Photo: ARC Trustees and CEO with ARC Patron Lucy Cooke at Head Office opening.

Mr Jonathan Webster (Chairman)

Jonathan’s entire profesional career has been spent in the London Insurance Market working in both Lloyd’s and the Company Market environment. His interest in herpetology dates back to as far as he can remember and was nurtured by his father who was a keen herpetologist and founder member of the British Herpetological Society (BHS) which was established in 1947. In 1969 he was involved in the setting up of the Conservation Committee of the BHS and it was largely due to the successes achieved by this committee that led to the formation of the Herpetological Conservation Trust (HCT) in 1989 where he held the position of Vice Chairman and Treasurer.

In 2010 he was delighted to be asked to act as Chairman of HCT’s successor organisation namely the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC). He remains an active volunteer and is a regular attendee on ARC’s Sunday volunteer management tasks that are arranged on our Wealden nature reserves. In addition he is a member of the Balkan Herpetological Group and spends as much time as possible on field trips searching out and photographing European herpetofauna.

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Mr Howard Inns (Vice-Chairman)

Howard Inns’ lifelong interest in reptiles and amphibians resulted in his involvement in the early 1980s as an active member of the British Herptological Society’s Conservation Committee. Since then Howard has remained actively involved in practical conservation and monitoring of the species found in Britain, making contributions in the 1990s to the early development of standardised monitoring techniques for reptiles. He continues to monitor populations for rare reptiles and undertake practical conservation on the heaths of SW Surrey close to his home in Farnham

Howard’s professional career has been in the UK IT and Telecommunications industry where he has held a variety of senior marketing roles. In his role as Vice Chairman of ARC he is keen to bring some of his communications and management skills to the organisation. He writes the regular reptile and amphibian report in the naturalist’s journal British Wildlife and is always keen to bring important news about ARC’s work into the public eye.

Looking to the future Howard’s particular interest for ARC is not only to continue the excellent work the organisation is doing for the rare species but also to accelerate development of monitoring and conservation activity that will mitigate the worrying signs of decline in the more widespread species.

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Dr Roger Mitchell CBiol FSB (Treasurer)

Roger spent much of his working life in the Statutory Conservation Agencies including English Nature where he led the Species Recovery Programme for ten years. Since then he has been Chief Scientist of Earthwatch International and Environmental Director of the Arcadia Fund. He was formerly Vice-Chair of the Marine Conservation Society; Chair of Natura International, the Cambridge Conservation Forum and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative; and Co-Chief Editor of Aquatic Conservation and Conservation Evidence.

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Mrs Jan Clemons BSc (Hons), MSB

Jan has had a lifelong interest in native herpetofauna. In the 1990’s she was chair of the BHS Conservation Committee and honed her skills in surveying rare species such as the sand lizard, smooth snake and natterjack toad. Jan still maintains close links with BHS and is now their Conservation Officer and organises field trips to herpetological hotspots in the UK and has taken part in and led herpetological expeditions to Madagascar, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica and Cuba.

Jan was also involved in the establishment of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation of the UK (ARG UK) in 2005 and was chair for the first 5 years.  She is a strong supporter of Amphibian and Reptile Groups (ARGs) establishing and working with the Warwickshire group for the past 20 years, organising surveys and training, publicity for an events programme and safeguarding local sites of reptile and amphibian assemblages.

As an ARC Trustee Jan can offer not only her herpetological knowledge but experience in training and education, working with the voluntary sector, leading and organising conservation projects as well as her enthusiasm and support for the overarching strategy of ARC.

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Mr Jeremy Bruce, MSc, BA (Hons)

Jeremy has spent his career in London and US Investment Banking. He is currently a Managing Director at Societe Generale and previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Nomura.

Despite working in banking and finance, Jeremy has always been passionate about conservation, herpetology and amphibian conservation. He has been involved in local amphibian and reptile groups since 1986 and in 2006 he set up the Amphibian Conservation Research Trust to help fund individuals studying and researching amphibian conservation.

He is delighted to be a Trustee of ARC, and in particular to bringing an alternative viewpoint and ideas from outside the mainstream conservation world.

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Prof. Richard Griffiths

Richard Griffiths is Professor of Biological Conservation at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent, where he is currently Academic Head and Director of Graduate Studies. Richard has managed conservation projects in Britain, Europe, Latin America, and Madagascar. Research interests focus on the population ecology and conservation of threatened amphibians and reptiles. This includes long-term work on population changes and investigations into the effectiveness of translocations and development mitigation actions. Richard is a Fellow of the British Herpetological Society, Chair of the International Herpetological Committee of the World Congress of Herpetology and an Honorary International Conservation Research Fellow at Durrell Wildlife (Jersey). He is also a member of IUCN and an advisor and trustee to several international conservation organisations.

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Dr Robert Jehle

Robert Jehle is currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Salford. Robert has a childhood interest in amphibian conservation, and conducts research which often combines fieldwork with genetic approaches. He has been involved in studies on all three amphibian orders, covering wild populations from Europe, Africa, Central & South America, and Asia. In the UK, the main focus is devoted to conservation-relevant research on great crested newts and common toads. Robert is a former editor of the Herpetological Journal, and a current associate editor of Animal Conservation. Robert is also currently a member of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Herpetology, a member of the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, as well as a council member of the Tropical Biology Association.

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Prof. Trevor Beebee

Trevor Beebee is emeritus professor of molecular ecology at Sussex University. He has worked on the ecology and conservation of amphibians, especially natterjack toads, since the early 1970s and has written over 150 scientific papers and several books including, with Richard Griffiths, the latest, New Naturalist volume on British Amphibians and Reptiles. He has served as editor of the Herpetological Journal and as chair and president of the British Herpetological Society. He has been actively involved in amphibian conservation monitoring and management and initiated the Natterjack Toad Site Register, a database of all British natterjack toad populations. In 2009 he received the Peter Scott Memorial Award, for contributions to amphibian conservation, from the British Naturalist association.

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Mr David Elliott

David is Chief Executive Officer at The Future Forest Company and was previously CEO for seven years at the national charity, Trees for Cities.  His career has spanned the not-for-profit and commercial sectors and taken him to most continents.

Alongside the day job, he is a Commissioner for the London Sustainable Development Commission, a Trustee for the African Conservation Foundation and the Shark Trust, as well as an advisor for a number of green tech start-ups.

He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Biological Sciences from Edinburgh University and in Politics & International Relations from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Cambridge University.

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Ms. Rebecca Turner

Rebecca is a postgraduate researcher at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) where she is currently studying for a PhD in Biodiversity Management with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent. She is delighted to join the Board of Trustees at ARC having had a lifelong interest in herpetology and adoration of UK amphibians and reptiles. Rebecca’s expertise spans the ecological and social sciences. She has published studies on the ecology and conservation of UK amphibians and reptiles, and has contributed to assessments of UK environmental policy and biodiversity targets. Previously, she has worked in health and social care research settings. Rebecca is active within multiple local amphibian and reptile groups and is also a member of the British Ecological Society policy committee. She is looking forward to contributing ideas drawn from her experiences within and outside of conservation.