Senior Management Team
Kathy Wormald, Chief Executive Officer
Kathy joined Froglife in 2007, after nearly 20 years in the NGO sector. She has a background in accountancy and management and her broad range of experience includes poverty relief, human rights, environment and conservation; Kathy has been a trustee for the Pesticides Action Network Europe, the Women’s Environment Network and the Bhopal Medical Appeal.
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Jenny Tse-Leon, Head of Conservation & Impact
Jenny joined Froglife in 2014 and works as the Head of Conservation & Impact. She is responsible for our reserves, citizen science projects (such as Toads on Roads and Garden Wildlife Health), the work we do to evaluate the impact of our projects and representing Froglife on policy matters at a Westminster level. She also leads Froglife’s Communications. Her expertise is in engaging people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with nature conservation.
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She feels that engaging people from all walks of life, especially those that wouldn’t normally take part, is critical for conservation in the long-term.
Sheila Gundry, Head of Operations
Sheila joined Froglife in September 2017 as Development Manager for Education, Learning and Communications and in 2021 took over as Head of Operations.
Reporting to the CEO she oversees Froglife’s projects and manages the majority of the staff across the organisation.
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She is a qualified secondary school teacher and is particularly interested in active, hands on learning techniques. Outside work she is often to be found exploring wild places and having adventures in the natural world.
Andrew Smart, Head of Science & Research
Andrew joined us in May 2023 after 25 years of working in Higher Education, teaching zoology and conservation. He worked on the conservation of loggerhead and green turtles in the Mediterranean in the 1980s and great crested newts and common toads on the Avon levels in the ‘90s.
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Moving to Cornwall has limited his work on great crested newts, but Andrew has carried on working on palmate newts and freshwater invasive species and has been involved in lizard surveys on the Cornwall Coast Path.
Peterborough Team
Clare Middleton, Reserve Warden & Learning Officer
Clare joined Froglife in 2022 as the Learning Officer for the Green Pathways Project in Peterborough and was successful in getting the Reserve Warden and Transforming Lives Trainer role from July 2023.
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The best places to find Clare in her spare time are out and about nature spotting, in her garden growing veg or on the riverbank fishing.
Hannah Keeley, Project Manager
Hannah joined Froglife in June 2025 to project manage the delivery of Peterborough’s ‘Green Talent’ project.
She has a background in project management, community engagement, outdoor education, and volunteer management and development. Most recently, she managed Heritage Fund projects at Nene Park, including Moments with Trees and the development phase of Your Community Greenspace.
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Outside of work, Hannah enjoys exploring woodlands with her border collie, growing vegetables, and cooking healthy dishes with home-grown produce. She also loves attending live music events across a variety of genres.
Hannah enjoys meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and travelling both within and outside the UK.
Rukkaya Nasser, Placement
Rukkaya joined Froglife in September 2025 as a trainee for the Green Talent Project based in Peterborough. She is currently taking a year out of education and hopes this experience will help her decide what to pursue in the future.
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She hopes working on the Green Talent Project will be another way she can help make the Earth a little greener.
Noel Ellis, Placement
Noel joined Froglife as a placement on the Green Talent Project in September 2025. He has a passion for wildlife research and conservation, especially where it intersects with human impacts and effects.
He has worked as a research officer for conservation in Jamaica, and has volunteered with research, monitoring, and habitat management activities in the UK and overseas.
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In his spare time (when not learning more about wildlife), Noel enjoys physical activity whether jogging, cycling, playing squash, or working out at the gym.
Isla Niamh, Placement
Bringing creativity, resilience, and care into conservation, protecting species while telling the stories that keep them alive. Isla joined Froglife in September 2025 through the Green Talent programme, supporting habitats and the lives of local wildlife in all their forms, for a kinder tomorrow.
Isla’s path into conservation began with community volunteering, first participating and later supporting multiple youth-focused organisations. Through these experiences, she learned the importance of safe and inclusive spaces, a value she now carries into her work with wildlife.
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She approaches every moment in the field as a chance to deepen her understanding of the natural world and how people can live alongside it. What excites her most is not only the species she encounters, but the stories they tell about resilience, change, and belonging.
With a background in creative storytelling, through writing, film editing, and digital media – Isla brings a fresh perspective to conservation. She believes that creativity helps open doors, making it easier for people to see themselves as part of nature’s future.
Outside Froglife, Isla enjoys exploring the unknown, filmmaking, and finding quiet moments where science and imagination overlap.
