Budleigh beach during Great British Beach Clean GBBC 2017 Andrew Brown

Our team

We wouldn’t exist without our incredible supporters or our brilliant staff team all led by our Board of Trustees and Chief Executive who set our strategic goals and ensure we are run properly.

Our President

The former Prince of Wales

The former Prince of Wales has been our president for more than 30 years, playing an active role in our launch.

He was one of a group of forward-thinking people concerned about the state of our seas in the early 1970s, lending his support to the scientists and scuba divers who devised the Underwater Conservation Year 1977, and giving momentum to form what became the Marine Conservation Society.

Our Chief Executive – Sandy Luk

Our Chief Executive reports to the Chair of Trustees, and works with the Board and Senior Management Team to ensure that the Marine Conservation Society is run effectively and efficiently: doing all we can to help recover the health of our ocean.

Sandy Luk interviewed during Great British Beach Clean on Eastney Beach GBBC Billy Barraclough

Credit: Billy Barraclough

After completing a Masters in Environmental Law, Sandy began her career in the environmental, corporate and commercial departments of London City law firms. She later became a regulation and environmental law solicitor at Anglian Water and then worked for public interest organisations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, for many years.

Before joining the Marine Conservation Society, Sandy was Programmes Director at environmental law charity, ClientEarth, working on areas such as access to justice, biodiversity (including fisheries management, seafood sustainability, marine protected areas and whaling) and chemicals.

“I thrive on the challenge of using science and law as tools to bring about change and protect the marine environment.

I love that the Marine Conservation Society brings together deep expertise with hugely committed volunteers and members to protect the marine environment with minds and hearts!”

Our staff

Our staff share the same values and passion for our ocean. We have four departments all working together to achieve our goals:

Our Conservation team bring science and policy together, focusing on three areas of work: clean seas, ocean recovery and sustainable fisheries
Our Engagement and Communications team manages our supporter and public communications, campaigns, education programme, community and volunteer engagement, and social science
Our Fundraising team raises the vital income we need to invest in our mission
Our Finance and Resources team makes sure our supporters’ money is spent effectively and we have what we need to achieve our ambitious goals

Our science-based approach means our policies and programmes are based on evidence and are continually changing and improving. We stand up for what we believe in and do what is right, not what is easy.

We are committed to fairness, inclusion, representation and respect. To be successful, we must make sure everyone can claim their rights and fulfil their responsibilities to our ocean, so we can all benefit.

We benchmark our staff salaries with other charities to ensure our people are fairly paid for their work, while delivering value for money for our supporters. The bands of our top salaries are published in our annual impact report.

Our staff have different backgrounds, experience and skills. They are spread all over the country and we promote flexible working to ensure a good work/life balance for everyone.

It's been my pleasure and privilege to work with the team for over 25 years. The over-riding theme has never changed - complete dedication to the conservation of our seas, backed up by top-class scientific evidence – all still with a personal touch. I'm so proud of everything that has been achieved."
Ann Hunt, Enquiries Officer

Read our Equity, inclusion and diversity statement.