Our Team
Dr Tim Mackrill (Founder)
Tim is a nature conservationist who leads the work of the Roy Denns Wildlife Foundation in England. This includes the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles and Ospreys. Tim managed the Rutland Osprey Project for more than ten years, having first got involved as a volunteer when he was 15 years old. He is pasionate about inspiring and enabling young conservation leaders, and this, coupled with his own early experiences at Rutland Water, that encouraged him to set-up the Osprey Leadership Foundation in 2018. He has a PhD on Osprey migration and is the author of two books The Rutland Water Ospreys and Spotlight Ospreys. Tim has travelled widely in West Africa to study Ospreys.
Becky Park
Becky is a nature conservationist whose strengths lie in community engagement. She has spent the last 10 years working on projects which inspire and empower others to make positive change for wildlife in the UK and has worked with thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds and organisations along the way. Becky lends her expertise to help us build our community of conservation leaders and to help develop and deliver our training programmes. At such a crucial time for nature conservation, Becky believes that it is the way we engage others that is key to changing attitudes towards protecting wildlife and wild places around the world. Whether you’re part of the grass roots movement or involved in top-down decision making you can influence others, but you need to be equipped with the right skills to be successful. Future nature conservationists face huge challenges, and Becky is passionate about ensuring they have the broad range of skills they need to tackle them.
Junkung Jadama (Gambia Coordinator)
Junkung is one of The Gambia’s leading bird guides and first met Tim when leading a trip for the Rutland Osprey Project in 2011. Since then Junkung has worked closely with Tim, including during the pilot education project which helped to shape the future direction of OLF. He now oversees the day to day running of our work in The Gambia.
Barry Dore (Chair of Trustees)
Over the past sixteen years, Barry has worked with thousands of people, helping them to unlock potential, become authentic leaders and deliver sustainable change. His passions include inspiring and enabling young leaders in their development, building sustainable communities and being a positive force in building a better world through effective collaboration and communication. Barry is convinced that the effective leadership of the next generation of conservationists will determine the world we shape in the future. Leaders who are authentic and inspiring, who create a vision of the future, unlock the potential of others and work in collaboration to achieve that vision. He is delighted to be involved with the Osprey Leadership Foundation as it has the potential to make a deep and meaningful contribution in inspiring and enabling tomorrow’s conservation leaders.
Paul Stammers (Trustee)
After a career in engineering, Paul first volunteered for the Rutland Osprey Project in 1996 and later became a member of staff. He has now retired after 20 years with the project, but continues to work as a volunteer. Like Tim, Paul has regularly visited The Gambia.
Victoria Price (Trustee)
Victoria is a conservationist with over 10-years experience of working in wildlife conservation, both in the UK and overseas. During her career she has specialised in international conservation and continues to work in this area as the founder of Vision Wild Ltd. She also sits on the steering committee of the Women in Conservation Leadership Network where she proactively promotes women’s leadership and equality in the conservation sector. Victoria strongly believes that conservation practice should become more diverse, democratic and decentralised; through her work, hopes to empower young people across the globe to realise their leadership potential.
Naomi Atkin (Trustee)
Naomi is Chief Executive of Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, a charity that makes a positive difference to lives affected by cancer in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin & Mid Wales. She previously worked in Students’ Unions in Manchester and Birmingham.
Megan Allen (Trustee)
Megan has more than 10 years media experience, both as a journalist and a PR, working across the tourism sector. She is founder of Rural Roots PR & Journalism, a creative communications agency based in beautiful Rutland.
Will Norton (Trustee)
Dr Will Norton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour at the University of Leicester. Research in Will’s laboratory focuses on genes, neural circuits and human diseases that are connected to aggression using zebrafish as a model organism. A second aim of his research is to study the neurodevelopmental function of genes which are linked to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in human patients.
Liv Cooper (Trustee)
Liv (she/her) is a conservationist based in Dorset, working for Birds of Poole Harbour as their Projects Coordinator, with a focus on the Osprey Reintroduction Project. She is driven to improve access to nature and careers in conservation, and values authenticity and creativity in her approach to leadership. Liv is currently a member of the Evolving Conservation Leaders Programme.
Laura Shakespeare (Trustee)
With a background in Ecology, Laura has volunteered for a number of national and international charities – cutting back gorse on cold heathlands, providing media support, monitoring for invasive species, conducting seagrass surveys and following satellite-tracked manatees. Currently working for an international marine conservation NGO in a development and fundraising role, Laura has six years of experience fundraising for nature conservation programmes from both corporates and Trusts and Foundations. First becoming involved with the Osprey Leadership Foundation through its leadership programme, Laura firmly believes that more young conservationists should have the opportunity to access conservation roles, and that there needs to be greater awareness of the huge range of ways in which you can build your career within the conservation sector.