Sussex Wildlife Trust: New Chief Executive

From today, Chris Corrigan is the new Chief Executive of Sussex Wildlife Trust, to whom I wish a welcome, and also best wishes for the future, and many thanks for your work this last 4 years, to Tor Lawrence (blog), the outgoing Chief Executive.

I shall cut & paste below about this appointment from the Trust's website:

Chris is an experienced executive and has a long history in conservation, having held senior roles with RSPB and more recently at Birdwatch Ireland. Chris is a resident of Sussex and knows and respects the work the Trust does to protect and restore the natural environment.

Chris said,

"I am delighted to be joining such a strong and successful organisation as the Sussex Wildlife Trust. The current scale of the biodiversity and climate crises is unprecedented but all is not lost. Our job is to make the biggest possible difference for wildlife and provide hope. I have been hugely impressed by the wealth of talented and knowledgeable staff and volunteers and as a team I am confident we have the capability to make Sussex a better place for nature”

The Trustees and our staff team are looking forward to welcoming Chris to the Trust when he starts on 22 August.

New Chief Executive for Sussex Wildlife Trust

Following the retirement of Dr Tony Whitbread, who originally joined the Sussex Wildlife Trust as Head of Conservation in 1991, becoming Chief Executive 15 years later, a new Chief Executive has been appointed. Tony played a great role in that time as an advocate for conservation, published The Vision for the Wildlife of Sussex, played a leading role in establishing the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, promoted the need for the establishment of the South Downs National Park, acted as a Trustee of The Wildlife Trusts, and saw the membership of Sussex Wildlife Trust double to 30,000 during his tenure. A hard act to follow indeed...

Tor Lawrence

The newly appointed Chief Executive is Tor Lawrence, who grew up in Lewes, still lives in East Sussex, and has announced it as an "absolute honour to take over this important role from Tony." Tor's previous history includes senior management roles with London Wildlife Trust, East Sussex County Council, and more recently as South Downs National Park Authority Countryside Policy Manager for the Eastern Downs.  

My best wishes to Tony, and a warm welcome to Tor!

Photograph of Tor Lawrence from the website, with many thanks to Miles Davies.