Meet the Team

Andy Woods-Ballard - Director Of Operations

Andy joined GVI Mexico in October 2003. He has worked in America and Scotland with marine mammals; and extensively in the tropics studying lemurs and a range of freshwater, sub-tidal, inter-tidal and coastal habitats and species in Zambia , Tanzania and Madagascar. Using Participatory Appraisal techniques he has aided the interaction of local peoples and protected area managers. Andy has experience working internationally with non-profit and commercial, governmental and non-governmental organisations through the set-up and successful continuation of various projects. When he moved from Mexico back to the UK at the end of 2005, he had run 19 expeditions in the field.

Andy is a qualified PADI Instructor, EFR First Aid Instructor, BSAC Dive Leader and RYA Power Boat driver and has a BSc. (Hons) in Zoology and a MSc. in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh. He has taught field-work techniques and a Level 3 Advanced BTEC Diploma in Tropical Habitat Conservation to local students and international volunteers in Tanzania and Madagascar.

Chris Ash - International Projects Director

Chris works as GVI’s International Projects Director, managing GVI projects around the world and working to establish and liaise with future and existing partners. He has been instrumental in developing GVI projects and since joining GVI in 2004 he has set up and established more than 40 new conservation and humanitarian projects across the world. His previous background and experience includes work as a volunteer teacher in Tanzania, and working in environmental education and conservation in the National Parks of South Africa. Chris has extensive travel through much of Southern Africa, to include Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Steve Gwenin - GVI Corporate Alliance Director

Steve Gwenin is the founder of Global Vision International's Marine Conservation Expeditions, and has been key in the set up and running of almost all of GVI’s Expeditions, including 3 in Mexico, and one each in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Patagonia, Kenya, Seychelles and Thailand, and has also spent time on the South African expedition and helped in its development.

In 2007 he co-founded the GVI Corporate Alliance and has since created and managed international programs with Whole Foods Market (Fortune 100), Grameen Trust (Nobel Prize Laureate 2006), Global Giving, Kraft Foods, Emirates Foundation (UAE National Volunteering Program), Explore Travel and many others.

Steve is a qualified commercial diver, PADI Instructor, EFR Instructor Trainer, certified powerboat driver and Health and Safety off-site advisor and Off-Site Safety Management trainer, whom holds a B.Sc. in Oceanography and Fisheries Science and is certified in Firefighting and Offshore survival. Prior to joining GVI, Steve worked in the scientific field around Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and had used these opportunities to travel extensively. He disbanded his own successful and growing marine mammal research company, which operated around Northern European, Artic, and African waters, to join GVI and has now been part of the team for almost 6 years.

Steve has over 13 years field research experience spanning 5 continents, 4 oceans and a host of different eco-systems, including marine, coastal, tropical dry and rainforest, artic and savannah. His boundless energy and enthusiasm, commitment to conservation and determination to work with local communities, his strong background in working internationally with governmental, non-profit and commercial organisations in conservation, research and sustainable development initiatives, and his experience of living, training and working with volunteers, make him ideal for GVI.

Charlotte Rix - Latin America Regional Manager

Charley joined GVI in October 2003, working on the marine projects in Mexico, combining her passion for conservation and the marine environment. She set up the Mahahual expedition at the beginning of 2004 and then helped to set up and run the regional office in Mexico, co-coordinating all 3 of GVI Mexican expeditions. Charley returned to the GVI UK Office in 2006 and is now Regional Coordinator for Central America. Charley has a strong background working internationally with non-profit organisations and Universities in Mexico, Tanzania and Madagascar. She has a BSc (Hons) in Zoology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and is a qualified PADI Divemaster. Charley has taught several methodologies and field work techniques and a level-3 Advanced BTEC Diploma in Tropical Habitat Conservation and she is firmly committed to GVI's programme of conservation and sustainable development.

Richard Walton - Director and Founder of Global Vision International

Having lived and worked overseas for many years as a volunteer and expedition leader, Richard has been largely responsible for the development of Global Vision International from its early days on an island off the coast of Honduras. Richard has led and taken part in expeditions to Patagonia, the Amazon, Honduras and Malawi and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. He continues to be involved in all aspects of the day to day running of GVI and travels extensively throughout the year to GVI field stations.

Neil Finnie - Partners Manager

A decade of living overseas in a variety of diverse countries gave Neil a real insight into how important international travel can be to both the visitor and local communities. A year travelling through Central and South America, after studying for a degree in International Tourism Management, opened a whole new world. Neil immersed himself in the communities of Latin America, swapping sight seeing for teaching English at local schools. Neil continued to Teach for a further 2 years in Japan, but felt he wanted to be more proactive with his time and help raise awareness of volunteer opportunities overseas. Neil approached GVI in January 2008 and the rest is history!

