The group is run by a Management Board, Chairperson and Secretariat.
A Management Board of no more than nine member organisations, elected by its members, directs VSG. A minimum of five are needed at management meetings to enable decisions to be made on behalf of VSG as a whole. Member organisations are elected to the management board for a three year term but can stand for re-election each time. Three positions on the management board will be elected in December each year.
Adele Masztalerz
Adele is Head of Safety Management at Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Jonathan Wayte
Jonathan is Occupational Safety and Health Adviser (OSHA) at Peak District National Park
Ken Dodd (Chairperson)
Ken is the current Chairperson of VSG and director of Ken Dodd Associates Ltd.
Neil Reeves
Neil is Director of Visitor Experience at SW Lakes
Dave Liddy
Dave is the Visitor Management Advisor at Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales
Tony Wafer
Tony Wafer is Senior Water Safety Partner at RNLI
Vincent McAlinden
Vincent McAlinden is Access & Conservation Committee Member at Mountaineering Ireland
Graham Clowes
Graham is Head of Compliance at National Trust
Tom O'Keefe
Tom is Enterprise Risk Manager at the National Treasury Management Agency
Nick Hall
Nick is Head of Health and Safety at the Woodland Trust
Jason Burns Sweeny
Jason is Health and Safety Advisor at Scottish Canals
Chris Spencer and Joanne Mason
We work for Forestry England and are really pleased to be joining the board and sharing our combined experience.
Chris is one of our Health and Safety Advisers specialising in visitor safety and recreation. He is a lover of the outdoors and has worked in various VSG member organisations before joining Forestry England a few years ago.
Jo is our Technical Recreation Advisor with a focus on infrastructure and activities. She has worked as a recreation ranger and beat forester before joining our national team. Outdoorsy, she can usually be found spending her time in natural landscapes or at the allotment.
Jim Downie & Leigh Hamilton
We have both been involved in all aspects of the Ranger role here at the park and elsewhere, from Seasonal Ranger, permanent team members, Ranger Team Leaders, and now Ranger Service Managers. Our current role sees us managing and developing the National Parks Ranger Service to provide a key link between people and place in our National Park, delivering high quality experiences for our visitors.
We hopefully bring a wide variety of knowledge and experience with us and look forward to working with the board and membership to continue developing on one of our main priorities, promoting safe, responsible access and enjoyment of the countryside.
Leigh, amongst other things is our Water Safety lead and currently sits on the National Water Safety Scotland steering group as well as chairing a local PAWS group. A keen surfer and paddleboarder she can often be found spending time with her family in their van next to a beach or Lochside enjoying the water.
Jim has the Ranger Service Health & Safety lead as part of his role working closely with our Health & Safety Advisor and Committee. Jim has led on our work preparing Visitor Risk Assessments for our sites. As well as enjoying the outdoors, in his spare time Jim is a keen musician and can regularly be found playing guitar with his local 18-piece Jazz Big Band.
VSG Secretariat
The role of Secretariat is currently a position held by the team from Outscape, formerly Outdoor Recreation NI.
