CHARITY CHALLENGE - Key Persons
Andy has always been passionate about the African continent and has spent several years tracing the footsteps of early African explorers into some of the wilder regions of the continent. After completing a degree in African Studies, Andy combined his passion for trekking with his studies and moved to Egypt. Here he spent several years working for the EU on a tourism development programme aimed at training local Bedouin mountain guides. Andy then established his own trekking company based over in South Sinai and continued to run treks throughout the revolution.
Andy returned to the UK to undertake a Masters degree in Responsible Tourism and begin a new segment of his career at Charity Challenge. Andy holds the Summer Mountain Leader award and has worked as a mountain guide in the UK and abroad. He has also been described as "witty and knowlegeable" by a recent charity challenge participant.
Originally from the Yorkshire Dales, Annie now lives in the beautiful Lake District with her partner and 2 dogs. Her love for the outdoors & adventure has spread into her work and sharing it with others.
When Annie finished school, she headed to Oban, on the West Coast of Scotland to work in small but thriving property business. Annie calls this her ‘university years' where she learnt a huge amount about herself and how she worked. From there, she headed to Australia for a year with her partner and travelled around in their trusty Ford Falcon. This is where the love for travel and adventure really began! Back in the UK, she moved to The Lake District and started working within the travel industry and she loved it!
When she is not at work, you will find Annie on a fell with her dogs or swimming in a lake (even in December!)
Bina has 17 years experience in the airline industry having worked for Aer Lingus and SriLankan Airlines both in sales and airport experience and is also trained in IATA fares and ticketing part1 and part 2. Born in Malawi, educated in India(Ooty) and studied further for a Business Studies Diploma in the UK, Bina is also a qualified beauty Therapist and a spiritual healer (REIKI)!
Job Titles:
- Office & Development Manager
Firdous has been working for Charity Challenge for over 18 years and knows the company inside-out! She started off her career at Charity Challenge working as a junior and quickly worked her way up developing and managing our back-office system and website and is now our Office and Development Manager. In her spare time, Firdous loves to sew and bake with her girls - could she be the next Sewing Bee contestant?!
As much as Firdous loves Charity Challenge, she has yet to take on a challenge herself, with a fear of popping to the ‘loo' behind a rock… we're committed to unleash Firdous's adventure travel bug very soon!
From climbing slate caverns in Wales to celebrating the Day of the Dead in Mexico, Hayley has loved exploring other countries and cultures ever since she was young. During a recent experience volunteering on a safari reserve in South Africa, she led the effort to raise money for building materials for a new community and youth centre in the nearby town. Upon returning to the UK, she knew that she had to work somewhere that combined her love of travelling with a desire to help other people and found the perfect place in Charity Challenge. In between planning her next trip, Hayley can be found cooking, baking or enjoying London life!
Ian is a full-time freelance Mountain Leader, having made the switch from a "desk job" in 2011 - persuaded largely by the experience of participating in Charity Challenge treks in Peru and Morocco. If anyone wants to know how life-changing Charity Challenge expeditions can be he says he is the proof!
Since then life has gone full-circle for Ian and he now reckons he has the best job in the world helping people enjoy and succeed in their own chosen challenge events. In addition to leading Charity Challenge events - and occasionally helping to run trek training weekends for clients - Ian also runs a small mountain walking company and can generally be found outdoors most weeks helping people experience the joys of exploring wild and remote places.
Ian leads many of Charity Challenge's UK-based challenges such as the National Three Peaks, Lakes Five Peaks and Yorkshire Three Peaks. Additionally, he has also led many overseas Charity Challenge groups in places such as China, Iceland, Madagascar, India, Romania, Peru, Oman and Ecuador.
Job Titles:
- Head of Sales & Marketing
Originally from Ireland, Jenn is hugely passionate about all things outdoors, adventure, mental health, charity, and sustainability. As well as being a marketing whizz she is also a qualified Lowland Leader with Summer ML Training, Outdoor and Mental Health First Aid, so you might see her out on some of our challenges! With experience in all areas of challenge events - event management, marketing, operations, leading and account management, Jenn is happy to answer any questions you may have.
Her love for the outdoors increased dramatically after completing various charity challenges throughout the years - Mt Kilimanjaro, Trek to Machu Picchu, Icelandic Lava Trek, Tour De Mont Blanc, and Trek to Petra. Jenn spent most of her time on each of these challenges burning the ears of the all of the leaders and group organisers asking them how she could get involved and do their job. As a result she started her mountain leader training journey and commenced her marketing role at Charity Challenge in 2019!
Jo has been working in Adventure Travel for over a decade. Graduating with a Tourism Management Degree, she began her travels volunteering in Borneo, travelling S.E Asia and then moving to Australia. On her return she started her career working for Charity Challenge as Asia Operations Manager. Her adventurous drive led her to becoming a Challenge Leader for Charity Challenge throughout Asia, leading challenges on the Great Wall of China as well as cycling and trekking Myanmar, trekking with the Orangutans in Sumatra and moving through Rajasthan by Bicycle. She then moved to Thailand followed by Borneo to work on the ground for a destination management company, developing new adventure product for travel companies.
After 8 years of living overseas, and not being able to shake her true passion for Charity and Travel, she has returned to the UK to re-join the Charity Challenge Team. Over the years Jo has set up, operated and led many Charity Challenges. She has worked directly on the ground in Thailand, Malaysia and Nicaragua, managing the setup of adventure travel groups and has travelled extensively on her own adventures, mostly seeking out new mountains and volcanoes to climb, jungles to navigate through and undiscovered roads to cycle on.
