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What is Pelorus Foundation?

Our mission is to champion innovation and act as a catalyst, empowering individuals and local communities to preserve and protect the world’s wildlife and wild places for future generations.

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Meet the Team

Our team of expert conservationists, marine biologists and environmental researchers are dedicated to protecting the planet and driving global awareness. Our experienced team is passionate and enthusiastic, working hard to guarantee the success of our vital conservation projects across the globe.

Team

Geordie Mackay-Lewis, Director & Trustee

An overwhelming desire to protect, preserve and promote endangered species and wilderness led Geordie to establish the Pelorus Foundation. The aim, to protect thousands of acres of wilderness through a collective dedication towards wildlife conservation. He believes that empowering local communities to join the fight against wildlife crime, and the protection of wild places, is a vital step towards a more sustainable planet.

Geordie is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, a winter mountain leader, advanced diver and paragliding pilot. He served as a Captain in a British Army reconnaissance regiment, deploying twice to Afghanistan before running a series of automotive technology businesses across Europe and then a high-end adventure travel company.

James Guernsey, Trustee

James started his career as a property developer in London for 10 years before moving his family to the countryside to focus on land regeneration. By returning to his roots, this captured his imagination to change current methods of land management and shake up the traditional practices of farming. 

He has previously worked with Save the Elephants in Kenya, learning about conservation and the fine balance that is our natural world. This planted the seed which has led to a newly discovered passion in regenerative agriculture and deer herd management. He is passionate about positive change and has a strong vision of how he would like to preserve the wildlife and countryside around him. 

Duncan Grossart, Trustee

Duncan is a zoology graduate, lifelong conservationist and former director of The European Nature Trust, with an unmatched love of nature, wilderness and travel. He passionately believes in accelerating our re-engagement with the natural world, conserving landscapes and harmonising lives and prosperous communities. 

More recently, he founded ‘Journeys With Purpose’, in order to provide a series of immersive Hosted Experiences with inspirational leaders, truly extraordinary ‘People With Purpose’, created to inform and catalyse the celebration and advancement of nature conservation projects across the world. 

Duncan’s career spans award-winning entrepreneurship through to travel and environmental causes. He is a fellow of the Zoological Society of London, Royal Geographical Society, Royal Society for Asian Affairs and Scientific Exploration Society, and a published photographer.  He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organisation. 

Julie Church, Advisor

Julie has pioneered marine social enterprise all over Africa. She is an enthusiastic ocean adventurer, ardent marine conservationist, PADI rescue diver, avid swimmer, mountain bike enthusiast, survivor of an almost fatal cape buffalo attack and Mum to Otto.

Julie has worked in coordination with organisations such as WWF, FFI, CORDIO, IUCN, and GEF to create marine parks and initiatives all along the Red Sea and East Coast of Africa. Through her marine work she has also provided technical advice to marine and entrepreneurial initiatives in Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Red Sea, Seychelles, Somalia and South Africa.

In association with CORDIO, Julie will be the main designer of the Sea Check Research project, and will be fundamentally involved in processing the data collected.

Andrew Chrichton, Advisor

Andrew Crichton is part of the Executive Management team leading the Frontier Collective; a proudly African organisation protecting wild places and providing local solutions to a global challenge.

Raised between South Africa and Zimbabwe, Andrew developed a passion for conservation from his family. A passion which ultimately brought him back to Africa after a period serving as an Officer in the British Army.

 With over a decade in the field across various organisations, Andrew brings significant conservation as well as non-profit management experience to the Advisory Board of the Pelorus Foundation. He is supporting the organisation to make a tangible difference to the environments and communities Pelorus operates amongst.

Charlie Drinkwater, Foundation Manager

Leaving the insurance industry behind, Charlie set out on a new, impactful path of providing the gift of experiential travel. Having had the fortunate opportunity to explore some incredible places, it became apparent to him that action must be taken to preserve the world’s biodiversity. Charlie has travelled widely with trips to Australia and Morocco among others, including multi-day adventures in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Sahara. As the Pelorus Foundation Manager, Charlie is committed to the promotion and support of sustainable initiatives around the globe that are fundamental to the conservation of our planet.

Jimmy Carroll, Director

As well as a Royal Geographic Society fellow, Jimmy is a mountain leader and advanced diver with a passion for wildlife and adventure. Jimmy’s intrepid expeditions to some of the world’s untouched regions enhanced his appreciation for the natural world, solidifying the Foundation’s aim for a more sustainable future in protecting our environment.

Jimmy served as a Captain in a British Army reconnaissance regiment, with tours to Iraq in 2006 and twice to Afghanistan. He served for eight years and on leaving was appointed expedition manager for Xtreme Everest 2, the largest ever medical-research expedition conducted on Mount Everest. Prior to co-founding PELORUS, Jimmy worked as head of marketing and communications for Winch Design, a world-leader in superyachts, private aviation and architecture.

Hannah Cornforth, Head of Marketing

Hannah’s love of travel and adventure has taken her all over the world, which started with a Degree in Geography, focused on people, cultures and development. She’s spend the past decade working mostly in travel marketing, though always committed to improving CSR and being genuinely passionate about sustainability and making a difference. 

Hannah runs the marketing and PR activity for Pelorus and The Pelorus Foundation.

Kirsty Scott, Marine Conservation Intern

An ocean enthusiast, Kirsty is an AAUS scientific diver and studied her bachelors in Marine Biology. She spent the past two years in Saudi Arabia, conducting her masters in marine science, focussing on marine turtle ecology and conservation on the Red Sea. Kirsty is responsible for the setup of the first marine turtle, whale shark and manta ray identification database for the Red Sea and is still involved with multiple marine initiatives there. Kirsty is currently in Costa Rica working as a research assistant on a leatherback sea turtle conservation project and has travelled widely throughout Europe, South America and the Middle East.

For the Pelorus Foundation, Kirsty hopes to shed light on critical topics in conservation, focussing on marine protected areas and the preservation of key marine habitats through the content she produces.