“Our team is dedicated to giving young people a life-transforming opportunity to discover how capable they are by developing uniquely ambitious expeditions for them all over the World. As you would expect, they are a pretty able bunch themselves.” – Honor Wilson-Fletcher, CEO British Exploring Society
Honor joined British Exploring Society as CEO in February 2016. She was previously CEO for 6 years at the Aldridge Foundation where she helped establish 12 state schools in some of the most deprived parts of England. This is when she had her first opportunity to take part in, and see the positive impact of, challenging overseas adventures with young people.
Wunmi joined British Exploring Society as Head of Expeditions in February 2023. She previously worked in the International Development sector training civil servants to improve non-formal education initiatives. For several years she worked in the international community of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting, piloting adventure programmes, leading teams to develop strategies and supporting national youth organisations to diversify their programmes in response to the changing needs of young people. Wunmi is an avid traveler and volunteer, she currently sits on the board of Trustees for the Youth Education and international volunteering charity Project Trust.
Rebecca joined British Exploring Society in October 2021. She has worked in fundraising roles within the third sector since 2005, primarily working for medical research charities, before moving into the youth sector with roles at OnSide and the Peter Jones Foundation. Rebecca believes it is vital we offer young people opportunities to try something new, raise their aspirations and create a better future for themselves. As a fundraiser, Rebecca feels privileged to be able to connect people to a cause they are passionate about and show them the impact their support is making.
Olesya joined British Exploring Society in March 2024. Her previous roles were focused on environmental education, volunteering, and engagement of young people, primarily in the Arctic. Having seen first-hand how much young people benefit from learning about nature and exploring the outdoors, and from having someone believe in them and help them develop their skills, Olesya was drawn to British Exploring Society’s mission. And as someone who got to spend a lot of time in nature growing up in a remote town in Siberia, she loves that in this role she helps young people to have similarly unique experiences.
Katherine had her first taste of expeditions and their developmental value in Namibia, 2005. Since that time she has consistently been on the lookout for the next adventure, be that coral reef surveying, desert trekking or canoe paddling. She joined British Exploring Society in October 2018 and hopes that she can facilitate for others the kind of challenging learning opportunities she has herself been lucky enough to experience.
Debra joined British Exploring Society in October 2023 as Charity Office Operations Coordinator. Her career path has been varied with several years spent working within finance, administration and tourism, in both, voluntary and corporate environments. Her previous role was in guiding and leading tour groups to visit places of interest and wildlife reserves in South Africa. She understands the transformative power of travel and new experiences for young people and is excited to be part of an organisation and team who are committed to empowering and equipping young people to make the most of their future.
Ned has worn many hats in his time with British Exploring Society. After first joining us as a Trainee Leader, he has since taken on the role of Adventure Leader as well as overseeing all of our marketing, digital and creative media. Ned has a background in creative storytelling, photography, expedition leadership and community organising. When he’s not in the office you’ll most likely find him roaming the mountains with a camera.
Laura absolutely believes in the transformative power of exploration and overseas experience on the development of young people, and was therefore over the moon to have been able to escape the city and grey suits to join our team in December 2015. At British Exploring Society Laura looks after the day to day finance matters.
Ransford joined British Exploring Society as Senior Finance Manager in June 2022, following various other roles in the charity sector (most recent being Finance manager at Hope Health Action. Ransford is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA fellow), Ransford also enjoys delivering accounting and finance training to fellow accountants. When he is not doing all things accounting, Ransford spend his free time playing the piano and supporting the best team in the premier league – Arsenal.
Catherine joined in September 2021 from a leading Scottish children’s charity. She has a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and 18 years experience as a fundraiser, specialising in Trusts and Foundations, and feels very lucky to see kindness and generosity in action every day. Catherine has also volunteered with the University of Edinburgh careers service as a mentor, and served as Trustee of a local dementia charity.
Chris joined British Exploring Society as Pipeline Scout and Relations Manager in October 2023. Chris has spent his career working in the television industry, most recently working in the frantic world of sports broadcasting. After completing the 2023 London Marathon, the experience encouraged Chris to embark on a career change, after pushing himself out of his comfort zone he wanted to work in an environment that encouraged people to push themselves and help realise their potential. Away from the office, Chris enjoys spending time with his family at local farms and parks, following the amazing Brighton and Hove Albion FC, and running (when the knees/calves allow it).
Abigail became Membership Officer at British Exploring Society in 2021 and then our Membership & Fundraising Coordinator in 2024. However, Abigail first joined us in 1989 as a Young Explorer on our expedition to Arctic Norway. Many years have passed and a lot has happened since then, but Abigail still feels that her expedition was one of the best and most influential experiences of her life. She hopes that in the future, all young people can be given the life-changing opportunity to experience life on expedition.
