After an unprecedented engagement from the membership, the candidates recommended by the existing members of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust board were elected.
We would like to thank everybody who got involved. Not just those who voted for the candidates we believed were best to represent the Trust but everyone who took the time to read through the curriculum vitae and make an informed decision. Mr Hatchwell was originally elected with three votes, but this time, earned 749, a much more serious engagement.
While you may have heard that our group and We Love The Zoo were attacking the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, nothing could be further from the truth. It is our genuine love for this organisation which pushed us to try to fight what we saw as a defective management. We have now been promised a new era and we owe to the renewed leadership the chance to prove themselves. We wish them the best.
You may have heard several times that if you disagreed with the trustees you were not welcome as a member. Please don’t take this verbatim as your membership supports the perennial mission of saving species from extinction and the current role holders are temporary. They will change, eventually, but the mission will not.
Quentin Bloxam
My extensive experience working for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust makes me well placed to be a member of the Board.
45 years dedicated to the conservation philosophy developed by the founder the late Gerald Durrell qualifies me to provide insight and overview on all aspects of animal management to include enclosure design and advise on species selection. In addition to provide advice on collection planning at the zoo. I am experienced in strategic planning and co facilitated Action Plans for the Grand Cayman blue rock iguana and the Jamaican rock iguana. And participated in the recovery plan for the Mallorca midwife toad hosted in Jersey. Also my field experience would enable me to provide insight and advice on existing and future overseas field programs.
Living on island provides me with an understanding of the sensitivities of Jersey I can visit the zoo on a regular basis.
Paul Masterton
As a former Durrell CEO, I have direct experience and deep respect for the Trust and understand the unique position Durrell holds in Jersey and overseas.
Currently, I hold non-executive positions in companies and charities, including as a Highlands College governor. In my executive career, I led companies in Europe, America and Asia and believe that a healthy culture is essential for an organisation to succeed. Key to this is honest, candid discussion and achieving results with appropriate behaviours.
The future success of Durrell requires effective board oversight, with Trustees committed to open communication and who understand their responsibility and accountability to Durrell stakeholders – staff, members and supporters, visitors, partners and communities around the world and, critically, the animals in the care of the Trust.
As a Trustee I will dedicate my experience to help guide Durrell so that it can again be a trusted, beacon of hope for wildlife.
Dr Howell Glyn Young
I’ve had the privilege of working 40 years at Durrell before retirement in 2023. Upholding the principles and legacy of Gerald Durrell by saving birds from extinction was always my priority.
I worked in animal and conservation departments at Jersey Zoo and concurrently achieved an MSc and PhD, with Trust support. Durrell facilitated, financially and logistically, 30+ overseas field trips and visits to Trust field programmes in India, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comores, The Caribbean and Galápagos.
I conceived and managed Durrell projects in Madagascar (including pochard rescue), Galápagos and Jersey (including chough reintroduction) personally raising £714,000 including three Darwin Initiative grants. I am globally recognised by my peers as an expert in bird conservation and am currently chair of the IUCN Threatened Waterfowl Specialist Group. I have now a vast network of contacts worldwide and am a respected figure in Jersey conservation. I am widely published in technical and popular publications.
John Miskelly
Meeting Gerald Durrell and the baby gorilla Assumbo as a child has led to a lifelong relationship with Jersey and a huge passion for the Zoo.
I’m a Chartered Accountant, with over 30 years’ experience at board level, as well as working extensively as a non-executive director, trustee and treasurer with many charities, both large and small. My expertise includes strategic reviews, corporate governance and forensic accounting. I was previously a Trustee of Durrell (2008-2014), chairing both Audit and Governance Committees, before becoming a Director of Durrell UK.
Durrell needs to refocus on its core values, demonstrating transparency, integrity and accountability to the Members and other stakeholders, something I believe that the current Board has been unable to provide.
Therefore, by voting for me, I’m giving you my personal commitment to offer my experience, judgement, time and professionalism, for the benefit of Durrell, to deliver real and lasting change.
Dr Ian Singleton OBE
A former zookeeper at Whipsnade and Edinburgh before joining Jersey Zoo in 1989. Left in 1996 to study wild orangutans in Sumatra for a PhD with DICE, University of Kent.
In 2001 established the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme for the Swiss PanEco Foundation. The SOCP today employs >250 people in 10 different field projects, active in all aspects of orangutan conservation from confiscation and reintroduction to scientific research and habitat protection. It is the only project in the world creating new viable wild great ape populations. More recently established the groundbreaking Orangutan Haven. Leading the way in promoting welfare, conservation, education and sustainable development it is a model for zoos of the future.
Ian has experience with 4 organisation boards and holds one honorary directorship. In 2017 he helped describe the new Tapanuli orangutan species to science and in 2020 was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II.
Cillian Lohan
I worked at Durrell from 2000 to 2005 having graduated from university with a B.Sc and M.Sc. I have over a decade of experience in international diplomacy. My expertise is in building consensus, hosting dialogue, bringing stakeholders together so all voices are heard and resolving conflict with practical solutions.
I have served as Chairperson for a number of international bodies through my appointment as an expert to an EU institution for Civil Society (EESC). I am a member of EU delegation to United Nations agreements such a Climate COP, Biodiversity COP, High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals.
My board experience includes numerous board positions, including Chairing Irish Environmental Network for 4 years. I am CEO of Green Economy Foundation where I have overseen extensive practical projects from planting over 2 million trees in Ireland to establishing a Wildlife Park in Tobago.
Kiley Henley
The issues we saw in the press in the last year were due to governance oversights and were compounded by not listening to employees and possibly, a lack of courage in the boardroom. When I was Durrell’s HR Director, 99% of the employees were the most knowledgeable and committed people I have worked with. They live the aim of Saving Species from Extinction and need a board that protects the trust so that work can continue.
As a trustee with previous board experience, I would have the knowledge to ask difficult questions and offer support and guidance for improvements. Durrell needs conservation experts on the board and it also needs people who have board experience, a knowledge of legislation and also moral courage. My professional experience, my Masters in HR and Institute of Directors qualifications and standing up at the EGM in 2024 show that I have all of these
Gregory Guida
Ex Home Affairs Minister, Assistant Minister for the Environment and member or chair of 20 different boards and committees, Gregory helped deliver the Wildlife Law, Island Plan and Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
A multinational businessman educated in France who worked in seven countries in domains as diverse as wine-making and online education, he decided to turn his hobby of wildlife photography into a career by attending the Durrell Summer School in 2004. He then worked closely with the DWCT both at the Jersey Zoo and with their overseas projects to illustrate hundreds of publications for clients around the world. He also participated in conservation work in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Argentina and still does so in Jersey.
Now enjoying his retirement from politics, Gregory is managing his companies and furthering his interests in science and ecology by helping Jersey Marine Conservation, the Jersey Bat Group and other organisations.