Our team

Gordon Buchanan MBE

Ambassador

Gordon is a wildlife film maker and conservationist with many years’ experience filming amazing biodiversity around the world.

“For over three decades I’ve been fortunate to have worked in many rich and diverse habitats across our planet. The natural world is spellbinding and awe-inspiring but a certain group of people also have my greatest admiration and respect.

Park rangers toil at the jagged, often dangerous edge of conservation, tirelessly protecting species and ecosystems from peril. They desperately need help and better protection to secure a future for those animals, places and the world we all share.

I am immensely proud to be an ambassador for Working for the Wild and the life-changing work they do.”

Megan McCubbin

Ambassador

Megan is a passionate zoologist and conservationist with a particular interest in behaviour, evolution and the illegal wildlife trade. She is also a wildlife photographer and presenter, known for her work on BBC wildlife programmes and Animal Park.

“We are lucky to live in a world which is full of spectacular biodiversity. And we are luckier still, that around the world there are people willing to fight to protect it. Rangers are on the frontlines of conservation, and I have so much respect for every single one of them. This is why it’s an honour to be an ambassador for Working for the Wild. To save species, we must support the work of rangers and there has never been a more important time to do so!”

Purnima Devi Barman

Ambassador

Recipient of the United Nations’ highest environmental honour, UNEP Champion of the Earth 2022 under Entrepreneurial Vision , Dr. Purnima Devi Barman is a wildlife biologist and conservationist from Assam, India, popularly known as “Hargila Baido” or “Stork Sister.” She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar Award, India’s highest civilian award for women, in 2017. She is the founder of the Hargila Army, an all-female conservation initiative dedicated to protecting the greater adjutant stork in Assam, India. Through this initiative, she has mobilized over 20,000 rural women, giving them a voice for bird and biodiversity conservation and empowering them through various livelihood and capacity-building programs. Dr Barman received the Whitley Gold Award in 2024 for her groundbreaking work towards saving endangered birds.

John Randall

Chair of Trustees

John’s first love has always been wildlife. Fascinated by the natural world from his very earliest days. Previously a Member of Parliament for 18 years, after retiring from the House of Commons in 2015, John was involved with various conservation organisations. He was asked to become Prime Minister Theresa May’s Special Adviser on the environment in 2017. Now in the House of Lords John is an advocate for wildlife and conservation. He is a Trustee of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum, the Bat Conservation Trust, a council member of the RSPB as well as a Vice–President of Fauna and Flora International, and Vice Chair of Trustees of the Human Trafficking Foundation. Prior to entering Parliament, he worked in the family retail business and was also a bird tour leader.

Anne Varney

Trustee and Treasurer

Anne is a Chartered Accountant and was appointed Treasurer in June 2020. She brings with her a wealth of financial expertise and experience ranging from Corporate Finance at Deloitte followed by a number of CFO roles within industry. Recently retired, Anne is now volunteering to support the Thin Green Line Foundation. She has had a lifelong interest in wildlife and conservation, and during her travels in Africa and Asia, has seen at first hand the vital work that is undertaken by rangers to protect wildlife, the environment and local communities.

Anne is also Treasurer of the African Bird Club, a charity which is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats across Africa.

Dr Ian Redmond, OBE

Trustee

Ian Redmond is a wildlife biologist and conservationist, renowned for his work with great apes and elephants over 40 years. Since studying and protecting the mountain gorillas of Rwanda and Zaire (now DRC), working for the late Dr Dian Fossey, and making the first study of the underground elephants of Mt Elgon, Ian has devoted his life to putting conservation principles into practice through investigation, education and advocacy.

He is a widely published writer and has worked on or appeared in over 100 documentary films. Ian has led anti-poacher patrols, carried out undercover investigations into the illegal wildlife trade and supported local conservationists during Rwanda’s and DRC’s civil wars. Ian works with a number of conservation organisations including Born Free, UN Convention on Migratory Species and Ape Alliance.

He describes himself as a naturalist by birth, a biologist by training and a conservationist by necessity.

Marianne Kettunen

Trustee

Marianne Kettunen is a policy expert and advisor with 20 years of experience working at the science-policy interface for sustainable development in Europe and globally. She is currently with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, leading their policy-oriented work on circular economy and biodiversity. She is also a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and an author of many key publications linking conservation with wider sustainability, including area-based conservation as a key tool for delivering Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assessing social and economic benefits of protected areas.

Chloe Bradbrooke

Trustee

Chloe, worked for 20 years as a ranger for the National Trust, and now as a consultant ,advising on all things trees and woodlands. She also represents the Countryside Management Association (CMA), a collective body of UK rangers, as their International Coordinator. In this role she is able to combine her passion for conservation with that for travel, connecting with rangers across the globe and linking people together through exchanges, twinnings, training and conferences. She believes that we are all part of nature and everyone can play their part in protecting it for the future. 

Abi Gatty Irving

Executive Director

Having worked with local and international environmental charities for over 20 years, Abi is now focused on building support and awareness in the UK and Continental Europe to strengthen the impact of Working for the Wild’s worldwide programmes protecting wildlife and habitat through grassroots conservation. At a time when our natural environment is coming under increasing pressures and threats, she believes it is crucial for individuals and organisations with related objectives to collaborate to find the best solutions. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Beth Cross

Communications Officer

Beth worked and volunteered on the ground for conservation organisations in the UK for many years, and is now excited to be pursuing her interests in global conservation and sustainability issues through being involved with the important work of Working for the Wild, learning about and supporting so many inspiring community based projects that are making a real difference to wildlife, habitats and people around the world.