LOGIN VOLUNTEER DONATE WHAT WE DO HOW TO HELP REQUEST HELP MEMBERS SHOP ABOUT WVS Contact Us History Core Team Video Gallery Acknowledgements Home / About us / The Core Team THE CORE TEAM Follow Luke on Twitter Chief Executive LUKE GAMBLE Luke Gamble is the founder and chief executive of WVS and Mission Rabies. Luke graduated from Bristol University in 1999 and then completed a clinical scholarship at Cambridge University 2001-2002 in large animal medicine and surgery, building experience in dealing with both wildlife and domestic animals. Luke works for WVS on a voluntary basis. He is the founding partner of Pilgrims Veterinary Practice, a 5 vet mixed practice in the New Forest, and a founding director of PetAir UK and PetAir SA. Luke was the star of a ten part series on Sky One entitled Vet Adventures and has published a couple of books about his veterinary career. Outside of work, Luke has attained a black belt in combat karate, competed in an ironman triathlon and completed the 152mile self supported footrace across the sahara desert (Marathon des Sables) in 2004 to raise money for WVS. Luke is married to Cordelia, also a vet, and together they have three children, Noah, Sheba and Gideon and share their home with a ridgeback called Angel, a couple of rabbits and the boss of the house - a rescue cat called Little Charlie! In 2010 Luke was awarded the JA Wight Memorial Award by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, for outstanding contributions to the welfare of companion animals. Luke's role within the charity is to drive on new projects, spearhead some of our emergency teams on overseas trips and to ensure WVS stays true to its ideals and vision. Click here to go to Luke 's website Managing Director JAMES FLORENCE James has spent much of his life working for animal welfare and conservation organisations overseas. He returned to the UK in 2010, after spending eight years in Zambia, where he founded an elephant release programme and then later helped establish it to become the country's only elephant orphanage and rehabilitation centre. James also spent two years working in a wildlife sanctuary, helping to rescue and rehabilitate a vast array of African wildlife and also creating a marketing strategy for other third world sanctuary's to follow. As well as the wildlife and conservation background, James has run his own Graphic Design and Audio/Visual Production company and worked as a Development Project Manager for a well-known retail company. As Managing Director of WVS, his role is to oversee all aspects of the charity's day-to-day operations, while generating long-term strategies and plans for the growth of the organisation. Charity Support & Projects Manager TESSA KING Having volunteered to help the charity in her spare time, Tess was finally convinced to join the team permanently in 2006. She holds diplomas in Conservation and Primatology and is qualified in Animal Science. Responsible for driving the charity on, initially spearheading all our marketing, public relations and membership administration, Tess is now the Charity Support and Projects Manager and the vital link between the volunteer teams and our associated charities. Tess is the proud owner of a completely crazy Springer Spaniel called Dizzy and is bracing herself for attempting to train Dizzy in canine agility this year! Membership & Merchandising Manager LINDA PACKMAN Linda is a long-time resident of the village of Cranborne and former owner of the village stores in Castle Street, where Luke's veterinary practice is now based! She ran the shop for 26 years and was looking for a change when WVS started the second-hand book shop at the front of the main WVS office. We didn't have far to look for the perfect person to run it! Linda started working just a few days a week to help get the new shop up and running, but with the book shop growing in popularity, Linda then became full-time and now manages the book shop, sales from our online shop and all areas of our charity membership. Logistics Support Officer CHRIS PAYNE Marketing & Communications Officer JAMES TUBB James joined the WVS team at the beginning of 2013, after graduating from university in Oxford with a degree in Business and Marketing Management. As Marketing and Communications Officer, James has the vital role to communicate and promote the great work that WVS achieves throughout the year. He is the social media guru for the charity and is responsible for the development and implementation of the WVS marketing