Katherine has been in the Adventure Travel Industry her whole career. After finishing university, and having promised herself a year off, Katherine set off on the backpacker trail. The result was an incredible and life-changing overland trip through Nepal and India, to South East Asia and Australasia.
Returning to the UK, with a strong conviction to work within travel, she secured a job with the company she'd travelled within India. Since then, she's spent over 15 years working for adventure tour operators, including stints living and working in Sudan and Mozambique. She joined Charity Challenge in July 2018.
Katherine loves nothing more than planning her next trip and tramping around her childhood home county of Dorset in wellies!
Orginally from Birmingham, Laura studied film & photography at Leeds university.
She backpacked around Vietnam, Loas and Thailand after uni - documenting the journey on her camera!
When Laura returned to the UK she started working in factual/documentary tv production, discovering a passion for people's stories and interest in Britain's social issues.
After covid, she developed a love for wild camping around Wales and Peak District, realising she wanted to merge these by working in connection with charities and the outdoors!
Job Titles:
- Flights & Finance Administrator
Neemisha loves travelling to different countries. She has always been a keen traveller and from an early age she knew that she wanted a career that enabled her to be involved in the travel industry.
Having completed degrees at London Metropolitan University in Tourism Management and Business Enterprise, as well as completing courses in Travel & Tourism and Airline & Airport Operations at Stanmore College, she picked up her finance skills while being the Accounts Manager for her family business.
Throughout the years Neemisha has completed numerous charity walks and charity runs to raise both awareness and money for good causes.
Never happier than up a mountain, usually declaring to those around me that "life could be worse," I have been lucky enough to fulfil my ambitions and dreams many times over. With a childhood spent on the fringes of Dartmoor National Park and on the beaches around the South Devon coast, I was permitted a freedom to explore which I still value today. A three month expedition under canvas in Southern Chile in my early twenties firmly cemented my passion for travel and adventure.
Following a career in the Army, I settled down long enough to raise my two wonderful children and see them independent and successful before the itchy feet returned and I retrained as an Outdoor Instructor working in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. This varied role allowed me to instruct in climbing, mountain biking, high ropes, mountaineering, canoeing and kayaking. Whilst as an Operations Manager for a Dartmoor based outdoor company, the opportunity arose to pursue a career as an Overseas Expedition Leader with Charity Challenge. Since then I have been lucky enough to lead cycling, running, trekking and even horse trekking challenges in many parts of the World, including Iceland, Sumatra, Mongolia, China, Cuba and Burma.
In a brief gap between trips, I completed the Tour de Mont Blanc and recently enjoyed some canyonning and via ferrata in the Italian Dolomites. I now lead walking breaks in the North Yorkshire Dales with my partner, Henry. Extraordinarily last year, I was approached by a publishing company who asked to turn some of my very roughly scribbled notes into a e-book which I never saw coming but proved an exciting venture. There is little more satisfying than sharing in someone's success and I look forward to being there with you on your challenge to cheer you on and see the fulfilment on your faces.
Born and brought up in Kenya, Sharmee discovered her passion for travel at a young age and completed her travel diploma in London. Since graduating, she has always worked in the travel industry and has over 14 years of experience working both in Kenya and now in the United Kingdom. With a brain like a calculator she joined the Charity Challenge Finance team where she handles sales invoicing for all our challenges and also manages credit control.
Travelling has certainly been Sharmee's passion and one of her favourite hobbies. She has been very fortunate to stay in some of the best hotels and resorts during her travels to various exotic places in the world. When she's not travelling, Sharmee is dreaming about her next destination! She also enjoys cooking, entertaining and eating out.
Simon has travelled extensively throughout the developing world, climbing mountains, rafting rivers and helping local NGOs to build schools and health centres. He began charity trekking as a participant in 1995 to Jordan and then climbed Kilimanjaro the following year. He identified a niche in the expeditions market and, on returning to the UK, voluntarily organised two expeditions to Cuba and Tanzania - both of which were a huge success.
At the age of 27, and having raised more than £100,000 for charity, Simon set up Charity Challenge with co-director and best friend Jeremy Gane. He has personally taken part in many of the challenges. These have included building houses for orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa, as well as for families affected by the Asian tsunami in India and Sri Lanka. Simon has also personally led and organised challenges around the world. His passion for helping others is what drives the constant development of the business.
In 2015, his efforts were recognised with a British Citizen Award medal for Business. Simon is married with three sons and has trekked with them to Machu Picchu in Peru and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Steve is a highly motivated; goal driven and enthusiastic leader. 45 years working in various roles; in a self-employed capacity as well as a company director employing up to 50 employees. Steve is passionate about the outdoors; travel and the positive effect this can have in shaping the outlook and character of young people (and not so young) who are willing to take up the challenge.
Steve has led groups to Morocco; Ecuador; China; Peru; Alaska - Mt. Denali, Argentina - Mt. Aconcagua; Guatemala; Thailand, Vietnam; Cambodia, Laos, Botswana; Mongolia, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania - Mt. Kilimanjaro summit x 11 and Nepal. He has extensive knowledge of Bolivia having traveled there over 25 times and been involved with projects for World Vision and Mosoj Yan; both NGO's working on various projects in the Altiplano; urban areas and the Lowlands. Steve also has experience working in the UK with school groups; summer camps in The Lake District, guiding adults in Scotland; The Cheviots; The Yorkshire Dales as well as The Lake District.
In 2017 Steve successfully completed climbing the Seven Summits, reaching the highest point on each of the seven continents. When at home Steve enjoys spending time with his family- as well as keeping fit by cycling; walking in the Cheviots, gym work and trying to keep his Judo skills sharp!
Toni went on a cadet expedition to Kenya and Tanzania when she was 16, got back and decided she was going to be a Mountain Leader.