Vicky McNeil
Co-founder and Director of WorkingAbroad
Vicky has a strong interest in travelling and visiting projects all over the world – her travels have taken her all across Africa, Asia and the Americas from the deep jungles of Malaysia and Ecuador, to the deserts of Namibia and India, from the dolphins and whales in Croatia and South Africa to the coral reefs and sea turtles in Mauritius and Costa Rica. Vicky is a keen listener and an excellent advisor to all those who have questions about volunteering abroad, from gap year students and University groups up to family programmes and everything in between. She draws inspiration from wildlife photography, world music and culture, and her two daughters Chloe and Rosie!
A graduate from Durham University, UK, in Social Sciences and a TEFL qualified teacher, she has spent over 20 years travelling and working with volunteer organisations worldwide. Photographs from some of her travels can be seen here: http://www.vickykornevall.com
Email: victoria.mcneil@workingabroad.com
Andreas Kornevall
Co-Founder and Director of WorkingAbroad
Andreas Kornevall is the co-Founder of WorkingAbroad. He also founded the School Tree Nursery initiative in the UK and is currently the Director of Operations for the Earth Restoration Service Charity and an ecological activist and campaigner for the Restore the Earth Project. He also co-founded the Life Cairn memorial – a memorial for species rendered extinct at human hands.
His ecological work has won him recognition and endorsements from actress Joanna Lumley, HRH Prince of Wales and the “elders group” set up by musician Peter Gabriel. A graduate in Public Relations and Communications (BPR) from Geneva, Switzerland, he has spent over twenty years working with volunteer programmes in the ecological, cultural and social sectors; collaborating across all the continents.
He is also a prize-winning writer and storyteller, please contact: andreas.kornevall@workingabroad.com
He runs his own website under www.kornevall.com
David J Johnston
Marketing and Communications Manager
David J Johnston is a devoted conservationist and sustainable business entrepreneur with extensive experience in tropical forest conservation, particularly in the Peruvian Amazon. Through his Peruvian non-profit, co-founded in 2013, David played a key role in establishing the Las Piedras Conservation Corridor and the Las Piedras Amazon Center.
Since January 2021, he has been a important member of the WorkingAbroad family, managing marketing and communications to connect dedicated volunteers with non-profit and community-based projects in over 30 countries. In this capacity, David helps to heighten awareness of conservation issues and champion ethical volunteering.
Alongside his work at WorkingAbroad, David oversees communications for the Sustainable Business and Finance team at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and serves as an executive board member at Junglekeepers Peru, where he focuses on Conservation Enterprise and helps foster sustainable community development.
Email: dave@workingabroad.com
Jack Digman
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Alongside WorkingAbroad, Jack is a full-time Marine Wildlife Conservation professional in the English government. He has a passion for the marine environment and its conservation. Jack has joined our Blue Lagoon project in Mauritius, our Ocean Spirits and Reef Buddy Grenada projects and the dolphin research project in Portugal. Jack initially joined us as an intern with WorkingAbroad for 2 years and has been our Marketing & Communications Assistant since 2021, running our social media accounts and managing our wonderful cohort of blog writers.
Email: jack@workingabroad.com
Tyler Brooks
Digital Marketing
Tyler has spent most of his life travelling, visiting 15 countries by the time he was 15 years old. From Barbados to Egypt, LA to the Dominican Republic, always finding reasons to go back. His first experience in rescuing turtles came on Christmas Day when he was 13, on holiday in Grenada. Waking up and seeing them wandering the beach, lost, and helping them back to sea, was simply incredible. Tyler joined our Sea Turtle Programme in Greece in 2020 as a volunteer and his enthusiasm and passion for this work has now enabled him to join the WorkingAbroad team helping us with his Digital Marketing skills.
Charlotte Laursen
Volunteer Consultant
A graduate in International Relations and European politics with experience in research and organisational work in various political and organisational environments. Charlotte is a keen traveller and has been engaged in humanitarian and development projects in Peru, Brazil and Ghana. She started out as a voluntary blogger in 2014 and then joined our team in early 2017 as a Volunteer Coordinator to September 2021, after which she is staying with us on a volunteer consultant basis whilst pursuing other career options.
WorkingAbroad Blog Writers
We also have a team of talented writers who contribute articles to the WorkingAbroad Blog, on issues ranging from the environment, wildlife, travel, culture, to international development and much more. Interested in writing for us? Feel free to get in touch.
Emily Bowen
Eternally curious about the natural world and passionate about sharing its wonders, Emily aims to inspire awe and the desire to protect our planet and its incredible inhabitants through her writing. After graduating from a degree in Biological Sciences, she discovered a love for travelling and a passion for science communication, establishing her blog in 2018. Currently working as a Communications Officer at the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Emily is pursuing a career in nature-focused and scientific journalism and hopes to make positive contributions for wildlife and nature conservation.
