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Meet the Coral Cay Conservation Team
Article Index
Meet the Coral Cay Conservation Team
Meet the Team - Cambodia
Meet the Team - Philippines
Meet the Team - Tobago
CCC Staff 'Wall of Fame'
Patrons



Name: David Bellamy OBE

Job Title: President

David Bellamy 2008 Professor David Bellamy OBE., BSc., PhD., Hon; FLS,. DSC.. DUniv., C.Biol., FIBiol., FRIN., is one of Britain's best-known and respected botanists. He is President, Patron and Trustee of numerous conservation and environmental organisations. His numerous appointments include:

President of; The Conservation Foundation; Durham, Surrey and Birmingham Wildlife Trusts; National Association for Environmental Education; British Naturalists Association; Conservation Volunteers of Ireland; Galapagos Conservation Trust; British Institute of Cleaning Science; Association of Master Thatchers; British Home and Holiday Parks Association; Camping and Caravanning Club Of Great Britain.

Vice President of; The British Trust of Conservation Volunteers; Fauna and Flora International; Marine Conservation Society; Australian Marine Conservation Society; Wild Trout Trust; Countrywide Holidays Association.

He is also Trustee of The Living Landscape Trust and Hon Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management.

Prof. Bellamy has received numerous national and international awards including; The Dutch Order of the Golden Ark, the U.N.E.P. Global 500 Award; The Duke of Edinburgh's Award for Underwater Research; BAFTA- Richard Dimbleby Award; BSAC Diver of The Year Award; RGS Busk Medal.

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Name: Peter Raines MBE BSc (Jt. Hons) FRGS FSB CBiol CGeog

Job Title: Founder & CEO

Peter Raines MBE in ChagosPete Raines is the founder and CEO of Coral Cay Conservation (CCC). Born of Anglo-Irish parents in West Africa, at an early age Pete developed a passion for wildlife, a passion that matured during his summers spent exploring the rock-pools of the shores of Ireland into a career in conservation. In 1982, Pete gained a Joint Honours Degree in Marine Biology and Biochemistry from the University College of Wales, Bangor, and went on to undertake post-graduate research at UCW Aberystwyth and at the University of London, during which time he founded CCC.

Pete has authored and co-authored over 300 scientific reports and publications, and has won numerous international awards and citations for his work in conservation. In 2004, Pete was awarded the MBE for his services to the protection of biodiversity.

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Name: Pete Faulkner

Job Title: Chairman and Hon. President

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Pete Faulkner, Chairman Pete originally joined Coral Cay as a volunteer in 1992 on the South Water Cay expedition in Belize. Since leaving the financial world of the City of London in 1996 he has travelled much of the world including CCC expeditions in Belize, Honduras, Indonesia, Fiji and the Philippines. He has been CCC Chairman since 2005. A PADI Master Instructor and keen amateur marine biologist he has extensively plagiarised the CCC Science training to author 2 PADI Distinctive Specialities on Coral ID, and probably still holds the CCC record for most species of algae collected on a single Caribbean dive! Pete currently lives in Tropical North Queensland where he operates a dive training and business consultancy operation with wife Ruth, presents a weekly reef awareness and conservation show and is a Trainer for Reef Check Australia. For more information, please go to www.conusdivetcs.com.au

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Name: Kai Schiefelbein FRGS

Job Title: Director Of Operations

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Kai Schiefelbein, Director of OperationsKai began his career in conservation as an intern with Coral Cay over 3 years ago. His internship in Expedition Management under James Sawyer took him past his first year with Coral Cay and served to establish in him a great desire to get out into the field and try his hand at some real conservation work. Kai then joined the CCC Philippines expedition, where he worked as Expedition Leader on both the Marine site and Forest site. He then went on to set up the Tobago Marine project before being asked to fill the big shoes of James Sawyer at the CCC Head Office. Originally from South Africa, Kai grew up around all things wild and has since developed a deep respect and passion for the natural world.

 

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Name: Jan-Willem van Bochove BSc MSc

Job Title: Head of Marine Science

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ImageJan-Willem was initially involved with CCC as Project Scientist and Expedition Leader for the Philippines and Egypt projects. Here, he was in charge of the survey program, organised local initiatives such as workshops and training programs in marine awareness and marine sanctuary monitoring, school visits, open days at the project base and counterpart training schemes to increase local capacity and general marine awareness. In June of 2006, Jan-Willem took on the role of Chief Technical Advisor. He is responsible for analysing the data produced by the teams of volunteer researchers in order to produce outputs and make recommendations for our in-country project partners, local governments and academic institutions.