Pre University Neil became self-employed at 18 as a subsidence engineer before heading to the French Alps where he would spend the next 5 years, gaining first hand experience in setting up, building and running a business.

Amy Hoskins - Regional Coordinator

A childhood of travelling – with several moves throughout the UK and four round-the-world trips under her belt by the age of 21 – led Amy to further her passion for travel and broaden her knowledge of global environmental issues by taking up a degree in Geography at the University of Nottingham.

Upon completion of her degree in July 2008, Amy decided that she’d had enough of the UK (especially the climate!) and headed off for sunnier climes and a bit of adventure in the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. Bungee jumping, sky diving, swimming with whale sharks and wreck diving combined her passions for the marine environment and adventure.

Keen to continue down the ethical adventure travel route, having gained an awareness of environmental and social issues, Amy is hoping that an opportunity to work at GVI will fulfil her desire to gain some valuable experience in this field, whilst also allowing for some travel to the organisation’s overseas projects to put this new found knowledge into practice!

Sophie Birkett - Regional Coordinator

Growing up, Sophie spent her childhood travelling with her family which sparked a lifelong passion for travelling and the pursuit of a good adventure! Through her Geography degree, she studied both human and physical environments and examined the differences and inequality within the human world and the changes and stability in physical worlds. These enabled her to gain an understanding of conservation and community development and as such, understand the importance of volunteer and charity organizations in such aid-reliant fields.

As a geography graduate, Sophie left the UK to experience more of the world, starting off by participating in the GVI Wildlife Research Expedition to South Africa. Afterwards, she continued travelling for 18 months around South America, South-East Asia and Australasia which included numerous adrenaline activities such as ice climbing and bridge jumping to cultural opportunities like Buddhist Monastery stays and Rio Carnival.

Eventually she came back home to reality and decided she desperately wanted to continue experiencing new cultures and environments. She hopes that by joining GVI she can gain valuable experience so as to pursue a career in volunteer organisations and project management whilst still chasing her dreams.

Gareth Rifkin - Web Master

A Masters Graduate in Management and BA Honours in Tourism Management, Gareth joined GVI's Internship Programme in October 2009. His passion for conservation has stemmed from being brought up in South Africa most of his life. He has been heavily involved in fundraising events over the past three years, and looks to gain invaluable experience from his GVI Internship that will open up new windows of opportunity in this area of work. In 2007, Gareth took a two month sabbatical to work as a volunteer at Shawari Game Reserve in South Africa, working with The Born Free Foundation, including tracking and documenting individual elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos and cheetahs, all the way to tagging lions, rhinos and hyenas for research into their movements throughout the reserve.

Cathy Magnus - Marketing Assistant

Having lived abroad and travelled widely from a young age, Cathy has always had a passion for travel. Cathy went to an international school in Washington, D.C. which gave her a global awareness of other cultures and paved the way for future travels. After a gap year spent volunteering and travelling in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, Cathy developed her interest in the environment by studying Geography at the University of Leeds. During her degree she was able to study some of the landscapes and communities she'd visited and find out about many more she'd like to explore! Cathy previously worked in environmental services, but wanted to combine her environmental background with her enthusiasm for travel and conservation. Cathy joined GVI to work in marketing on her return from trips to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Chris Steward - Partnership Assistant

Chris joined the GVI office in St Albans in October 2009. He was brought up in Scotland, Canada and finally England where he finished school and went to University. In 2007 Chris spent two amazing months in Ghana, working as a volunteer in an orphanage and travelling around the country. Whilst there he developed an interest in community and development work, as well as a love of travelling. After returning to the UK he set about graduating from Sheffield University with a degree in History. He then moved down to London where he spent a year adjusting to the bright lights and big crowds whilst working part time jobs, all the time hoping to eventually work in the development or charity sector. His mind kept wondering back to his time in Ghana and various other travels. With a growing sense of listlessness, he took off to Prague where he spent a month completing a TEFL course so that one day he could return to travelling ways. Returning to England though, Chris came across GVI where he saw a great opportunity to gain experience working for a company who help communities and conservation projects around the world. Soon, he hopes to return to travelling ways with GVI.

Angharad Griffiths - Regional Coordinator

Angharad joined the GVI team after graduating from Aberystwyth University where she spent many a day roaming through woodland and soaking up the Welsh sunshine! Growing up watching David Attenborough documentaries, Angharad knew from an early age where her passions lay and has been dreaming of adventure and discovery in far off lands ever since. Having finished her A-levels Angharad worked as a fundraiser for Save the Children and Action Aid where she enjoyed meeting a diverse range of people and having the opportunity to raise awareness of humanitarian issues. Following this she set off for South East Asia where she travelled Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and has eagerly anticipated the next opportunity to travel. Angharad has always been fascinated with the natural world and hopes that working and travelling with GVI will provide the experience and knowledge to follow her ambition of working in wildlife conservation.