Jesse Ashman, Placement
Jesse has a background in the LGBT+ sector including working for Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and The Kite Trust.
He’s also previously worked as a Cycle Taxi Pilot for BikeWorks and as director of community engagement at The Outside Project – the UK’s first emergency homeless shelter for LGBTIQ+ people.
He also has a master’s degree in Sexual Dissidence and is a published author on topics relating to trans inclusion.
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Jesse is hoping to learn more on the placement about amphibians, reptiles and supporting his local area. Outside of work Jesse likes to cycle and has two cats called Stan and Ollie.
Lana Ishmukhametova, Placement
Lana joined Froglife in September 2025 as a placement (trainee) on the Peterborough Green Talent project. With a background in the Arts, she previously worked as a photographer, journalist, and content editor, developing communication skills and a passion for storytelling. She brings this experience to her conservation work, along with a deep commitment to equality, sustainability and people-centered conservation.
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She has also gained hands-on experience from working as a zookeeper, through volunteering at animal rescue shelters, and during a wildlife rescue and release internship in the Amazon rainforest.
Lana is especially passionate about combining her ecological knowledge with her communication skills, making nature more approachable and engaging for the public, and strengthening connections between people and wildlife.
She lives in the countryside with her two cats and two dogs, and in her spare time enjoys photography, reading, gardening, travelling, and long walks in the woods with her dogs.
Andrew Wood, Placement
Andrew joined Froglife as a volunteer in 2024 and became part of the Green Talent Project in Peterborough in September 2025.
Andrew has grown up in London, lived in Singapore, enjoys travelling and also has a passion for wildlife photography.
Having worked with young children as a primary school teacher, Andrew has always brought nature and wildlife into the classroom. He has tried to inspire his classes to engage with and look after wildlife, and their local environment. Andrew hopes to do the same throughout the Peterborough area and bring his passion for wildlife and the outdoors to as many people as possible!
London Team
Harry Forshaw, Project Manager
Harry joined Froglife in February 2024 to project manage delivery of the London Blue Chain. His previous experience sits within community engagement and youth work, volunteer management, and project management. Most recently, Harry worked for an East London youth service called Spotlight, as their Empowerment Lead, where his role helped to create opportunities for young people and older community members across Tower Hamlets.
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Outside of work, Harry enjoys running, cycling, birdwatching, collecting records and DJing.
Kat Richards, Trainee
Kat joined Froglife as a trainee on the London Blue Chain project in July 2025.
With a background in community engagement and volunteer coordination, she brings a strong interest in social and environmental justice to her work.
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She is passionate about creating spaces that benefit both people and wildlife and is motivated by the opportunity to help create and restore vital habitats for amphibians and reptiles while making them more accessible and welcoming to the communities that live alongside them.
Outside of work, Kat enjoys creating nature-inspired pottery, reading, and exploring woodlands.
Billy Ward, Trainee
Billy is a South London-based nature enthusiast who first got involved with Froglife as a volunteer in 2024 and is now a Trainee on the London Blue Chain Project.
With a background in media, spanning music, film, and fashion, he believes that creative approaches can help tackle conservation challenges.
Billy is passionate about connecting local communities with the green and blue spaces around them.
Diana Hernandez, Trainee
Diana joined Froglife in July 2025 as a trainee for the London Blue Chain project. She has a strong passion for wildlife conservation and a special interest in herpetology.
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Diana holds a BSc in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science from UWE Bristol. She is now excited to apply her knowledge in a practical setting, helping to protect amphibians in the South London area where she grew up. She is especially enthusiastic about sharing her passion for amphibians with the public and raising awareness about their ecological importance.
In her spare time, Diana enjoys travelling, hiking, and discovering new places, or simply relaxing at home with music and her two cats.
Rose Williams, Project Manager
Rose is a Brixton-based nature lover who first started with Froglife as a trainee on the London Blue Chain project. She now manages our Leaping Forward for Dementia project, also in London.
As a regular user of The London Green Chain (a network of footpaths linking green spaces in south east London), creating a wildlife corridor for reptiles and amphibians along the route was a dream come true!
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In her free time Rose can be found either in her garden growing veg, watching cricket, or out photographing birds in London.
Midlands Team
Christina Nijjar, Project Manager
Christina joined Froglife in September 2022 as the Coalface to Wildspace Project Manager. She is excited to be working on a new and innovative project in the Midlands- an area not previously worked in for Froglife!
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Her favourite reptile is the beautiful slow worm.