Prior to joining CCC, Jan-Willem set up and conducted a short term monitoring program of biotic changes on an inter-tidal rock plateau on La Gomera, Canary Isl. and assessed the accuracy of marine survey methods as part of his masters degree program in Groningen, the Netherlands.

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Name: Aurangzaib Chawla ACCA

Job Title: Finance Manager

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Aurangzaib Chawla

Aurangzaib joined CCC as a Finance Assistant in February 2004 and was promoted to his current position in April 2005. Zaib is currently doing his MSc in International Accounting specialising in Corporate Governance and Strategic Financial Planning. He is already Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) and ACCA (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) qualified.

As Finance Manager, Zaib is responsible for all company accounts; preparing budgets for individual departments and also for CCC's project sites in the Philippines, Tobago and Cambodia.

When he's not number crunching Zaib likes to see smiles on our faces and never fails to adds a jester note to day-to-day happenings at CCC HQ.  He's the gum that stick us all together each day, the gum that you go home to find stuck to your brand new jacket!  ;0)  We love you Zaib!

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Name: Peter Rindi Mandara BaHons MSc 

Job Title: Strategic Marketing Manager

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Pete 'Tom Jones' Mandara, Education & PR CoordinatorLike so many of CCC’s staff, Pete M (not R or F) started with us as an intern in the Marketing and PR department. His internship in late 2007 was under another new addition to the Coral Cay team in HQ, Ms Cat Duval.  A couple of months later in early 2008, Pete was appointed the Education and PR Coordinator for the Jack Petchey Scholarship Programme, which built on a successful pilot programme in 2007, and has just seen the departure of 20 scholars off to the Philippines (05/08/08). After the unfortunate depart of Cat Duval, Pete was offered the PR and Communications Coordinator position which be accepted. 

After an intense, challenging and exciting course in Conservation and Tourism at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, in picturesque Kent, it clear to see why he wanted to work for CCC. His passion for conservation was born on the savannahs and coral systems of Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.

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Name: Sir Bruce D. MacPhail

Job Title: President of the CCC Trust

Sir Bruce D. MacPhailSir Bruce was Managing Director of P&O Steam Navigation Company from 1985 until his retirement in 2003. After retirement he continued in his role as Chairman of P&O Property Holdings, where he oversaw, on a part-time basis, the realisation of the Group's international property development portfolio. He retired from this position in 2005.

He received his B.A. in Mathematics from Oxford University and his M.B.A. from Harvard. He is currently a Barclay Fellow of Templeton College, Oxford (where he was Chairman of the Council from 1992-5) and is Chairman of the Business Advisory Forum of the Said Business School, Oxford. In 1991 he became a Trustee of Balliol College, Oxford. In 1992 he was appointed a Life Governor and Member of Council of Haileybury. Sir Bruce was a Governor of the Royal Ballet School from 1982 to 1998. In 1994 he was appointed Trustee of The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust.

He is a Chartered Accountant and is a non-executive director of Intelligent Engineering Ltd, Chelsfield Partners LLP and Scarborough Minerals Plc. He was knighted in 1992 for services to the shipping industry, and became President of Coral Cay Conservation Trust in 2003.

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Name: Professor Charles Sheppard (Department of Biological Sciences, Warwick University)

Job Title: Chairman of the Coral Cay Conservation Trust

Charles Sheppard, Chairman of the CCC TrustCharles is a truly accomplished and valued scientist in his own right. He has never shied away from speaking his mind and he continues to lead as a man who can get things done via influence within the scientific community, NGO's and governments alike, towards what are, common-sense, practical and achievable solutions for coral reef problems.

At Warwick University, Charles is the convenor of a research group interested in the Biology in a Climate Change, outputs include the recently published - The Biology of Coral Reefs (2009), Sheppard C.R.C.; Davy S.K. and Pilling G.M. Charles’ remit is global and he advises governments, NGOs and aid agencies on marine and coastal management. One of his many roles includes, tropical & marine environmental advisor for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Commissioner for UK Overseas Territories with a particular onus on the Chagos Archipelago. And our CEO and Founder, Peter Raines believes that “without Charles Sheppard, there would be far less understanding of the exceptional needs, science and nature of Chagos, and therefore most surely no involvement in it from Pew Environmental Group. Thankfully, because of people like Charles Sheppard, tremendous strides have been made in understanding the key role of Chagos in the Indian Ocean, which has led to moves towards greater and effective protection of this extraordinary site."

Other roles include: participant on Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change since 2002, Fellow of Linnean Society of London (elected 1998), advisor to Blue Ventures and Chief Editor of Marine Pollution Bulletin - the largest marine environmental science journal. 
 
