The River Summit Advocates
Iona Mackay, Narrative
With a degree in English Literature and over two years at Zambuni Communications under her belt, Iona has valuable experience in actively listening to client stories, learning new theories, and curating meaningful narratives around these experiences. Be it a brand partnership or new organisational strategy, Iona is confident when thinking laterally, finding nuances, and drawing connections between concepts which can be successfully translated onto the page. Whether it’s writing copy for websites, blog posts, press releases, managing social media channels, or email marketing, Iona is poised to find the words to create long lasting content and ensure a message is meaningful and engaging to the relevant audience.
Lise Delamarre, Language
Introduced to the team by Mark Wormald, Author of ‘The Catch’ and Fellow at Pembroke College, Lise Delamarre is a French-American graduate from Pembroke College, Cambridge, where she read English until 2022. Alongside her main career in acting, Lise has done some translation work for European projects including French periodicals and Erasmus funded school programmes. She was integral to the River Summit in France, translating live to the audience and facilitating conversation between multiple French environmental organisations.
François Bietry, French Fly Fishing Advocate
Born and raised in the south of France, François Bietry is a passionate fly fisher and photographer, working as a full time guide for nearly a decade across France, Europe, and Patagonia. François holds certifications as a Certified Casting Instructor (CI) with the Fly Fishers International and as a Level 1 instructor with the SIM Swiss (Italian Style Fly Fishing School). His life is dedicated around fly-fishing, river conservation, and education. As the vice president of a non-profit organization, AAPPMA, he focuses on raising awareness of children's responsible fishing practices and the importance of environmental preservation of our rivers and fisheries.
Emma Sandham, Communications
With a degree in English Language and Communications and years spent as a passionate angler, Emma has combined her love for communicating the outdoor adventure, our environment, and creative writing in her work. Emma has over 8 years of professional PR and communications experience and in that time has forged strong relationships with industry leaders and top-tier journalists. In the last 3 years, Emma has first-hand experience organising several environmental-focused events centered around the health of our rivers in the UK and Europe, including the UK River Summit and the River Festival.
Evie Garner, Creative
Brought to the team by happenstance and a stroke of fortune, Evie Garner has had the joy of being part of The River Festival since its first year. Evie is committed to finding and bringing creativity to life in the many forms it takes. By day, Evie is a Producer who’s work spans animation, design and illustration projects, as well as live events. By night, she creates paintings and collages from found materials inspired by the world around us, and those imagined. Proud to be an advocate of The River Festival and River Summit, Evie looks forward to continuing to work with the team to celebrate our rivers.
Charles Jardine, UK Fly Fishing Advocate
Charles Jardine is a world-famous angler, author and artist. Charles has dedicated himself to teaching and inspiring future generations to continue a sport that he has loved for over sixty years. Charles developed Fishing for Schools, which saw the potential for angling to educate and enrich learning. Since 2007, Fishing for Schools has taken young people out of the classroom and into the countryside, developing confidence and learning new skills.
Dr Harriet Knafler, Science
Harriet’s background is in microbiology, stemmed from a fascination with the tiny lifeforms that shape our world, from our own bodies and minds to our soils and rivers. Harriet lives in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District – the UK’s first National Park – where walking and swimming are huge parts of her life. Harriet works in protected landscapes – analysing data about some of our largest and most beloved protected areas in England.
Mike Blackmore, Habitat
Mike Blackmore is Head of Operations at the Wessex Rivers Trust. Mike Blackmore has been designing and delivering UK river restoration projects for over 16 years. Moving from the private to charitable sector in 2012 Mike was a regional conservation officer for the Wild Trout Trust before joining Wessex Rivers Trust in 2019, where he is currently Director of Operations. Mike also a committee member for the British Society for Geomorphology, and manages over 5km of chalk stream in Wiltshire.