strategy. James has always had a life-long love of animals and travel and although the youngest member of the team, he has already visited 12 countries, including living in Australia for six months. Finance Manager HELEN LORD Helen retired early from H M Revenue and Customs having enjoyed a career as an Inspector of Taxes. The extra time available enabled her to pursue her other interests to an academic conclusion which included an English Studies degree at Southampton University as well as a further period studying law and commencing and continuing an MA in Art History. This supposed retirement further embraced a two-year stint as project manager on a large building project as well as time spent pursuing her amateur hobby of music. The dogs were walked throughout. She sings with The Salisbury Musical Society as well as the Salisbury Festival Chorus and plays Piano, Cello and Flute (badly) and is at present attempting to add guitar to the list. Her abiding passion is books and she is developing a real interest in new technologies which is rather fortuitous bearing in mind she’s now working for a charity heavily reliant on the internet. Her convoluted route to WVS would take an essay to describe so suffice to say her real interest in figures, animals, general accountancy and administration has found a fine home. Clinical Director - WVS ITC India ILONA OTTER Ilona is a Finnish veterinarian (DVM) who started her career in a mixed animal practice in Finland in 2003 and came to India in 2004 to help a local charity called IPAN with their ABC-programs. This work proved to become her passion and in 2009 she joined WVS as the Clinical Director of the WVS International Training Center, empowering and inspiring veterinarians to sterilize and vaccinate dogs. Ilona completed MSc in Livestock Health and Production from the Royal Veterinary College of London in 2012. She has two daughters (Emma and Saara) and acts as a support-mother for one homeless boy (Venkadesh). At home, on the Hill View Farm Animal Refuge, Ilona enjoys the company of over 30 dogs as well as a number of other rescued animals and her own young riding horse, 'Riia'. In 2013 Ilona received the Kulapathi Munshi Award together with her husband Nigel Otter for their dedicated work towards animal welfare. Mission Rabies International Director KATE SHERVELL Kate graduated as a vet from the University of Bristol in 2004 with a keen interest in animal welfare and world travel. She soon discovered Worldwide Veterinary Service and began volunteering on overseas animal welfare projects, providing veterinary care to a range of species, from dogs and cats to goats and chickens, and even a few elephants and monkeys! She has worked on veterinary projects in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia and joined the WVS team for a year in 2009, before coming back to help run Mission Rabies in 2012. Patron THE COUNTESS OF SHAFTESBURY The Countess of Shaftesbury became the first WVS Patron in March 2011. As a qualified vet and with a passion for animal welfare, the Countess is an ideal ambassador for the charity. The Countess had already been a member of WVS for many years, after reading an article in the Veterinary Times about a WVS neutering project in Botswana. “The Worldwide Veterinary Service is incredible. It gives people the opportunity to get actively involved in countries where animal welfare is essential. It is important to support charities that you believe in and where you feel you can make a worthwhile contribution. Obviously with my background as a veterinary surgeon I feel particularly drawn to the WVS. I can see what a huge difference to animal welfare they make. It’s also a big advantage that they are just down the road so I can keep closely connected to what’s going on and I can contribute more in my role as a patron.” – Countess of Shaftesbury SITE MAP WHAT WE DO HOW TO HELP REQUEST HELP MEMBERS SHOP CONTACT SOCIAL FACEBOOK TWITTER DONATE PLEASE HELP US BY DONATING A SMALL AMOUNT EITHER AS A ONE–OFF OR AS A REGULAR PAYMENT. NEWSLETTER NAME EMAIL TYPE Please Select Non-Vet Vet Vet Nurse Vet New Grad Vet Student SIGN UP DISCLAIMER THIS DATA IS USED SOLELY BY WORLDWIDE VETERINARY SERVICE AND IS NOT SHARED, TRADED, OR SOLD TO THIRD PARTIES. FOR MORE INFO CLICK TO VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY. T&CS CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OR PRIVACY POLICY © WORLDWIDE VETERINARY SERVICE 2014 CHARITY REGISTRATION NO. 1100485 SITE BY MINDWORKS MARKETING