Tara joined British Exploring Society as our Skills Development Officer in January 2023 before making the move to Skills Development Coordinator a year later. She previously went on expedition with British Exploring Society to the Amazon rainforest back in 2018, as part of her personal global challenge ‘12 months 12 issues’ where she travelled to different parts of the world including Bangladesh, Greek refugee camps, Cambodia, and Australia to educate herself on a range of global issues and discover different media methods to communicate the stories of people she met along the way. This experience made Tara an advocate for youth development, and she has since volunteered for several international youth organisations based in the UK. She is excited to apply this knowledge and enthusiasm in her role.
Lucy joined British Exploring Society as Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator in March 2024. She previously worked in academic publishing as an editor. In 2018, she went on expedition with us to the Canadian Yukon. Whilst at university, Lucy worked on outreach and access programmes, and she is excited to combine her enthusiasm for the outdoors with her passion for making experiences like British Exploring Society expeditions accessible to as many young people as possible. When she’s not working, you can usually find Lucy horse riding or at the theatre.
David joined British Exploring Society as Expeditions Manager in August 2024. David got hooked on the transformative power of adventure in 2009 after cycling 300 miles on a bicycle with no brakes. Before joining us (and after massively upgrading his cycle safety awareness) David spent three years with Thighs of Steel, developing and delivering bike expeditions, including a headline-grabbing world record attempt and Europe's longest charity bike ride: 5,400km through 11 countries between Glasgow and Athens.
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For the last four years, he has also been an outdoor instructor on youth expeditions with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, supporting 12–16 year olds working towards their Bronze and Silver awards. Previously, David worked as an environmental science journalist, a cycle messenger and co-writer of a successful comedy series for the BBC. He is unbelievably excited about helping Young Explorers embark on their own life-defining adventures.
Chris joined British Exploring Society in April 2023. Previously, Chris has developed and delivered Creative Media and Children’s Publishing education programmes, including collaborating with leading Book Publishers and Universities across the UK to produce a substantial diversity driven publishing initiative. With a passion to drive improved opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, Chris is excited by the work of British Exploring Society, and eager to transfer his experience of developing curriculum in other subjects to that of the great outdoors. When not working, you’ll find Chris supporting the mighty Walsall FC…
Isaac joined British Exploring Society in February 2022 as an Expedition Coordinator. Isaac was previously working as media content creator and base camp operator for a wildlife conservancy in Niassa Reserve Mozambique. Isaac is passionate about outdoor adventure and loves the way that his job facilitates young people the opportunities to have their own expedition experiences.
Kirstie joined us in February 2022 as Expedition Coordinator. Having spent most of her working life within the fashion industry, Kirstie embarked on a career change that greater aligned with her values and interests. Having been fortunate enough to travel to and volunteer with young people in various countries over the years, she feels incredibly grateful to have found a role that combines her two greatest passions: outdoor adventures and the empowerment of young people.
Kim joined British Exploring Society in May 2024 as the Kit Stores Coordinator. Having worked as an operations manager in the charity and not-for-profit sector for 15 years, she brings with her ninja-like organisational, ordering and list making skills and she folds tents and preps gear for expeditions. Kim deeply values how adventure, being in community and connection with the land can change our relationship to nature and ourselves. She feels that it's very special to play a part in facilitating that experience for young people.
James joined British Exploring as Operations Manager in 2011. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Leading Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning and has a long career in expedition leadership and management. James has since taken on the role of Expedition Training and leadership Advisor and is responsible for advising on appropriate leadership recruitment and skills for our trainee leaders and Leaders, as well as the development of leadership training resources.
Laura joined British Exploring Society in the summer of 2022 as Freelance Archivist. She brings with her 7 years of archives experience and a passion for the outdoors. Laura is interested in how records and archives can help with identity building and education, and the opportunities that exist for this within British Exploring Society. Her goal is to unlock the existing archive collections and in the future build on them to create a rich resource for young people.
Tony Harpur joined British Exploring as Archivist Assistant in 2014. He worked as an oil trader and Arabist in the oil industry for Shell, BP and Vitol for 33 years. Since retiring in 2011, he has gained a Mountain Leader qualification and been a Leader on a number of our expeditions.
Justin joined British Exploring Society's office team in 2003 and was appointed Archivist in 2006, before becoming our History Advisor in 2022. Justin was also a member of the 1954 Quebec Expedition. Justin studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, became a Chartered Engineer following Post Graduate Studies. Upon retirement in 2003 he began a part-time History of Science MSc at Imperial College.
