Directors

Our Board of Directors (Trustees of the Charity) comprises:

  • Peter Davidson – Chairman
  • Toby Aykroyd – Vice Chair
  • Andrew Sheepshanks – Vice Chair
  • Ed Posey OBE
  • Jo Roberts – Chief Executive Officer
  • Paul Gardiner
  • Vance Martin
  • Diana Roberts
  • Graham Game
  • Neil Birnie

 

Peter Davidson – Chairman

“Brought up in south London I first experienced the joys of the countryside as a Boy Scout camping and trekking most weekends, and eventually getting to know and love the high ground and wilderness of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

I have spent my working life as a Chartered Surveyor becoming a Fellow in 1968 and specialising in commercial property development in the UK and mainland Europe.  I first went to South Africa around 30 years ago, have travelled extensively and built my own home in Cape Town in 1990.  Andrew Muir persuaded me to become one of the original backers of the Umzi Wethu project and the foundations work in the Baviaans Kloof nature reserve.

Outside business life my main interest lies in education as a Court Member and Past Master of the Haberdashers Company acting across the years as a governor of a number of the Companies ten schools and as the Chairman of the body responsible for setting up the first of the Federated Academies in south London and am now closely involved in two others currently under construction.

I am a Trustee of Hampshire Youth Options which works to provide opportunities for the disadvantaged young of the County to break out of a cycle of low achievement.  I serve as a Trustee of The Union Jack Club based close to Waterloo Station which was formed after the Boer War to look after the interests of serving and former military personnel.”

Toby Aykroyd – Vice Chair

Toby Aykroyd is vice-chair of the Wilderness Foundation and a Trustee of both the European Nature Trust and the London Wildlife Trust.  He is also Co-ordinator of the Wild Europe initiative, promoting large-scale habitat protection and restoration.

Ed Posey OBE

Edward Posey trained as an RAF pilot for National Service, in the late 1940s. He studied at the London School of Economics and then, after a brief period working for the family business in the City of London, embarked on an aviation career. After many successful years Edward began to question the social responsibility and ethics of the business world in which he was involved. Consultancy work soon developed into promoting a more holistic approach and a more socially responsible path for business. Edward has since dedicated over 30 years entirely to philanthropic work. In 1984, he co-founded the Gaia Foundation and provided his home in north London as the office. He is also Trustee of Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, the Wilderness Leadership School in South Africa, an active member of Social Venture Network Europe, and Member of the Executive Development Committee for the Natural History Museum, London. In 2007, Edward was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for ‘services to the Gaia Foundation’.

Vance Martin

Vance Martin is  the founder and current co-chairman of the IUCN Wilderness Task Force, and has edited and authored many publications, including most recently Wilderness, Wildlands and People: A Partnership for the Planet, the plenary proceedings from the 8th World Wilderness Congress (Anchorage, Alaska, 2005).   Vance is President of our sister charity in the USA – the Wild Foundation.

Graham Game

Graham Game, a professional environmentalist for 30 years, has worked on a wide range of campaigns and projects for organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Green Network and The Wildlife Trusts. In the 1990′s he was involved with The All Party Parliamentary Environment Group at Westminster, has been an elected Councillor, a prolific public speaker, facilitator and lecturer, and has written countless articles for a wide variety of publications, and contributed to many broadcast programmes in the UK and USA.

Neil Birnie

Neil Birnie is the Founder of Wilderness Scotland.   He is an ardent wilderness campaigner and highly skilled guide.  Neil is also an experienced Environmental Lawyer.