OUR TRUSTEES

Meet our Trustees: the amazing people who ensure we can continue to do what we do best! The trustees are all unpaid volunteers, making sure that WildLife Foundation abides by its charitable aims, works within the law and delivers its mission effectively.

Cheryl Williams MBE - Chief Executive Officer

Cheryl is one of the founder directors of Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP) and WildLife Foundation. Cheryl was formerly the Marketing Manager for Woburn Enterprises for 14 years (Woburn Safari Park, Woburn Abbey, the Inn at Woburn, Woburn Golf Club) before leaving to help found YWP. She has been involved for many years in the zoo community at the national and international levels. Cheryl has been instrumental in promoting YWP at both national and regional levels. She was a key figure in the Park’s mission to rescue 13 lions from a rundown Romanian Zoo in 2010 and 4 war-traumatised Ukrainian lions in 2024.

Chris Webster

After a successful army career Chris has been an operator and consultant in the Leisure sector since 1989 including GM of Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, CEO of Woburn Safari Park and CEO of Vision XS Ltd, an international strategic leisure consultancy. Chris has also chaired a sub-regional DMO, was a non- executive director on the East of England Tourist Board and was also a non-executive director at Visit England. Chris has been CEO of two not for profit organisations, Endeavour Training Ltd, a national educational charity and the Woburn Centre for Conservation and Education and was for many years a trustee of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Chris is presently Managing Director of his own leisure consultancy, WINK Associates Ltd and is Deputy Chairman of Yorkshire Wildlife Park Ltd. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.

Nathalie Wissink-Argilaga

Nathalie graduated from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) in 2004. She moved to the UK in 2005 completing a rotating internship in a referral hospital and then proceeding to complete her RCVS Certificate in Zoological Medicine and Diploma in Zoological Medicine with a specialty in reptiles whilst working in a mixed practice in Bedfordshire where she was the head of Exotics and Zoo. She became an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine in 2016.

Nathalie currently works as a first opinion and referral clinician in a large veterinary hospital in Oxfordshire and is also the vet for several zoological collections including being the Head Veterinarian at Woburn Safari Park since 2014.

Nathalie has been a Council member of the British Veterinary Zoological Society since 2017 and is currently their Senior Vice President. She is also involved with the British and Irish Association of Zoo and Aquaria in the capacity of Vet Advisor to the Mammal Working group. She regularly presents at national and international conferences and has authored multiple scientific papers and book chapters.

Ruth Redfern

Ruth is the Managing Director of RDZT Ltd, specialising in Executive Coaching and interim Director roles. Ruth brings a strong track record of delivery, innovation and success in organisational improvement, cultural and behavioural change and external relationship management. With over 40 years of experience, Ruth has held significant leadership roles, including leading a City Commission on Fairness, acting as Chief Executive of a charity, serving as a front bench councillor in the fourth largest metropolitan council, and working as an Executive Director in Local and Combined Authorities.

Ruth has been a trustee of the Wildlife Foundation for seven years and volunteers with a Community Foundation and a local food bank. Severely deaf herself, Ruth’s campaigning for equality and diversity has spanned the length of her career, with early roles in disability rights in the third sector. Ruth is a life fellow of the RSA, a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a professional facilitator and qualified coach, a published writer of both articles and poetry and a Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming.

John Bramah

Sheffield born, John become the 5th generation of his family to be metal working engineers in South Yorkshire. Following an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce, he worked as a senior production engineer for Lotus Cars. In 1973 h3 joined the American Black and Decker organisation and worked in operational management in the North East and London, as well as periods in India and West Africa. In 1981 he joined a German subsidiary of US Steel to commission a new vehicle production factory in South Wales. In 1985 he returned to Sheffield to take over a specialist supplier of heavy hydraulic equipment to the energy industry. He has been Chairman of several European funded South Yorkshire projects to encourage entrepreneurship and growth . He was Chairman of the executive committee to create Sheffield University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing and Rolls Royce. He has been Governor of a specialist engineering school, a school science ambassador for Sheffield Hallam University, and a Vice president of the Industrial Trust educational charity. He was Master of the Cutlers Company of Sheffield in 2003, and chaired their educational awards panel for 12 years. John is Chairman of a global investment company. He is a Trustee of several local charities , and was appointed as High Sheriff of South Yorkshire in 2014. John claims no nature conservation expertise , but he and his wife Julia, have long been supporters of “Compassion in world farming ”. Their homes have always been populated with a procession of dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, geese, rabbits, hamsters, goats and sheep.

Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas is an ex national newspaper Editor. He spent two decades working at the highest levels of the UK media working as Features Editor at the Daily Mirror and Assistant Editor there between 1994 and 1997 before being made Deputy Editor of the Sunday Mirror. He was then appointed Editor of The People in 2003 – a post he held for nearly five years. He now runs a successful media consultancy, TM MediaPR, based in Central London offering PR and marketing, crisis PR, and celebrity management. He was responsible for delivering the successful lion rescue for YWP which generated over £1m worth of coverage. TM Media is responsible for all the PR, marketing and fundraising for the Charity of St John and St Elizabeth, a private charitable hospital in London with all profits funding its onsite St John’s Hospice. Mark is on the management board of the hospital. Tm MediaPR has a huge variety of clients ranging from individuals to businesses, including in the property, finance and leisure sectors. For all he uses his journalistic, PR and marketing know how coupled with his media contacts and commercial experience to deliver for clients.

Neville WIlliams

Neville is one of the founder directors of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Neville started at Massey Ferguson as an engineering graduate trainee rising to be a Regional Sales Manager for part of the Middle East. He then moved to Woburn to work for himself but during his time there he helped the Safari Park with their elephant transportation work. Neville has been involved with British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) committees on the environment and sustainability and he is also a member of the International Union of Conservation and Nature (IUCN) Climate Change Group.or clients.