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.
Kate joined British Exploring Society as our Head of Recruitment and Engagement at the beginning of 2019. Her previous roles involved helping young people develop the key skills needed for a successful future and connecting them with opportunities in the financial services. She is passionate about working with young people from less advantaged backgrounds and ensuring they have access to opportunities that can change their lives.
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.
Caroline first joined British Exploring in September 2010 as Manager of the British Exploring Outreach programme – The Dangoor Next Generation Programme. She then went on to be our Head of Expeditions and Strategic Operations until February 2023. She is now helping us undertake a strategic review of our Expedition Knowledge programme.
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.
Liying Li joined British Exploring Society in November 2022 as our Office & HR Coordinator. Being from Taiwan, Liying grew up exploring the mountains and the Pacific. She has since continued to live a life of adventure by travelling to experience different countries and cultures alike. As an International Development graduate, she’s passionate about charity work and youth development. Liying has volunteered and remains involved with numerous charities worldwide, and before joining us she worked for the Taiwanese Embassy in London, as well as for a Youth Charity in Croydon.
Ransford joined British Exploring Society as 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.
Dan joined British Exploring Society in April 2022 as Fundraising and Communications Officer. He studied Sport Development and Coaching at university, where he enjoyed learning about the benefits that sport and physical activity can bring both physically and mentally. Having had the opportunity to travel to Morocco, he recognises the importance of ensuring that as many young people as possible have the opportunity to challenge themselves by undertaking life-changing opportunities.
Abigail became Membership Officer at British Exploring Society in May 2021. 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.
Holly joined British Exploring Society in Summer 2019. An Adventure Tourism Management graduate, Holly’s previous roles have included working as a Youth Worker and Youth Development Officer in the Scottish Highlands and teaching snowboarding around Europe and New Zealand. Holly is passionate about working with young people in the outdoor industry and believes that every young person should be entitled to the same opportunities no matter their background.
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.
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.
Ned started his journey with British Exploring Society in early 2022, first as a Trainee Leader on our Canadian Yukon expedition and then as our Marketing & Digital Coordinator. Ned has a background in creative storytelling, photography and community organising. In this capacity, he’s previously worked with a diverse range of organisations (SheDecides, the British Council, and the National Trust to name a few). When he’s not in the office you’ll most likely find him roaming the mountains with a camera, in search of the perfect light.
Tara joined British Exploring Society as our Skills Development Officer in January 2023. 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.
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 expeditions.
Daisy joined British Exploring Society in March 2020 as an Expeditions Coordinator and is now an Expeditions Manager. She took part in an expedition to Costa Rica at 19, and has since completed volunteering placements in India, Tanzania and Bulgaria. She has a background in youth programme delivery and volunteer management, and is passionate about supporting and empowering young people in experiential learning environments. In January 2022 she became Expeditions Manager.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sam joined British Exploring Society as Membership Officer in September 2018, having previously worked in the corporate world for a number of years and most recently at an international development charity. His background is in delivering marketing and member communications. In October 2020 he joined the Expeditions Team as Senior Expedition Coordinator and in January 2022 became Expeditions Manager.
