About Us | Staff

Head Office

  • 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.

  • Hilary Macmillan - Communications Manager

    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.

  • Angie Powell-Stevens - Finance and Business Officer

    Angie joined the trust in 2014 as Finance and Business Officer. 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.

  • Gemma Fisher - Volunteer Coordinator

    Gemma joined the 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

UK Conservation Team

  • Dr Henry Schofield - Conservation and Science Manager

    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.

  • Dr Steve Carter - Mustelid Programme Manager

    Steve is a zoologist with a background in research on a number of mammal species from water voles to badgers, 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 as the Mustelid Programme Manager, to develop the Trust's mustelid 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.

  • 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. Her role is to develop the Trust’s programme of bat conservation and research. Prior to the 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.

  • Colin Morris - Nature Reserves Manager

    Colin joined the Trust early in 1992 to undertake a project searching for greater horseshoe bat nursery roosts. Since then, Colin has carried out research on a variety of mammals, including the yellow-necked mouse, stoat and weasel , together with numerous bat species. His innovative approach to practical conservation has seen him design a successful style of bat box, a cool tower for the use of lesser horseshoe bats in size-restricted roosts, and a bat access terminal (bat-slate) that is now in use throughout the UK and in parts of Europe.  The major proportion of Colin’s work now concentrates on managing the Trust’s portfolio of nature reserves. Office: Blandford Forum, Dorset.

  • Dr Jenny Macpherson - Pine Marten Project 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 at the beginning of 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 our Pine Marten Recovery Project for England and Wales. Office: Maesllyn, Ceredigion.

  • David Jermyn - Reserves Officer

    David, a conservation management graduate, has worked for the Trust since 1996. He has over 20 years experience in undertaking practical countryside management work and carrying out ecological surveys and monitoring work.  Since joining the Trust, David has worked on numerous mammal research and survey projects. Species studied include the polecat, dormouse, pine marten and both species of horseshoe bat. In the Spring of 2011, David took over responsibility for managing the Trust’s lesser horseshoe bat reserves throughout Wales and the Marches. Office: Brecon.

  • Lizzie Croose - Mustelid Conservation Officer

    Lizzie joined the Trust in 2008 after gaining a first class degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability. Her role involves progressing the Trust’s mustelid species programmes. Lizzie has been involved in a variety of pine marten research and survey work and is part of the Pine Marten Recovery Project team. She is also involved in conservation-direct research on polecats and coordinated the Trust’s recent National Polecat Survey. Lizzie recently completed an MSc in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health at the University of Edinburgh, for which she carried out a non-invasive study of the pine marten population in Galloway Forest. Office: Ledbury.

  • 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 July 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.

  • 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 this incredibly elusive species, advocating habitat assessment and improvement and promoting pine marten conservation in Wales. At the end of 2014, David became project officer for the Pine Marten Recovery Project which aims to restore viable populations of pine martens to Wales and England. Office: Taliesin, Powys.

  • Josie Bridges - Pine Marten Project Officer (Community Engagement)

    Josie joined the Trust in 2015 as the field assistant for the Pine Marten Recovery Project and went on to become the Pine Marten Project Officer (Community Engagement) in 2017. Her role is to develop a broader volunteer network in Wales and 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.

Ireland Conservation Team

  • Dr Kate McAney - Mammal Development Manager

    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.

  • 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 8 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.