Scotland Team
Louise Smith, Development Officer
Louise joined the Froglife team in January 2017 and manages the Green Pathways project based in Glasgow.
After graduating in 2015 with an MSc in Applied Marine and Fisheries Ecology she had been volunteering with several different conservation charities near Glasgow to increase her land-based conservation experience.
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Somerset Team
Zak Mather-Gratton, Project Officer
Zak joined Froglife in January 2020 as Project Officer on the Somerset Green Pathways for Life project. He has a BSc in Ecological Science from Edinburgh University, and an MSc in Sustainable Forest and Nature Management from Copenhagen University.
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Yorkshire Team
Darren Starkey, Operations Manager
Darren joined Froglife in February 2021 to manage the Yorkshire Tails Of Amphibian Discovery Project. In 2022 he took on the role of Operations Manager for our smaller projects.
Darren previously worked for the RSPB managing two large nature reserves in Yorkshire and before that, he worked for the Environment Agency in several conservation and project management roles. Darren is a graduate of York St John’s University where he gained a BSc Honours in Environmental Science.
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Andy Goff, Development Manager
Andy joined Froglife in 2025 as the Coalface to Wildspace Development Manager in Yorkshire. He has worked across the public, higher education and third sectors in roles that encourage people to become actively involved in their community especially in conservation and environmental projects.
In his spare time Andy can be found exploring the moors with dog Ted and growing fruit and vegetables on his allotment.
Anastasia Hinchcliffe, Trainee
Anastasia joined Froglife in March 2025, as a trainee for our Coalface to Wildspace Yorkshire project. She has always had a passion for conservation and a love of amphibians, finally deciding to pursue this path fully after over a decade in the healthcare sector. She is also currently studying for an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Leeds.
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In her spare time, she can be found growing fruit and veg, lurking by her garden pond (and those of anyone she knows) and caring for her various pets.
Boston Team
Rachel Burton, Project Manager
Rachel joined Froglife in July 2025 to lead the delivery of the Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridor: Boston and Beyond. With a background in business management and a strong foundation in community engagement, she blends strategic thinking with a genuine love for the natural world.
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Rachel is passionate about connecting people with wildlife and believes that empowering the next generation is key to long-term environmental change.
Finance and Office Team
Marie Homewood, Finance Manager
Marie started her working career in the pub trade until she had her children and decided to hang up the party shoes. Not knowing what she really wanted to do she went into the travel industry where she worked within Finance Departments and Aviation Admin.
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Ashlea Mawby, Communications Manager & Toads on Roads Coordinator
Ash was first involved with Froglife back in 2011 as a participant in the ‘Wildlife Ambassadors’ project and had been an enthusiastic volunteer thereafter, being awarded various accolades for her commitment. She joined the Froglife staff team in June 2016 as the Conservation Youth Worker Trainee for the Green Pathways project in Peterborough.
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Froglife Ecological Services
Kathy Wormald, Director
Further details in Senior Management Team section above.
James McAdie, Head of Operations
James joined Froglife in 2010 and managed many of our Peterborough-based projects. He is now our Head of Operations at Froglife Ecological Services’ (FES), working nation-wide creating and improving habitats for our species and educating budding ecologists through our popular great crested newt training courses.
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He enjoys being outside and getting his hands dirty and his role within Froglife enables him to do this on a daily basis. He loves the variety of his role within Froglife – working outdoors with people!
James is unsure which of our species is his favourite – he likes the natterjack toad, but then… he likes the adder too. But which is best? There’s only one way to find out…FIGHT!!!
Research Students, Interns & Volunteers
Josie McPherson, Intern
Josie is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, funded by the E4 Doctoral Training Partnership through the Natural Research Council.
Her research focuses on individual behaviour in frog species, including field trips to study poison frogs in French Guiana and Panama.
As part of her doctoral program, Josie is doing a internship with Froglife where thus far she has analysed amphibians use of under-road tunnels, produced briefings, and verified wildlife observations submitted through the DragonFinder app.
Emily Seccombe, PhD Student
Emily has joined the Froglife team in 2025, through her PhD position at the University of Reading. She is studying the temporal and spatial impacts of conservation actions on British reptiles and amphibians. A key component will be analysing ponds created by Froglife: revisiting sites, monitoring populations, and using the habitat data to understand which ponds have succeeded in the long-term and why. This research aims to improve the evidence base to guide conservation management for amphibians and reptiles.
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If you would like to find out about current job vacancies at Froglife, please click here
For information on Froglife’s Trustees click here