Tom Hall - Regional Coordinator

Tom got the travel bug whilst travelling around New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia on his gap year, participating in adventure activities such as sky diving, bungee jumping and mountain biking. He went on to study physical geography at Portsmouth University and his passion for ecology and birds of prey led him to working for the RSPB as a research assistant in Wales and Scotland researching breeding pairs of Merlin and Peregrine Falcon.

He then went on to travelling around South and Central America, participating in a conservation project researching tropical birds and different species of monkey in the rainforests of Ecuador. Tom hopes that an opportunity working for GVI, will give him good experience in how an international volunteering organisation is run and hopes to get a job with GVI in the field of wildlife research.

Diane Propsting - Regional Coordinator

Diane went straight to university after she finished school and completed a BA History degree in 2007. Her undergrad was mostly spent looking at the history of other cultures and societies around the world, which sparked a desire to go and see them first-hand.

Having done some travel before she finished uni up the east coast of the USA and realising she was long overdue a gap year exactly one year after she graduated, Diane organised a very last minute flight to Australia. Not sure exactly where she was going or how long for, she ended up staying in Australia for 15 months working and travelling. Landing a job on a pearl farm in the remote northern territory was a definite highlight, and whilst staying in a beach hut there Diane discovered a real love for the ocean. She has since spent time snorkelling and diving on the Great Barrier Reef and the Ningaloo reef, swimming with giant manta rays and watching sea turtles lay their eggs.

Also whilst abroad, Diane spent some time volunteering for an Oxfam Fair-Trade Store and for the conservation organisation CVA where she realised how much she believes in the importance of making the environment and local communities sustainable. Finding out about GVI gave her the chance to gain experience working for a charitable organisation doing best what she believes in and an opportunity which she hopes will help her go on into a career in this field.

Angharad Davies - Regional Coordinator

Angharad has a BSc in Marine Biology from Swansea University. After her degree she worked for a year as a Receptionist before going back to University to study an MSc in Environmental Health from UWE.

She has travelled around Europe and Australia- where she was captivated by the coral and fish while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. She spent last summer surveying Bottlenose dolphin, Atlantic Grey Seal and harbour porpoise in Cardigan Bay.

Before being offered a position with GVI she got involved with a number of volunteer organizations including ORCA, Avon Wildlife Trust and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. She was took part in The Festival of Nature in Bristol and Bio Blitz at Ashton Court.

She never fails to be amazed at natural diversity- especially under the sea and hopes that working with GVI will allow her to combine her love of the natural world and travel and to fulfil her ambition of a career in marine conservation.

Frank Spooner - Regional Coordinator

Frank grew up in a small village 16 miles North of Portsmouth. He grew up with several animals including cats, dogs, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and geese and has developed a strong love for wildlife. He studied a BTEC National Diploma in Business Studies at Alton College which involved practical assessments from admin and marketing to business start ups. After finishing in May 2009 he travelled across America where he enjoyed hiking, cycling, canoeing, climbing and wildlife such as moose, dolphins, alligators, bears, bison and even manage a rare wolf sighting. He then went on to join Compass group for a short time as a Logistics Assistant Manager and joined GVI on an internship in January 2010.

Lucie Andrews - Project Development Intern

Lucie has started at GVI on the Internship placement. A love for the outdoors has seen her achieve a BA Honours in Adventure Tourism Management, a B-tec in Expedition Management and qualifications in the outdoors such as; SPA training, Summer ML training, 3 Star Canoe, 2 Star Kayak, Level 1 Paddle Coach, Adventure First aid. Lucie planned and executed a research expedition to Madagascar, researching the infrastructure of Madagascar in monsoon season, as well as several UK expeditions. After 3 yrs of management background in a children's activity centre, Lucie is keen to carry on her passion for working within expeditions in the great outdoors looking to utilise the valuable experience with GVI to open up new opportunities in this field.

Paul Bircham - Project Development Intern

After studying International Relations and Politics at university; and having spent countless hours immersed in dissertation research on China, Paul decided he wanted to get some real world experience of the country. After completing his studies, Paul joined a partnership program through his university, and spent a year as a foreign language teacher in a Middle School in Hebei Province, China. After completeing his teaching assignment, he spent the remainder of his time backpacking, enjoying the cultural and natural beauty of the country.

Since then Paul has worked in customer services in the retail sector, and has travelled in successive years to Austria, Finnish Lapland, and Italy.

Paul's interest in GVI was peaked after reading a Guardian news article, and after further reading about the organisation's important and exciting work he applyed for our internship program; starting at GVI assisting with Project Management and Development in February 2010.