Lower Woods (c) Nathan Millar
AGM 2025 - Candidates for election
The following candidates are standing for election at the 2025 AGM:
Caroline is an experienced environmental leader, with a professional career of over 30 years working to improve the natural environment and empower people to enjoy and benefit from nature. For the past 10 years she worked as a Director for Natural England, government’s nature conservation advisors. She was responsible for their work on biodiversity and landscape, building partnerships with stakeholders and government to shape England’s environment framework, and deliver programmes to recover nature at scale. She has also worked extensively with Boards and Executive teams to ensure governance systems, people and diversity strategies are in place to enable organisations to perform at their best.
Caroline in a keen runner and lives in a small village in Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds National Landscape.
Caroline Cotterell
Caroline is an experienced environmental leader, with a professional career of over 30 years working to improve the natural environment and empower people to enjoy and benefit from nature. For 10 years she was a Director for Natural England, government’s nature conservation advisors, where she was responsible for their work on biodiversity and landscape, building partnerships with stakeholders and government to shape England’s environment framework, and delivering programmes to recover nature at scale. She has also worked extensively with Boards and Executive teams to put in place governance systems, people and diversity strategies that help organisations perform at their best. She was awarded a CBE in 2025 for services to the natural environment.
Caroline is a keen runner and lives in a small village in Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds National Landscape.
Why Caroline is standing for election:
“I’m standing for election as a Trustee of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust because I care deeply about bringing nature back and helping more people experience its benefits. A healthy natural world is vital for us all. Growing up in the suburbs of Wolverhampton, my love for the outdoors began on family trips to the Shropshire Hills. After studying environmental policy and working across the environmental sector, I moved to Gloucestershire some 20 years ago and now live between Cirencester and Stroud, with some of GWTs best reserves literally on my doorstep. Having worked alongside Wildlife Trusts throughout my career, I’ve seen their incredible impact for people and wildlife. I want to help us act bigger and bolder across Gloucestershire — restoring habitats at scale, bringing back lost species, and ensuring everyone, wherever they live, can enjoy a meaningful connection with nature. A thriving natural world should be part of everyday life for us all.
Paul Hooper
Paul's deep-rooted connection to Gloucestershire, where he and his family have lived all their lives, fuels his passion to support community-centric organisations that make a meaningful difference. Growing up in the Cotswolds, including time spent living on a farm, Paul was immersed in nature from an early age, particularly enjoying the beauty of kingfishers and dippers along the River Windrush. To this day, Paul is regularly outdoors, walking with his working cocker spaniel around Painswick or Haresfield Beacons or spending time on his allotment or in the garden.
Paul is a chartered accountant and in his career, prior to retirement, he applied strong commercial judgement consistently across varying complex businesses in different markets, together with an ability to manage the balance of risk and opportunity in highly regulated industries. He now spends the majority of his time giving back to communities in Gloucestershire by acting as a Trustee for a number of charitable organisations.
For Paul, the most critical skill for trustees is strategic thinking. It is vital to challenge organisations not to simply continue with what has been done historically or what is easiest, but to consider how they can drive real, sustainable change. Collaboration and partnership with others will be key to achieving this. Paul is genuinely excited about being a Trustee as it aligns perfectly with one of his personal goals - to make a difference in his community by connecting people with nature and together driving meaningful action.
Why Paul is standing for election:
“At the current time the number of significant challenges facing GWT requires a diverse set of experiences and thinking across the Board and I believe that I bring a different perspective to both the current Board and my fellow volunteers standing for election. I am genuinely excited about this opportunity with GWT. It aligns perfectly with one of my personal goals - to make a difference in my community, Gloucestershire, by connecting people with nature and together driving meaningful and sustainable change.”
Joshua Majhutiak
Josh is an Associate Partner at IBM, the multinational technology firm. He has over ten years of consulting experience, supporting financial services organisations on digital and sustainability transformation journeys.
Josh was born in Gloucestershire and grew up a stone’s throw away from our Ashleworth Ham Nature Reserve. He has recently moved from London to Cheltenham with his wife to start their family, hoping to provide them with the same experiences of the countryside that he had.
He has an appreciation for the challenges of competing priorities between nature and humans, including farming and housing development. In the role of trustee, he is eager to support the Trust's efforts in this area and help to further deepen the relationship between people and wildlife.
Why Josh is standing for election;
“I was born in Gloucestershire and grew up a stone’s throw away from GWT’s Ashleworth Ham Nature Reserve. I am passionate about further deepening the relationship between people and wildlife, whilst connecting my growing family to the local community. As an Associate Partner at IBM, the multinational technology firm, I bring a wealth of experience across project management, digital transformation and strategy. I feel that this provides me with unique skills and experiences that bring further diversity to the Board”.
Stephanie Wray
Dr Stephanie Wray has lived in Gloucestershire and been a member of GWT for over 30 years. She is a specialist in ecology, biodiversity and sustainable development, with 30 years’ experience in assessing the impacts of projects, policies and whole organisations on the natural environment. She has a PhD in Ecology and a Masters in Business Administration.
Stephanie has worked extensively in the planning and construction sectors, including acting as environmental and sustainability advisor to a number of major infrastructure projects including HS2, East-West Rail and the M6 Toll road. Since 2020 she has consulted on corporate-level issues in biodiversity and climate such as setting science-based targets, and developing nature strategies, most recently trading as Athene Consulting. Stephanie is a past President of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and is Chair of national wildlife charity The Mammal Society.
Why Stephanie is standing for election:
“Having lived here and enjoyed Gloucestershire’s wild places for over 30 years, I’m excited to stand for election to become a trustee of GWT. I hope that I can use my combination of skills in ecology and business to support the Trust”.