How we are governed

James is Chair at Finance Earth, a social enterprise providing advisory and fund management services to make finance work for nature, climate and community. 

He is also Chair at Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Chair at Agricarbon (providing reliable, affordable, high-fidelity quantification of soil carbon). He is a Trustee at GreenThing and was previously a Trustee for the RSPB. James is a co-founder of #voicefortheplanet and PeopleForOurPlanet.org working with #TheRaceIsOn to secure a nature positive world by 2030. 

On the strategy and innovation side, James was previously a Director of FutureAgenda.org, an open-source think tank and advisory delivering foresight, strategy and innovation to some of the world’s leading organisations (e.g., Amazon, Mastercard, WWF, Which?). James led the Strategy practise. 

As an entrepreneur, James was a co-founder and Executive Director of Zopa, a disruptor and the world’s first P2P lender. Prior to this, James was Strategy Director at Egg during its high growth phase. He has also been an advisor to several innovative finance payers including Seedrs and LandBay. 

James holds an MBA from INSEAD and a 1st class honours degree from University College, London. James is a birdwatcher and was fortunate enough to be part of a 3-person team who re-discovered three species of bird considered by many to be extinct. 

Miranda is the Conservation & Land Manager for Essex & Suffolk Water, managing 2,900 ha to enhance its conservation value. She has been involved in conservation management for over 20 years and established the partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust at Lound Lakes. She spent most of her childhood holidays in east Suffolk with family and moved here in 2016 with her husband and horse (since joined by a dog!).

She feels privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the world and hopes to use her experience to support Suffolk Wildlife Trust in their critical work safeguarding Suffolk’s wildlife and countryside.

Sharon has enjoyed a long career in teaching and senior leadership roles in further and higher education, and policy and funding roles nationally with the Department for Education and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. She brings experience of Charity governance through her roles with the Food Museum in Stowmarket, Heritage Education Trust and Suffolk Family Carers.

Born in Suffolk, Sharon has lived in East Anglia all her life and is passionate about protecting the natural environment. With her partner, she manages her garden with and for wildlife and is actively involved in village environment initiatives.

Since 1981 Joan has run a diverse farming business at Alder Carr Farm, in partnership with her husband and family. The farm has always left space for nature with 10 acres of woodland, including a nature trail for the public, river frontage and a regular programme of tree planting and management.   Joan is a member of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and has participated in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, welcoming hundreds of children on school visits to discover how food is produced.

Joan has a keen interest in wildlife and conservation and how farming can co-exist with the natural world. She has been involved as a Council Member of the Suffolk Naturalists' Society having acted as Secretary, Chairman and currently Treasurer. With a Zoology degree and a Teaching Certificate Joan has also taught Rural Science and Biology at Secondary level and understands the need to engage children with wildlife at the earliest age to build a lifelong appreciation.

I started my association with SWT in 1985 as a habitat surveyor. Since then I have helped my local group committee, been a co-ordinator of magazine deliveries, a trustee (before children), now a volunteer conservation adviser and swift adviser and chair of Suffolk Bat Group. As a professional ecologist I can provide strategic advice and support to the Trust on the significant challenges facing Suffolk including infrastructure and planning. I understand the current pressures on the natural environment and hope to provide clear guidance on balancing resources - people as well as money - to deal effectively with these issues.

Stephanie has a decade of experience leading a range of successful environmental and sustainability initiatives. Her expertise lies in project management, behaviour change, communications, partnership working and local government.

Since graduating from University of East Anglia with a first-class honours degree in Environmental Sciences, Stephanie has demonstrated a professional and personal dedication to protecting the environment, conserving biodiversity, and educating and inspiring others to do the same.

Stephanie has volunteered with the Trust since 2011, delivering environmental education activities at Carlton Marshes and helping young people to connect with nature. She became a Trustee in 2018.  

Robyn is Area Director, England, Midlands and East for the National Lottery Heritage Fund and has a proven track record of delivering high quality outcomes, building and leading successful teams through change and engaging effectively with key stakeholders and community interest groups. Robyn brings strategic experience and enjoys initiating opportunities to support creative partnership networking, striving to support people and projects that positively change lives through social impact. Previously, Robyn was Board member of Orwell Housing and Care, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Governance Committee. 

Robyn has lived in Suffolk for over 30 years and, being a member of Suffolk Wildlife Trust for most of that time, understands how important nature and landscape is to the story of the county and how much it means to its people and the communities in which they live. 

Calum is a chartered accountant and a former partner of Deloitte LLP. He is currently non-executive director and audit committee chair of a number of public companies in the financial services sector and is the chairman of trustees of the Tarbat Historic Trust, a museum situated in the North of Scotland. He has been a member of Suffolk Wildlife Trust for over thirty years and assists his wife who runs a small farm dedicated to nature situated in Dunwich Forest near RSPB Minsmere and Dingle Marsh. The farm includes a range of habitats including, acid grassland, alder carr, riverbanks and woodland supporting a wide range of wildlife and has benefitted over many years from advice provided by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB. He has also recently taken up bee keeping. He hopes that his experience in finance combined with knowledge gained from running the farm as a nature reserve will assist the Trust meet its objectives in the coming years.

Tim is a regional surveyor for the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) providing advice to CLA members across nine counties on a wide variety of land management matters. A RICS-qualified rural surveyor with an MSc in Advanced Farm Management, Tim has practised as a land agent in various parts of the UK for over 35 years. 

One of Tim’s previous roles involved leading a team of professional land management advisers for National Trust properties in the region, including sites maintained for nature conservation such as Orford Ness, Blakeney Point, Northey Island and Hatfield Forest. He has a keen interest in the countryside and in environmental matters generally and, having lived near Bradfield Woods and Bull's Wood for thirteen years, Tim knows both reserves very well.