Our Trustees

Prof Vicky Pope

Prof Vicky Pope is the founding Editor in Chief of Climate Resilience and Sustainability for the Royal Meteorological Society which publishes international interdisciplinary research on climate change and its implications. She spent many years at the Met Office, during which time she led the Hadley Centre Climate Programme. She is now Chair of the charity, Mathematics Education Innovation, and is a member of the audit and risk committee for Climate Change and Rural Affairs at Welsh Government. Vicky is also a trustee at other charities in the education and environmental sectors, does some consultancy work and is an honorary Professor at the Science Technology Engineering and Public Policy Institute at University College London.

Vicky has a strong interest in promoting solutions to climate change and environmental challenges and has been a DWT Trustee since 2018 and Chair of the Board of Trustees since December 2022.

Abby Allen

Abby has spent the majority of her career working directly with ethical businesses whose purpose has been to safeguard landscapes and communities who rely upon a vibrant rural economy by providing functioning routes to market. 

As Farms Director for Pipers Farm Abby works directly with 50 small scale, family farms, predominantly based in the South West. She also represents the Nature Friendly Farming Network as a Farming Champion. Abby has authored two books ‘The Sustainable Meat Cook Book’ and ‘Homegrown, a Celebration of Seasonal, British Food’. 

Abby has a deep connection to the natural world that was forged growing up in the heart of rural Devon, spending summers fishing in our rivers, climbing trees and lending a hand on neighbouring family farms. 

Abby has been a member of DWT’s Board of Trustees since April 2024.

Martin Callow

Martin’s conservation career spans over 25 years, much of which has been spent working internationally.  After studying at the University of Plymouth, Martin began his career at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory before joining the Royal Geographical Society, where he coordinated a marine research, training, and education program in the Seychelles.

He later joined the Wildlife Conservation Society, taking on a variety of roles in Fiji, London, Myanmar, and Singapore.  During this time, Martin led and supported science-driven field conservation teams across global programs, including pioneering innovative and sustainable finance initiatives.  In 2024, he returned to the UK and joined The Nature Conservancy as Conservation Director for the Nature Bonds program, a global initiative he now leads remotely from Devon.

Beyond his professional life, Martin is a keen runner, gravel biker, and nature enthusiast, as well as the proud new guardian of a Dalmatian puppy.

Martin became a member of the Board of Trustees in December 2024.

Paul Cottington

As a kid Paul loved jumping across rivers. Not the mighty rivers we see at the end of the river Dart and River Exe but the little tributaries and ditches that flow into them. This created a connection and love of the countryside that still remains. To build on that connection Paul started his conservation career as a voluntary ranger in East Sussex and is now Head of Conservation Investment for the RSPB. In between he has worked for Kent Wildlife Trust, the SW regional development agencies, a number of community groups, Countryside Agency and the National Farmers Union. This experience of different voices and different views has helped shape Paul’s purpose for the environment. This is “to create better choices for farmers, landowners and businesses so they can do more for nature and the environment”.  His current work very much plays to this as Paul is responsible for the RSPBs work in nature markets and working in green finance as a new way to do more to help the nature and climate crisis.

Paul has a Masters in environment management and a Master of Law on Environmental law. He loves to collect and listen to music and has a bimonthly radio show.   

Paul became a member of the Board of Trustees in December 2024.

Catherine Fileman-Wright

Catherine trained as an Oceanographer.

In a 40-year career with the Environment Agency and predecessor organisations she has held senior roles in operations, flood and coastal risk management and evidence.

She has led large operational teams delivering all aspects of the Environment Agency’s work from regulation, water management to building and maintaining flood defences. Catherine has maintained an interest in coast throughout her career leading technical teams, working with partners, advising Government and giving evidence to Parliamentary Committees on climate change impacts and sea level rise. She was a Director of the Association of Drainage Authorities for 5 years.

Catherine has lived on Dartmoor for over 30 years. She is also a Trustee of Moretonhampstead Development Trust, a charity promoting well-being, environment and arts. Member of DWT's Board since March 2023.

Lorna Fox

Lorna has spent her career working in and with communities; with schools, youth groups, the NHS, community groups and volunteers in the Western Indian Ocean and at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and London and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trusts. Lorna has a Masters in Education for Sustainability and Social Change, and a P.G.C.E. from Cambridge University. 

Lorna currently works for the RSPB, leading on the development of all large-scale high impact programmes and projects across Wales for people and nature. Lorna has produced research on children's perception of their environment, case studies in global environmental education practice, and co-published papers on marine awareness and green social prescribing solutions.  She has previously sat on Gloucestershire's Local Nature Partnership Board, the NHS Enabling Active Communities Committee, and BIAZA's national Conservation Education Committee as well as being the Safeguarding Governor for a large secondary school in Bristol. 

Lorna was born in Totnes and grew up in the South Hams, moving away to study, then work abroad and across the U.K, before moving back in early 2024.  She likes nothing better than to be walking on Dartmoor with her family. 

Lorna became a member of DWT’s Board of Trustees in December 2024.

Charlotte Grezo

Dr Charlotte Grezo is a biologist with a PhD in Environmental biology.  She has worked in senior sustainability roles in multinational companies throughout her career.    She was the Director of Global Environmental Issues at BP, with responsibility for climate change and biodiversity. Subsequently Charlotte established and led Vodafone’s global sustainability function. She went on to be Global Head of Sustainability at Lehmann Brothers and more recently was Group Director for Corporate Sustainability Strategy at Centrica.  Charlotte has been a Trustee of a number of conservation and natural history charities and is currently a Trustee of Botanic Gardens International, a member of Council of the Linnean Society, a member of the BBC Sustainability Advisory Group and a WWF UK fellow. She has regularly served on the finance committees of conservation charities

Charlotte’s key interests are biodiversity and climate change. She lives in Devon and is involved in efforts to increase biodiversity and wildlife locally.  Member of DWT's Board since March 2023.