Gemma Howard-Vyse
Gemma recently graduated in Classics from the University of Edinburgh and has a love of all things literary, classical, philosophical and ancient. She has a natural affinity with nature and feels most at home in the wilderness, up a tree or in the sea. She aspires to be an editor, specialising in sustainability and conservation, and to write about travelling, wildlife and the environment. Gemma hopes to return to where she was born in South Africa to spread awareness about the importance of conservation and environmental education.
Issy Macdonald
Issy is a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh where she studied International Relations. Having had many travel plans cancelled over the past couple of years she’s now planning to travel for the next few years, working abroad as much as possible. Issy’s travel plans are mostly dictated by where the swell is good for a surf taking her to California first, then Australia. As she tries to avoid flying where possible to keep her carbon footprint low, she’s hoping to use her sailing experience to do some ocean crossings, as well as road tripping on coaches and taking trains. She will be writing a blog about her travels, surfing, food and everything that inspires her along the way.
Edward Forman
Edward is currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Geoscience at Durham University. While studying he acts as treasurer for the university’s Conservation Society and helps to run their Facebook page. He is passionate about wildlife and in particular
the often-overlooked role of insects. After reading about the harmful impacts we are having on the environment, he is now enthusiastic about decarbonisation and sustainability. He has previously written for environmentally minded blogs on issues such as lithium extraction and biodiversity loss.
Harry Donnelly
Harry recently graduated from the University of Kent where he studied wildlife conservation and is soon to pursue an MSc in biodiversity conservation. Harry is most at home in the tropical rainforests, whether that be in the Amazon or Madagascar where he enjoys living alongside wildlife, especially catching snakes! He has organised and worked on various conservation research projects abroad, including setting up camera trap projects on the Malayan peninsula and analysing data for NGOs in Madagascar and aspires to work in tropical mammal/reptile research and education. Harry also enjoys wildlife photography and filmmaking where he showcases his videos and pictures on his YouTube and Instagram platform: ‘Wild Bytes’. Harry was lucky enough to join one of our programmes in the Peruvian Amazon before the pandemic and strongly believes in the need for education and inspiration that volunteering projects can provide to aspiring conservationists and those hoping to work in sustainability.
Lucy Gordon
Lucy is a compassionate writer, having worked across the public sector for the last four years telling stories of change and transformation. With an enthusiasm for sharing powerful narratives of community bonds and sustainability innovation, she’s a keen traveller. Connections with family living all across the globe, she’s always looking for the next international trip and the stories that wait there to be uncovered.
Anna Juliet Stephens
Anna has spent over two years travelling South America, where she fell in love with the continent’s long coasts and vibrant cultures. She’s a passionate surfer and follows the trail of surfing and Spanish on her trips abroad. Whilst studying for an MA in Anthropology of Development, Anna spent time living and working in the Peruvian Amazon. She stayed with a remote indigenous community to learn more traditional ecological knowledge, her subject of interest. Anna is now pursuing a career in journalism and seeks to channel her creativity through articles and stories.
Sophie Knaus
Sophie is a 25-year-old editor in the content marketing niche, who has a big passion for all things creative. During the pandemic, she has discovered a new love for the great outdoors, and nature and has become an avid birdwatcher. She enjoys educating herself and others about wildlife and sustainability causes.
Tamsin Appleton
Tamsin is an Anthropology and International Relations graduate with a passion for sustainable travel and a deep love for nature. Living in different locations worldwide, from Sydney to Taipei to Valencia, ignited her appreciation for experiencing different cultures and ways of life. Currently, she works as a freelance copywriter, often focusing on travel, tourism, and conservation. She enjoys sharing alternative narratives and perspectives through her writing.
Barbora Vaclavova
Barbora is a Brighton-based journalist with Slovak roots. She is passionate about the environment, exploring different cultures and perspectives, and living sustainably. Having studied Journalism with English language in Portsmouth, she currently works as a reporter for letsrecycle.com. Apart from daily news from the recycling world and writing about nature conservation, she likes to write features delving into social and cultural issues, more reflective personal pieces and short stories. When she’s not writing, she’s probably reading, swimming in the sea or daydreaming about her next trip.
Charlotte Gager
Charlotte is a 22-year-old journalism student in Portsmouth with an interest in environmental news and travel. When she isn’t studying for her degree, Charlotte loves to explore wildlife and feel grounded in nature. Travelling the world and discovering different cultures is also an important part of her life. She believes that writing about environmental issues and the beauty of wildlife can make a positive difference in society, helping people become more educated and value the importance of sustainability. One of her goals for the future is to be able to work as a journalist in different countries and write meaningful pieces about society, culture and biodiversity.