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Name: Gerardo L. Ledesma

Job Title: Trustee

Gerardo LedesmaGerry is the founder of the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PRRCFI) and one of the founders of the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation, Inc.(NFEFI), non-government and not for profit organizations dedicated to the conservation of the forests, wildlife, and the coastal zones. He is also presently a trustee for the Foundation for the Philippine Environment, a grant giving organization with an endowment fund from a debt for nature swap.

 

 

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Name: Annie Leslie

Job Title: Trustee

Annie LeslieAnnie is currently employed as an Emergency Care Practitioner with the London Ambulance Service. Annie's involvement with CCC began in January 1993 as a volunteer to South Water Cay and Calabash Cay, Belize, returning to Calabash as Expedition Leader in June 1994. She was invited to lead the first expedition to Danjugan Island and spent time working in the CCC offices organising the expedition prior to her departure to the Philippines in June 1995. The pilot scheme on Danjugan lasted 4 months and was a huge success. Annie became a CCC Trustee in 1999 and continues to enjoy this role.

 

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Name: Diane 'Coral' Turner MSc MRSC

Job Title: IT Consultant

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Image First became involved with CCC in 1992 on the Isles of Scilly. After visiting the Belize project and then participating on marine expeditions in the Philippines and Fiji she became a CCC ambassador in 2005 promoting CCC around East Anglia. Aside from running her own business as a consultant in analytical chemistry she manages the IT for Coral Cay Conservation along with her husband Jake.

 

 

 

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Name: Gabriela Nieto

Job Title: Event and Social Media Coordinator

ImageGabriela (Gaby) joined CCC in January 2010 to work in the Marketing Department. Her two-month paid placement with CCC is thanks to the Vodafone ‘World of Difference’ initiative.

Gaby's love for all things marine began in her native Mexico and was further developed in Barcelona where she lived for 6 years. In her time before joining Coral Cay, Gaby has worked mainly in film & commercials production; a passion that helps her afford her other passion – diving! She has visited quite a few destinations in the Caribbean and South-East Asia, where she realised the importance of conservation and sustainable tourism - and now she plans to do something about it during her 2 months with CCC!

Gabriela arrived in the UK a few months ago and is looking forward to combine her experience and passion(s) to contribute to the preservation of our natural habitats...welcome to CCC Gaby! 

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 Name:  Nadia Vitlin

Job Title:  Science Assistant

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Image Nadia recently joined the CCC team as Jan's science intern, coming all the way from Australia.  Despite a lack of surfing skills, and having to live a good half hour from the nearest beach, she developed an early fascination for marine life exploring the coast of eastern Australia. This was further consolidated by a conservation-based trip to Madagascar in 2005, which was followed by a double degree in Science/Arts majoring in French, Spanish and obviously Marine Biology.

She is looking forward to the next six months with the CCC team, gaining knowledge and experience of off-site conservation management and the inner workings of cutting-edge NGOs!

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Name: Laura Slade

Job Title: Events Intern

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ImageLaura has recently joined the Coral Cay team as An Events Intern. She has just completed her undergraduate degree in Animal Conservation Science, BSc, at Cumbria University, and would now like to pursue a career in conservation, and has taken a particular interest in marine conservation.

Over the years she has taken part in a number of volunteer conservation projects taking her all over the world, from working with primates in Thailand to working to alleviate wildlife crime in India. Laura is looking forward to gaining valuable experience working in CCC’s head office whilst helping spreading the importance of conserving our coral reefs through attending events, and is looking forward to learning a lot from all of the other wonderful and knowledgeable staff.

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Name: Naomi Pennington

Job Title: PR and Marketing Assistant

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ImageNaomi has recently joined the team as PR and Marketing Intern, following a degree in Geography, BSc, at the University of Southampton. She was lucky enough to study the effects of tourism on sea turtles in Crete as her undergraduate dissertation, which started off a fascination for marine wildlife and conservation.

She hopes to gain inside experience of the workings of a conservation NGO, and fulfiil her dream of one day learning to dive at a CCC expedition site! 

 

 

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Name: Ulrike Schmetzer

Job Title: Operations Assistant

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ImageUlrike, joined CCC in end of June, but unlike other members of the team, she came with no diving or conservation experience. However, this didn't stop her from taking to the new environment like a fish to water. She finds the office atmosphere exciting and an interesting change to University life.

She studies English, Spanish and Psychology at the University of Mannheim in Germany in her ultimate year. Ulrike’s ultimate aim is to work for an NGO and be part of the noble cause. In this regard, Coral Cay grants her with her first real opportunity to learn about conservation, and an excellent starting platform with which to realise her career goals.

Working as Kai's operations assistant, she provides administrative assistance by manning the phones, dealing with clients and sorting out the paperwork. She looks forward to making the most of her time for the duration of her stay at CCC and hopes one day to visit one of the expedition sites.



 


 

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