Winky Skevington
Co-Founder & Trustee
Meet Winky
Winky aspired to become a teacher from a young age. After leaving school, she travelled to the remote village of Kiminini, Kenya, to teach and live. Her experiences during this time initiated a life-long desire to work with rural communities to help advance education and the standard of living, realising their interdependence.
Winky went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in education and embarked on a teaching career which spanned over 20 years. Her speciality during this time was in the field of Special Educational Needs and particularly within Autism which saw her teach in many challenging environments around the world. Winky has also acted as Head of Music, teaching and writing music curriculae for Primary and Secondary school and has delivered djembe drumming workshops in schools across London. However, her underlying wish has always been to help advance education in East Africa.
After an introduction to Will Travers, who had a similar interest in rural communities, the ground work for THI began. Over the last four years Winky has been setting up the organisation alongside bringing up her two energetic boys.
Will Travers OBE
Co-Founder & Advisor
Meet Will
Will is an internationally-renowned wildlife expert and President of the Born Free Foundation which he co-founded in 1984 alongside his mother, actress Virginia McKenna OBE and the late Bill Travers MBE. The organisation works to stop individual wild animal suffering, protect threatened species, promote compassionate conservation and keep wildlife in the wild.
A vital part of this conservation is to empower, educate and create opportunities for people in the local communities that live alongside wildlife. It is for this reason that Will is delighted to be a co-founder of The Hummingbird Initiative which aims to collaborate with others to make life on earth better for all – one community at a time.
Will is a Board Member of Born Free USA, President of the Species Survival Network and has also advised the UK Government on matters relating to zoos, the use of wild animals in circuses and international wildlife trade.
Georgina Gough
Trustee
Meet Georgina
Throughout Dordi’s life she has taken a keen interest in local communities working alongside the constraints of wildlife conservation with the emphasis on education. This has seen her take on roles within “Roots and Shoots”, a charity providing, horticultural and environmental skills in London.
She has worked with charitable organisations at the Royal Opera House and more recently with the Arts Scholars’ Charitable Trust, a charity providing grants and awards within the fine and decorative arts to further education and conservation.
Dordi comes from a family of Art dealers and spent many years working within the family business. This led her to co-found the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, a City of London Livery Company of which she is currently Master. Dordi is delighted to be associated with the Hummingbird Initiative.
Winky Skevington
Co-Founder & Trustee
Meet Winky
Winky aspired to become a teacher from a young age. After leaving school, she travelled to the remote village of Kiminini, Kenya, to teach and live. Her experiences during this time initiated a life-long desire to work with rural communities to help advance education and the standard of living, realising their interdependence.
Winky went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in education and embarked on a teaching career which spanned over 20 years. Her speciality during this time was in the field of Special Educational Needs and particularly within Autism which saw her teach in many challenging environments around the world. Winky has also acted as Head of Music, teaching and writing music curriculae for Primary and Secondary school and has delivered djembe drumming workshops in schools across London. However, her underlying wish has always been to help advance education in East Africa.
After an introduction to Will Travers, who had a similar interest in rural communities, the ground work for THI began. Over the last four years Winky has been setting up the organisation alongside bringing up her two energetic boys.
Will Travers OBE
Co-Founder & Advisor
Meet Will
Will is an internationally-renowned wildlife expert and President of the Born Free Foundation which he co-founded in 1984 alongside his mother, actress Virginia McKenna OBE and the late Bill Travers MBE. The organisation works to stop individual wild animal suffering, protect threatened species, promote compassionate conservation and keep wildlife in the wild.
A vital part of this conservation is to empower, educate and create opportunities for people in the local communities that live alongside wildlife. It is for this reason that Will is delighted to be a co-founder of The Hummingbird Initiative which aims to collaborate with others to make life on earth better for all – one community at a time.
Will is a Board Member of Born Free USA, President of the Species Survival Network and has also advised the UK Government on matters relating to zoos, the use of wild animals in circuses and international wildlife trade.
Georgina Gough
Trustee
Meet Georgina
Throughout Dordi’s life she has taken a keen interest in local communities working alongside the constraints of wildlife conservation with the emphasis on education. This has seen her take on roles within “Roots and Shoots”, a charity providing, horticultural and environmental skills in London.
She has worked with charitable organisations at the Royal Opera House and more recently with the Arts Scholars’ Charitable Trust, a charity providing grants and awards within the fine and decorative arts to further education and conservation.
Dordi comes from a family of Art dealers and spent many years working within the family business. This led her to co-found the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, a City of London Livery Company of which she is currently Master. Dordi is delighted to be associated with the Hummingbird Initiative.
Sam Trollope
Trustee
Meet Sam
Give him a workshop, some tools and a bit of time and eventually, a few creative gadgets will immerge. Sam's background is in operational management, architectural 3D design, building and carpentry and has a wealth of experience along with having a passion for all things tech.
He currently runs his own business, based in Surrey, offering bespoke design and construction solutions for a wide range of clients.
He has been involved in animal charities including Olsen Animal Trust helping them to solve various issues and design a number of animal enclosures to aid them in their quest to save and rehabilitate wild animals.
Sam is hugely excited to be onboard with the Hummingbird Initiative and is hoping to bring his expertise and experience to the forefront of the projects undertaken.
Sam Trollope
Trustee
Meet Sam
Give him a workshop, some tools and a bit of time and eventually, a few creative gadgets will immerge. Sam's background is in operational management, architectural 3D design, building and carpentry and has a wealth of experience along with having a passion for all things tech.
He currently runs his own business, based in Surrey, offering bespoke design and construction solutions for a wide range of clients.
He has been involved in animal charities including Olsen Animal Trust helping them to solve various issues and design a number of animal enclosures to aid them in their quest to save and rehabilitate wild animals.
Sam is hugely excited to be onboard with the Hummingbird Initiative and is hoping to bring his expertise and experience to the forefront of the projects undertaken.
Isaac Okoth
Programme Manager
Meet Isaac
Isaac is a sustainable community development specialist. He has a Bachelor’s and Master's degree in Environmental Studies and Community Development. From a tender age, Isaac aspired to be a community developer with the goal of improving the lives of the poor and most vulnerable in the community.
Isaac has worked at several non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations including UN-Habitat and UNEP. He is a contributing author of the UNEP (2019). Global Environment Outlook-6 for Youth Africa: A Wealth of Green Opportunities, and is the founder of the Institute for Green Development, an NGO in Kenya.
Isaac has always been impressed with the mission and activities of The Hummingbird Initiative. Consequently, he decided to join the team as a Programe Manager.
Purity Murugi
Project Officer
Meet Purity
Purity is a graduate in Economics and Statistics and is presently pursuing a master’s degree in Statistics at Egerton University, Kenya. After completing her undergraduate studies, she became a pioneer teacher at the Kanjoo Secondary School and on observing how parents struggled to fund their children’s education, developed a deep desire to combat poverty within her community. This has seen her further her studies in an attempt to gain the relevant skills required in identifying and solving the problems facing rural communities.
Purity has actively participated in enlightening the community around her on the importance of education. Her greatest belief is that an educated society has the light sufficient to eradicate ignorance, one of the main causes of increased poverty levels in African society. She is incredibly excited to be working with The Hummingbird Initiative.