I have worked with tamarins and marmosets for 35 years, supporting their conservation in the wild, and building conservation assurance populations in captivity. During that time I have pioneered new approaches to the conservation management of callitrichids and other species. My approach is to adapt management to fit animals’ needs, learning through research, rather than forcing them to adapt to what we want. My fundamental belief is that if we give sensitive primates like this complex habitats, they will thrive, and we will be able to learn a huge amount about their behaviour and ecology that can directly benefit conservation activities in the wild. For over 20 years, I have also been instrumental in developing many conservation initiatives in the home countries of species like pied tamarins, lion tamarins, white handed tamarins and the mountain marmosets. I have taught many courses on the management of primates, sit on several primate conservation advisory panels and have published many scientific papers and articles. In 1999, I took back to Brazil a group of black lion tamarins that had grown up under my care in woodland at Jersey Zoo, and helped in the first release of the species with Brazilian organization IPE.

I first discovered tamarins and marmosets as an undergraduate at the University of St Andrews, and was immediately entranced. I went on to do a PhD on cotton-top tamarins at Stirling University, and then studied wild primates in Brazil’s Atlantic forest. Since then, I have worked at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in a variety of roles including mammal keeper, researcher and at the Durrell Conservation Academy. I am now the Zoo Research Manager, and help to develop and support research that has a direct impact on the conservation of threatened species, whether that is in the wild, or with captive assurance populations.  I am particularly proud of the work we have done on designing nestboxes for black lion tamarins, and on identifying and mitigating stress in pied tamarins.

As its scientific advisor, I hope to help Tamarin Trust support this type of research and increase the impact of conservation projects for tamarins, marmosets, and other primates.

.After graduating with a BSc in Physics from the University of Bath, I joined British Airways as a trainee programmer in 1985. That led to over 30 years working in the travel business, mostly in IT and later in management roles. It also gave me the opportunity to work abroad for many of those years, in the USA, France and Australia.

After retiring from paid work in 2018 I started volunteering at my local hospital and a British Heart Foundation shop.

I was delighted to have the chance to help found the Tamarin Trust, and am determined with my fellow trustees  to help make it an example of excellence  amongst environmental charities.

Born in Cornwall, (sun, sea and sand), and had  several pets and nearby farms to visit so a great love and respect for animals from an early age. Usual school system then Secretarial College.

In 1967 joined Lloyds Bank and worked both on banking and secretarial side. Moved to Jersey, (more sun, sea and sand), in May 1975 under the Lloyds Bank Provincial Volunteer Scheme, employed by Lloyds Bank, Broad Street and Bath Street branches until 1989, then moved to Morgan Grenfell/Deutsche Bank as senior personal assistant,  left in March 1997.  I joined Jersey Zoo/Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust as personal assistant to the Zoo Programme Director, International Programme Director and Head of Research Department.  retiring in March 2004, but missed the people and animals very much, so took on volunteer duties from August, in the Mammal kitchen, chopping lunch for the tamarins and marmosets and the Bird department feeding the flamingos. I left in January 2024.

I believe it is our responsibility to care for all animals and their environment.

I feel very privileged to be a Trustee of the Tamarin Trust and do whatever I can, in whatever small way to help keep the threatened Tamarins and Marmosets in South America from extinction. I know in my heart of hearts that the Tamarin Trust will do everything possible to save these delightful monkeys.

Throughout my life I have had a passion for animals inspired by Johnny Morris, David Attenborough, Gerald Durrell, et al. My first choice career was to be a vet but that was not to be, and instead I entered the world of finance. Barclays Bank provided me with 34 years of varied finance experience to managerial level, moving to Jersey in 1995, followed by a switch to regulatory compliance in the early 2000’s. I left Barclays in 2008 to work with the legal and trust professions at a locally based firm, leaving them in 2018 to set up the new Maples and Calder Jersey office in 2018 on a part time basis. This gave me more spare time and I immediately volunteered at Durrell, firstly as a ranger and then becoming more involved, assisting the education team and the Head of Mammals working on the Titi Monkey project and with the Livingstone Fruit Bats. I have recently been assisting the owner of Jersey Falconry who maintains a collection of over 20 raptors including owls, falcons, hawks and eagles. I am delighted to have the opportunity to be involved with the Tamarin Trust and the conservation of such beautiful and threatened primates.

I attended school in North London, where I first met Dominic and Liam, and having gained a degree, started my career in retail at a department store. I then joined Bass Brewers (now Molson Coors) and worked in sales for 10 years initially, followed by roles in the commercial and technical side of the business, before moving into HR and a global L&D role.

After redundancy (and 25 years’ service) I worked as an independent consultant for 2 years, before I got the call from Insights, where I initially took on a role focusing on our clients ongoing development., and now work as a consultant with the same business.

I have a degree in Geology and Environmental Biology, which is something I still have a passion and interest for. My various management and leadership roles have given me a real sense of what makes people and teams work effectively together, and I tapped into the technical side of this by going back to university to complete a Diploma in Management.

I am also a CIPD qualified coach and mentor, and a Moscow Shepard qualified facilitator, as well as being an Insights Discovery Practitioner.

I recharge by being outdoors and am find total inner peace when out walking with my dog. I am a volunteer at our local youth group, where the older kids do the Duke of Edinburgh award, so that keeps me busy and outdoors! I live in a small village in Cheshire, and I organise the annual Poppy Appeal for the area and am very much involved in village life.

My children, Amy and Niall are the most important thing in my life, and I am so incredibly proud of the amazing adults they are becoming. My heart is and always will be in Ireland, where my roots firmly belong – it is where I call home. I take any excuse to get back and just breathe in the peace and solace that it gives me.