting learning through play for children, but also previously in the education and retailing sectors. She has a degree in Geography and an HNC in Horticulture, and has previously worked in technology marketing, as well as a professional gardener. Office: Ledbury.

UK Conservation Team

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  Dr Henry Schofield – Head of Conservation

  Henry has worked for the Trust since 1990. After studying for a PhD in the ecology and conservation biology of lesser horseshoe bats, he set up the Trust's first bat reserves for this species. This was followed by further projects on rare tree bats. His role is to have an overview of the Trust's conservation and research projects and to develop and oversee the Trust’s conservation policy. Henry has a long-term interest in bats but enjoys working on all mammals. He is a keen amateur photographer and a trustee of BatLife Europe. Office: Presteigne.

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  Dr Steve Carter – Carnivore Programme Manager

  Steve is a zoologist with a background in research on a number of mammal species, including water voles and badgers, and with a particular interest in the smaller carnivores. He has a PhD, from Royal Holloway University of London, on the impacts of introduced predators and their management for conservation. Steve joined the Trust in 2016 to develop the Trust's carnivore conservation and research programme. Prior to joining the Trust, Steve worked for many years as a wildlife biologist with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, managing projects on the development and deployment of TB vaccines for badgers. Office: Amberley, Gloucestershire.

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  Dr Anita Glover – Bat Programme Manager

  Anita is a zoologist with a background in bat research. She has a PhD, from the University of Leeds, in the ecology and conservation of cave-roosting bats. Anita joined the Trust in 2016 as the Bat Programme Manager to develop the Trust’s programme of bat conservation and research. Prior to joining VWT, Anita worked at the University of Leeds on a range of knowledge exchange and impact projects, from habitat suitability modelling for bats and wading birds, to biosecurity and invasive non-native species. Office: Powick.

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  Dr Jenny Macpherson – Science and Research Manager

  Jenny is a zoologist with a background in research on a range of mammal species, including pine marten, dormice, red squirrel, water vole and mink. She gained an MSc in conservation at University College London and then went on to a PhD at Royal Holloway. She joined the Trust in 2011 as project officer on the Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE) project, working with volunteers and local communities on surveys and conservation of a range of mammal species in west Wales. In 2014, Jenny became the Trust’s Pine Marten Project Manager, managing the Pine Marten Recovery Project for England and Wales and the reinforcement of pine martens in Wales. She subsequently became Science and Research Manager in 2018. Office: Maesllyn, Ceredigion.

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  Lizzie Croose – Senior Science and Research Officer

  Lizzie joined the Trust in 2008 after gaining a degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability, and subsequently completed an MSc in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health at the University of Edinburgh. Lizzie’s previous role was as Mustelid Conservation Officer, progressing the Trust’s mustelid species programmes, including surveys and research on pine martens and polecats and organising the European Mustelid Colloquium. In 2017, she took a sabbatical and worked in the US on the Michigan Predator-Prey Project: a predator-prey dynamics study investigating survival of white-tailed deer. In 2018, Lizzie became Senior Science and Research Officer, working on conservation and science programmes across the Trust. Office: Ledbury.

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  Kevin O'Hara – Pine Marten Project Officer (Back from the Brink)

  Kevin is an ecologist with a background in mammal conservation, principally otters and water voles, and he has a particular interest in the smaller carnivores. He has worked on a number of projects involving these species, working with volunteers and local communities in the north east of England to foster lasting legacies. Within his previous role at Northumberland Wildlife Trust, he steered the very first reintroduction of water voles to the region. In 2017, Kevin became project officer within the Back from the Brink programme, which aims to pave the way for the recovery of the pine marten in northern England. Office: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

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  David Bavin – Pine Marten Project Officer

  David has always been passionate about conservation of our mammals and, on completion of a BSc in Zoology and an MSc in Wildlife Biology, he started to become involved with conservation ecology projects in Scotland, predominantly with carnivores. David joined the Trust in 2012 as project officer for the People and Pine Martens in Wales project. His role involved extensive survey work to detect pine martens, habitat assessment and improvement, and promoting pine marten conservation in Wales. In 2014, David became project officer for the Pine Marten Recovery Project, working on the reinforcement of pine martens in Wales. He is also carrying out a part-time PhD on the project with the University of Exeter. Office: Aberystwyth.

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  Josie Bridges – Pine Marten Project Officer (Community Engagement)

  Josie joined the Trust in 2015 as the field assistant for the Pine Marten Recovery Project, working on the reinforcement of pine martens in Wales. She subsequently became the Pine Marten Project Officer (Community Engagement) in 2017. Her role is to develop a broader volunteer network in Wales and to pilot the development of a stakeholder and local community network to inspire new community-led initiatives. Prior to this, she completed an MSc and BSc in Biology and Ecology from the University of Exeter, where she focused her thesis on the European badger and how its behaviour at latrines could influence the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Office: Llanfarian, Ceredigion.

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  Marina Bollo Palacios – Bat Conservation Officer

  Marina joined the Trust in 2018 as Bat Conservation Officer. She is a biologist with a background in conservation research, mainly related to birds. She has been involved in conservation projects within various taxa in Britain, Portugal, Peru and Spain. She gained an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology in 2014. She joined Vincent Wildlife Trust after working as a research assistant for the University of Sevilla, Spain, where she studied breeding success, migration and malaria prevalence in barn swallows. Office: Ledbury.

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  Tom Kitching – Bat Conservation Officer

  Tom joined the Trust in 2018 as Bat Conservation Officer. Having previously worked with a variety of terrestrial mammals, Tom first started working with bats during his time at the University of Leeds. Here he attained a first-class MRes degree, which involved a research project modelling the distributions of Mexican bats in the Baja California peninsula. Since then, he has worked as a bat researcher in Africa and led bat survey expeditions in eastern Europe. Tom also has a strong background in working with volunteers at various international wildlife NGOs. Office: Ledbury.

Ireland Conservation Team

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  Dr Kate McAney – Head of Conservation Development - Ireland

  Kate has worked for the Trust in Ireland since 1991. She manages 13 lesser horseshoe bat reserves located along the west coast, from Mayo in the north to Kerry in the south. Since 2010, she has run pilot studies on the Irish stoat in County Galway. She promotes mammal conservation and research through lectures, bat walks and publications. Kate completed her PhD on the summer activity of the lesser horseshoe bat at University College Galway. She has a particular interest in the diet of insectivorous bats; her most recent study was on Bechstein’s bat. Kate was a founder member of the Galway Bat Group and is a committee member of Bat Conservation Ireland. Office: Headford, County Galway.

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  Ruth Hanniffy – Ireland Projects Support Officer

  Ruth studied Zoology at the National University of Ireland Galway, undertaking a dietary analysis of the lesser horseshoe bats at Dromore Stables in County Clare. She then completed a Masters in Wildlife Management and Conservation at the University of Reading, carrying out analysis of the density and habitat preference of small mammals on Paxton Pits Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire. Following this, she joined the Environment Agency for eight years as a Biodiversity Officer working on river enhancement and restoration on the River Thames and its Tributaries. Upon returning to Ireland, Ruth worked with Inland Fisheries Ireland as a fisheries assistant carrying out National Water Framework Directive fish surveys of lakes and rivers throughout Ireland. Ruth is a wildlife, landscape and conservation photographer. Office: Oranmore, County Galway.