Our trustees
Our dedicated trustees bring a wealth of experience to guide Rewilding Britain in achieving our charitable objectives. Let us introduce you to the Board, from A‑Z.
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Harry Barton
Harry has worked for nearly 25 years in the environmental sector, most recently as the Chief Executive of Devon Wildlife Trust. Prior to this, he was the Chief Executive of the Earth Trust and had spells at the Council for National Parks, Kew Gardens, CPRE and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Harry has a passion for the environment and a particular interest in landscape-scale restoration, having played a key role in developing the Wildlife Trust's Living Landscapes programme. Harry believes spending time outdoors is essential for our health and wellbeing.
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Rachel Evatt
Rachel has 16 years of experience in business and is currently actively rewilding over 120 acres of land in the High Peak, Derbyshire.
Rachel’s expertise lies in high growth internet start-ups, as a founder and senior leader in product development, growth and operations.
Her first start-up became one of the UK’s technology ‘unicorns’ when it was sold in 2016. There, Rachel held the role of Product Director and later Director of Business Operations, being part of and growing the team that navigated a 40-fold growth in valuation.
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Elaine Gilligan
Elaine is Head of Programmes at Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and NI). Having started out as a volunteer at University, she now sits on the Board of Friends of the Earth International. Her passion is in grassroots campaigning, having led the organisation’s activism work for many years.
Elaine has set up and led major programmes of work on climate, nature and resources. Her work on nature, food and farming provides a wealth of experience to support Rewilding Britain in pioneering a new approach to nature restoration.
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Priyanka Khandelwal
Priyanka is an Assurance Partner in EY with over 14 years’ experience of working on audits of large and medium clients in the financial services sector. She has a deep understanding of financial risks and the impacts of climate-related and ESG risks on an entity’s risk framework, strategy, financial position and disclosures.
Priyanka has diverse experience, having lived and worked in India, US and the UK. She supports small local charities in India that work to further women’s education, and was a volunteer for the Make-a-Wish foundation in New York.
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George Levvy (Chair)
Originally from Aberdeen, George’s thirty-year career has spanned the public, commercial and voluntary sectors. Having begun working life as a doctor, his move into management included six years in commercial companies in Japan and the UK before he joined the voluntary sector as Head of Marketing and Communications at the British Red Cross.
For ten years from 1995 George was Chief Executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, leading it through a period of rapid growth and change. Since then George has consulted on organisational strategy, leadership, governance and change for many organisations.
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Julian Purvis
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant Julian was entrusted with the Woodland Trust’s finances in his mid 20s, where he went on to spend most of his career as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Services before taking a career break in 2011.
Julian was Finance Director at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (2013−18) before retiring and doing more voluntary work, including being Treasurer of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Lincoln City Foundation. He has been involved in habitat conservation work in the UK since 1984.
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Frankie Smith (Treasurer / Company Secretary)
Frankie, a chartered accountant, is Chief Finance and Operations Officer at Bookmark Reading, a charity which supports children's reading. Prior to this, he worked at KPMG LLP as an Audit Manager and at The Zoological Society of London, specialising in charity finance and accounting.
Frankie has held several volunteer roles in the charity sector. He is currently the Grant Committee Chair for The Scout Association and sits as an independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee at NCVO.
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David Tudor
David has worked in marine management for over twenty years, including leading on policy advice at a pivotal time for the UK’s marine legislation and working on the world’s largest offshore renewable energy programme.
He has held numerous senior posts in the marine management sector, including Head of Marine Planning and Coastal Management at the Crown Estate and Marine Policy Manager for the Environment Agency. He is currently the Projects Director for the Blue Marine Foundation, leading a global suite of ocean conservation projects. David has a marine science doctorate and is a Fellow of the IMarEST.
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Nick Wilkinson
Nick is the CEO of Dunelm plc, an entrepreneurial UK retailer with strong values. He was previously the CEO of Evans Cycles and began his career in Unilever, followed by a stint as a consultant at McKinsey & Co.
Nick serves on the steering group of the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Action Roadmap and the Investment Committee of Sporting Capital, and was previously a Trustee for Age UK and the Pennies Foundation. He joined the Board to offer his skills, gained in the commercial and charity sectors, and his life-long passion for wild places.