Meet the Team

Paul Jones - North America Regional Manager

Paul originally joined the GVI team in the UK in 2004 as Africa Regional Coordinator, moving to head up our North American office in July 2006. He has a broad experience of travelling and volunteer work, from reforestation projects in the foothills of Australia's Snowy Mountains to several months as an environmental journalist in Sri Lanka.

A graduate of Physical Geography, Paul has had a variety of jobs including work as a gardener, fireworks tester and football writer but after deciding it was time to ‘do his bit' for the environment signed up to work for a conservation organisation in Australia, planting native trees in New South Wales and fencing National Parks in Queensland.

Looking back on a journey through four continents and eleven countries in little over a year, the islands of Thailand's Krabi Province and the vast expanse of the Queensland outback rank among his favourite destinations, while abseiling down underground waterfalls in New Zealand and trekking in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands were real highlights of the trip!

Morgan Adams - Outreach and Development

Morgan joined GVI in May 2007, and brought with her a passion for intercultural dialogue and sustainable development. A graduate of the University of St. Andrews, after 4 years in Scotland she was delighted to return to her native New England and join the GVI office in Boston.

Her time spent traveling in Russia and volunteering at a state orphanage in China enhanced Morgan's competence in the native languages of both countries, with a dash of Arabic thrown in for good measure. An internship with UNESCO in Switzerland and travel experience in Oman, Europe and Southern Africa have filled a few more pages in the passport and whilst living in Washington, DC Morgan also enjoyed a rewarding role as a member of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team.

Her adventurous travels have given Morgan experiences that are truly unique, from sleeping in monasteries to cycling around the northern islands of Scotland, catching chickens in rural villages in China and teaching crazy-eights to local children and community elders. She enjoys exploring new parts of world and learning about their cultures, people, and locally based concerns and initiatives

Rachel Davies - Regional Coordinator

Hailing from a small town in upstate New York, Rachel was first exposed to traveling the open road while on a cross country trip around the United States at the tender age of ten. Wandering around in a rented camper with five of her family members was a test in patience, but it didn’t curb her sense of adventure. While pursuing a Media Studies degree at university, she studied abroad in London. This would be the event that changed Rachel’s life. Since graduating from university, Rachel has worked in accounting in London, finance in New Zealand, and retail in New York City. She has travelled on four continents to nineteen countries trying to find the best scenery, friendliest local culture, and cleanest hostel.

From snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to seeing the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Kyoto, Japan, Rachel’s goal in life is to see as much of the world as possible. She’s very excited to be working with GVI to provide once-in-a-lifetime travel and volunteer opportunities and feels like she’s finally able to make a difference in global conservation.

Richard Walton - Director and Founder of Global Vision International

Having lived and worked overseas for many years as a volunteer and expedition leader, Richard has been largely responsible for the development of Global Vision International from its early days on an island off the coast of Honduras. Richard has led and taken part in expeditions to Patagonia, the Amazon, Honduras and Malawi and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. He continues to be involved in all aspects of the day to day running of GVI and travels extensively throughout the year to GVI field stations.

Steve Gwenin - GVI Corporate Alliance Director

Steve Gwenin is the founder of Global Vision International's Marine Conservation Expeditions, and has been key in the set up and running of almost all of GVI’s Expeditions, including 3 in Mexico, and one each in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Patagonia, Kenya, Seychelles and Thailand, and has also spent time on the South African expedition and helped in its development.

In 2007 he co-founded the GVI Corporate Alliance and has since created and managed international programs with Whole Foods Market (Fortune 100), Grameen Trust (Nobel Prize Laureate 2006), Global Giving, Kraft Foods, Emirates Foundation (UAE National Volunteering Program), Explore Travel and many others.

Steve is a qualified commercial diver, PADI Instructor, EFR Instructor Trainer, certified powerboat driver and Health and Safety off-site advisor and Off-Site Safety Management trainer, whom holds a B.Sc. in Oceanography and Fisheries Science and is certified in Firefighting and Offshore survival. Prior to joining GVI, Steve worked in the scientific field around Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and had used these opportunities to travel extensively. He disbanded his own successful and growing marine mammal research company, which operated around Northern European, Artic, and African waters, to join GVI and has now been part of the team for almost 6 years.

Steve has over 13 years field research experience spanning 5 continents, 4 oceans and a host of different eco-systems, including marine, coastal, tropical dry and rainforest, artic and savannah. His boundless energy and enthusiasm, commitment to conservation and determination to work with local communities, his strong background in working internationally with governmental, non-profit and commercial organisations in conservation, research and sustainable development initiatives, and his experience of living, training and working with volunteers, make him ideal for GVI.

Lindsey Hallen - Marketing Intern

I went to college for Communications and graduated in 2005. While I was there I studied in Sydney, Australia for a semester and traveled all around Australia and New Zealand…going bungee jumping and having a great time!! Australia was so wonderful that I knew I wanted to move someplace just like it after college. That’s how I wound up living in Hawaii for two years working as a vet tech. Living so close to the beach, hiking, jumping off cliffs, and attempting to surf were some of the best times of my life and I’ll never forget Hawaii and the great memories I have from living there. During my two years in Hawaii I volunteered on the South African Wildlife Expedition where I had another amazing time!!! I tried to extend my stay to 10 weeks but unfortunately the expedition was all full. I have also traveled around Europe several times, Venezuela, and the Caribbean, as well as many states in the US. I love to ski/snowboard and have been out west for that many times!!! I’m a big believer in doing what you love and I hope I continue to live that way…who knows where I’ll wind up next!!