Martha Hall

Born and raised in the Netherlands, Martha trained as a geobiologist before moving to Plymouth, where she obtained a PhD in marine vertebrate palaeontology. She worked in South West Water operations for several years, before returning to the University of Plymouth, where she was a technician in physical geography and environmental science, as well as senior lab manager and research technician in environmental chemistry. Martha has supported many research projects from a technical, analytical and, more recently, from a management perspective, after re-training as project manager in 2021. Notable projects focused on reuse of waste soil, carbon storage in saltmarsh habitats and sustainable fisheries management.

Martha joined the University’s Marine Institute in 2023, where she develops and manages workstreams that help to champion and deliver on the Institute’s strategic priorities, supporting academics and research centres across the marine portfolio.

Martha has been a member of DWT’s Board of Trustees since April 2024.

Anna Harrison
Since graduating from the University of Southampton, Anna has combined her academic background in Biology & Marine Biology with a drive to help more people access nature and careers in conservation.

Anna has previously worked for the Field Studies Council in the South Hams, delivering curriculum-led fieldwork and creating specialist youth courses in Marine Science and Zoology. She now works for National Trust as Nature Engagement Officer at Killerton, a role created to lead community involvement in nature recovery across the estate’s 6,500 acres of East Devon countryside. Her work focuses on building partnerships, supporting local people to get involved with conservation and helping to make nature a part of everyday life for more communities.

Alongside past voluntary roles in journalism, wildlife conservation and eco-tourism, Anna’s career has been focussed on creating opportunities for those who may not otherwise see themselves reflected in the conservation sector. She also believes that conservation is strongest when organisations work together and when local communities are actively involved in caring for the places around them.

Although her day job is largely on dry land (or floodplains), Anna’s passion for the ocean continues to drive her work and fills her free time, as an avid sea swimmer and rock-pooler. Coastal visits are often accompanied by a four-legged friend as Anna also volunteers as a fosterer for Guide Dogs.

Anna became a member of the Board of Trustees in April 2026.

Sara Papworth

Sara is a qualified accountant with a varied career background, including Royal Mail, Devon & Cornwall Police and the education and charity sectors. She was Director of Finance & Resources at Bicton College and subsequently Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education until retiring in November 2020, after overseeing the successful relocation of the charity to new facilities in Exmouth.  She has extensive experience of corporate services management and also served as a Trustee of the Exeter Northcott Theatre.

A proud Devonian, she is passionate about protecting the natural beauty of the county. Member of DWT Board since April 2021

Koy Thomson

Koy trained as an ecologist, specialising in upland blanket bogs and tropical forests. His career spanned: citizen science; heading the Friends of the Earth Rainforest Campaign; sustainable development policy action as Assistant Director at the International Institute for Environment and Development; everything from humanitarian response to food rights as International Director of Policy at ActionAid International; urban sustainability as CEO of the London Cycling Campaign – when he was named as one of the 100 most influential Londoners; and supporting education and building schools in war zones. He was a special advisor at the UN Development Programme and coordinated the UK NGO input at the 1992 Earth Summit. He has been a Chair and Trustee of many UK and international NGOs.

Many of his Thai family are social and environmental activists, and he married into a Dartmoor farming family. He teaches yoga and assists in teacher training.

Koy has been a member of DWT’s Board of Trustees since April 2024.

Wendy Walford
Wendy Walford is Head of Climate & Nature at Legal & General, a UK leading financial services group and major global investor. In this role, she drives integration of environmental risks into financial decision-making.

Wendy brings over two decades of insurance experience and deep technical expertise to advocate for policy frameworks that unlock private finance for climate and nature solutions. She co-leads policy initiatives for both the NZAOA and the Sustainability Board of the UK’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). She works to support the development of credible, long-term regulatory signals that give investors the confidence to back solutions with real-world impact.

Wendy became a member of the Board of Trustees in April 2026.

Abigail Wilkin
Abi Wilkin is a Net Zero Consultant at Global City Futures, a B Corp consultancy that supports public sector clients to deliver net zero and place-based decarbonisation. Prior to this she studied Environmental Science at The Open University, specialising in topics such as renewable energy and freshwater biodiversity.

Abi has a lifelong love of nature and being in the great outdoors, alongside a strong history of involvement with the Wildlife Trusts. She grew up in the Midlands, where she was a Young Adult Ambassador for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and served for over four years as the youngest-ever trustee for Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. This experience has given her a deep understanding of, and commitment to, the wider Wildlife Trusts' movement and mission.

She also brings broader experience from across the conservation and sustainability sectors, including being a volunteer guide at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation in Scotland, and a Youth Public Speaker for Greenpeace UK.

After relocating to Devon in 2025, Abi discovered the rich and diverse nature that flourishes in its landscapes. She is delighted to be able to call this unique place home, and is passionate about protecting it for generations to come.

Abi became a member of the Board of Trustees in April 2026.

Annie Wills
Annie is a qualified solicitor with a particular interest in utilising agricultural land for nature recovery and natural capital. Annie works for a national conservation charity focusing mainly on rewilding, biodiversity net gain projects and conservation covenants.

Annie grew up in Devon and loves nothing more than spending time on the beach and running in the great outdoors.

Annie became a member of DWT’s Board of Trustees in April 2026.