Chris grew up in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands. After obtaining a degree in Chemistry at Birmingham University he spent much of his youth travelling the world seeking out new experiences. He was an English language teacher, teacher trainer and author for many years and has visited over 40 countries.

Chris has been an active environmental campaigner and donor since the mid-1980s, when a trip to the Daintree Rainforest in Australia opened his eyes to the environmental destruction that was taking place around the world. Over the years he has supported a variety of ground-breaking conservation initiatives, such as training environmental lawyers in the Congo, establishing tree nurseries in Cameroon, setting up community mapping projects in Africa, developing real-time mobile technology to prevent illegal logging in Peru, and purchasing land to create wildlife corridors in threatened areas.

Chris and his wife, Adela, helped to establish Rainforest Trust UK in 2016 and now dedicate their time to spreading the message of rainforest conservation across Britain.

He is a keen nature photographer and enjoys feeding the birds, squirrels and foxes that visit their overgrown suburban garden.

Vicky joined Rainforest Trust UK in January 2020 after working in fundraising for four years.

Having grown up in Newcastle and graduated from the University of Manchester, Vicky started out as an intern in the fundraising team at international charity Hope for Children. Over the years she took on various roles, eventually managing the charity’s various public income streams. It was at Hope for Children that Vicky learned the importance of a community-centred approach to international development, and discovered that the Rainforest Trust’s approach to conservation is similarly driven by local communities and NGO partnerships.

Now fully aware of the threat posed by deforestation and climate change, Vicky joined Rainforest Trust UK in January 2020 and feels driven to be a part of the solution. By working for Rainforest Trust UK, she hopes to spread the message about Rainforest Trust’s effective approach to conservation and grow the charity in the UK, with the aim of saving more acres of rainforest and endangered species across the globe.

Haddon has always felt passionately about protecting the environment and has loved animals since he was a child. In 2011 Haddon obtained a degree in Product Design from Central Saint Martin’s College (UAL) before committing to work in the charity sector.

After gaining experience as a face-to-face fundraiser, the British Red Cross and Amnesty International, Haddon also worked as a Trust and Corporate Fundraising volunteer for Amnesty.

He then gained further experience with Médecins Sans Frontières, where he worked as the Major Gifts Stewardship Coordinator and Community Giving Administrator. Haddon joined Rainforest Trust UK in January 2020.

Born in London, Haddon grew up in the countryside of Wiltshire and Hampshire before returning to London to study. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, traveling, film and comedy.

Sonya grew up in Scotland and has always harboured an ambition to make a difference. This led to her choosing to study Psychology in Glasgow, where she obtained her BSc degree. Following a period of volunteering, she pursued a career in fundraising and worked for a children’s disability charity in Scotland, where she supported the Fundraising and Events Managers in a broad range of administrative, database, communications and fundraising activities. She joined Rainforest Trust UK in January 2020.

Sonya loves exploring and experiencing different cultures with her young daughter and husband. Her favourite travel destination is South East Asia, and one particular trek in Northern Vietnam opened her eyes to the devastating impact the tourism industry can have on the environment. This sparked an ambition to help protect the environment and Sonya is thrilled to be working for the Rainforest Trust and making a real difference.

Adela is ‘half Yorkshire and half Swedish’, and from an early age her maternal grandmother would take her for nature walks in the deep Scandinavian forests, which gave her a deep love of nature. She has an MA in Interactive Design, and has worked for the BBC, BAA and WSPA (now World Animal Protection). Adela makes short films and animations with an environmental message, which have been shown at national and international festivals and climate events, including the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Adela has been an active campaigner on a variety of environmental issues – particularly fracking, which threatens her native Yorkshire – and is deeply concerned about the impact of climate change on ecosystems and wildlife. She helped to establish Rainforest Trust UK in 2016 with her husband, Chris, and is interested in taking the conservation message to the younger generation and developing links with schools, colleges and universities in the UK.

Adela and Chris live in Catford, south-east London, and they enjoy watching the wildlife in their local parks as much as the amazing creatures that live in the world’s rainforests.

James has been an avid nature enthusiast since he could remember and is now dedicating his life to helping the natural world through a pragmatic social enterprise and his work with Rainforest Trust UK.

After studying at the University of Leeds, James went to work in London within one of the big 5 business consultancy groups before moving into finance as a global commodities portfolio manager.

In 2015, having witnessed the devastating effects of deforestation in Madagascar on the country's biodiversity and returning with a desire for a more meaningful life, James quit the rat race to start up a UK-based sustainable construction supply company called EnviroBuild.

As well as reducing the environmental impact of the construction industry, the company donates 10% of its profits every year to environmental charities, including Rainforest Trust UK. EnviroBuild is also a President's Level member of Rainforest Trust's Conservation Circle.

In his spare time James loves to scuba dive, sail, kite surf and go mountain biking. He became a Trustee of Rainforest Trust UK in February 2019.

A lifelong explorer, Mark Gruin has dedicated more than 30 years to international conservation and sustainable development. He has worked, lived and traveled in more than 40 countries, helping a wide range of local and international non-governmental organizations create, develop and implement sustainable development strategies that integrate preserving biodiversity and threatened habitats with creating economic and humanitarian benefits to local communities.

His career has been characterized by committed early involvement, working on the ground in early stages of difficult projects to find ways to quickly address immediate needs, while establishing a foundation for lasting and sustainable impact and increased local capacity. An inveterate wanderer and wonderer, working in remote places with little infrastructure and pressing needs has been the norm, including many projects throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean, the Russian Far East, sub-Saharan and the Horn of Africa, North America, Europe and the Caucasus.

Jonathan was raised in London and started his career as a copywriter, producing campaigns for organisations such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. He went on to become a journalist and has written on a wide range of subjects including agriculture, the environment and ethical business for a wide range of British newspapers and magazines including Country Life, Daily Mail, The Times, Telegraph and Vanity Fair. He has farmed in Australia and Ireland, and has founded several small businesses. His most recent book is Good Money: How to be an ethical entrepreneur. Over the years he has worked on a voluntary basis for a wide range of not-for-profits including the World Land Trust and Room to Read. Jonathan is a keen walker and dog lover.