SPEAKERS
We have speakers from the realms of entertainment, charities, professions and of course Rotary to encourage and entertain you. We hope you will find something of interest to recharge your Rotary batteries this weekend!
This is not yet a comprehensive list and more speakers will be added to this page as they are confirmed.
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Steve Brown, TV Presenter
In June 2005 Steve became paralysed when he fell from a balcony and broke his neck. He left hospital in October 2005 and in that same month took part in his first wheelchair rugby training session with London Wheelchair Rugby Club. In 2006, he was awarded a place in the Great Britain squad and in 2012 he went on to captain Great Britain at the London Paralympic Games. During the build-up to the games, Steve was involved in a series of Channel 4 documentaries and the Paralympic advertising campaign, Superhumans.
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Since 2012, Steve has been increasingly present on television for a variety of channels and in a variety of roles. In his earliest work he drew on his passion for, and experience in, sport. He was a roving reporter on Sky Sports Game Changers, a pundit for ITV at the BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge, a member of the BBC team at the Invictus Games (2014, 2016, 2017 & 2018) and Wimbledon and a member of the Channel 4 team at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games.
More recently, Steve has demonstrated his range as a presenter on the BBC's Countryfile, Escape to the Country, The One Show and BBC Breakfast and winning the ‘Best New On Screen Talent’ award. Aside from Steve’s career he works as a coach and mentor guiding and supporting students, professionals and athletes to achieve in their fields, giving them the skills and mind-set to reach their potential. Along side all this, he is heavily involved in numerous local and national charities that support causes close to his heart as a Patron, Ambassador or trustee, including The Youth Development Fund, Rotary, The Spinal Injuries Association and The RSPB. The effort he makes in supporting charities and individuals in his local area were recognised when he was awarded the title ‘Freeman of the Borough’ by the Council of Swale, where he lives. |
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Sanj Srikanthan, CE of Shelterbox
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Sanj joined the ShelterBox team in December 2019. Sanj spent 10 years at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where he was Senior Vice President, Europe and Executive Director, UK.
In a previous role at IRC as Emergency Field Director, Sanj managed responses in Mali, Syria, Liberia, Lebanon and Turkey. Earlier in his career, Sanj worked for UN OCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and was previously a Captain in the British Army. ‘It is a huge privilege to lead ShelterBox, an organisation with such a powerful clarity of mission – to turn despair into hope through shelter provision. Over the course of my career, I have seen first-hand the direct impact that quality emergency shelter can have in helping people begin to recover from disaster.’ |
Nigel Linacre, Co-founder and Chair of WellBoring
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Nigel Linacre co-founded WellBoring in 2011, having led and worked on UK Aid and World Bank projects in India, Nigeria and South Africa, and run leadership development programmes in Kenya.
A professional Executive Coach and Team Facilitator, he recently formed The Big Life Course, to bring personal development to a larger number of people. Deeply interested in making a difference, Nigel is the author of books on business, leadership, life, and poetry. |
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Luke Simon, Founder and CEO of School in a Bag
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Luke founded the charity, the Piers Simon Appeal, in 2005, shortly after his brother Piers sadly lost his life in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Luke has a wide skill set which has meant taking the charity from strength to strength – his humour and love of dressing-up have certainly helped make some fundraisers very successful! His drive and passion for the charity are second to none and there aren’t many dull moments in the office when Luke’s around! He has big plans for growing School in a Bag over the next few years and making it a more recognised charity nationally and loves that although it all began under very sad circumstances and there will never be anyone quite like his big brother P, there is a lot of good being done in his memory for thousands of children around the world.
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Yeoman Warder, Scott Kelly
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Scott is the 409th Yeoman Warder, more commonly referred to as a Beefeater, at HM Tower of London since records began. He joined in 2018 having served in the Army Air Corps for twenty four years. In this time he served all over the world including tours to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The son of a military family Scott moved to Exeter in his teens where he excelled in rugby and went on to represent England South West at U21 level and play for Exeter Chiefs at 1st team level. Scott continued his rugby during his army career, playing for the British Army First XV including being capped in the Inter Services Cup. Scott is an avid supporter of a number of charities including the Rawthey Project and Royal British Legion raising money and awareness for our Armed Forces Veterans. Most recently he ran the London Marathon with a weighted mannequin of 40kg to simulate carrying a soldier off the battlefield and raised over £34,000. He is also Chairman of the Glider Pilot Regiment Society who actively complete work to honour the invaluable work of those who fought as Glider Pilots during previous conflicts. |
Scott is delighted to be able to share a thousand years of British history, his own experiences at The Tower of London and in the Military as well as his charitable work. |
Eve Conway, RI Director
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Eve, a broadcaster by profession, has worked with LBC/IRN and Sky News, before spending 20 years on radio and television working for the BBC as a producer and reporter. She was President of Rotary GB&I from 2016/17, where she helped launch and drive the Purple4Polio campaign to End Polio Now and achieve Rotary’s goal of a polio-free world. |
Robert Morris, Rotary GB&I Board Chair
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Robert is the Chair of the Rotary GB&I Board for 2023/24. He is from Golders Green Rotary Club in London. He has a particular interest in Rotary’s newest Area of Focus - Supporting the Environment. |
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Amanda Watkin, Rotary GB&I General Secretary
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Amanda is the General Secretary of Rotary GB&I and regularly writes a column in Rotary magazine. |
