Name
Lindsey Bonner
Nickname
Bons – an old colleague of mine christened me with it around 6 years ago and it just kind of stuck!
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in a town just outside of Birmingham in the UK. As for where I call home, I’m going to say that I’m currently somewhat in limbo as meant to have joined the team in the Philippines but am sadly still in the UK thanks to the global pandemic.
Little fact for you – I’m very near the place in the UK that is furthest away from any coast! Needless to say, I cannot wait to get to my new home!
What are you best known for?
Always being up for the next holiday or adventure!
And being a bit too energetic in the morning (yes, I’m one of those annoying morning people!)
What’s your background?
I grew up in the West Midlands in the UK with my parents and my older brother before moving to Yorkshire to study European Studies with Spanish at University of Leeds. I’ve always loved travel, languages and the opportunities it gives you to connect with people from all over the world.
After university, I entered the private sector; working my way up the corporate ladder in various sales and commercial strategy, as well as business transformation, roles. Most recently, I spent the last six years in the consumer health industry focused on driving behaviour change such as helping to alleviate pressure on national health services through a shift to self-care.
What brought you to Reef-World & why do you care about the work we do?
I took a three-month sabbatical to South East Asia in 2018, which turned out to be a life changing trip on so many levels. Categorically, the biggest factor of my decision to work in marine conservation was learning to scuba dive with this becoming my passion and a huge part of my life even before I considered the career change.
Seeing first-hand the impact of our unsustainable consumption and our waste around the world – often to the most fragile ecosystems or in developing countries that do not have the infrastructure to deal with it adequately – was a big wake up call for me.
I was genuinely concerned that I’d just discovered diving and that our oceans and coral reefs were not going to be around long enough for me to enjoy it for the rest of my life; or for future generations.
I wanted to both minimise my impact as a diver but also work for an organisation that was having a measurable impact in this space.
I’d say those things in parallel naturally brought me to marine conservation and The Reef-World Foundation specifically.
What’s your role at Reef-World and what does that look like?
I am the Partnerships Development Manager at Reef-World, meaning I manage the relationships with our strategic partners who share our environmental goals. I’m also responsible for developing new partnerships and finding win-win opportunities to widen our impact across the marine tourism sector. A key component of my work is also to deliver on the sustainable financial strategy to support our charitable objectives.
As a trained Green Fins assessor, I will also be supporting the implementation of our programme around the world.
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
Knowing that I am contributing to a cause that I care deeply about of course but, also, getting to work with some amazing organisations and brands who are leading the way to integrate sustainable environmental practises throughout their operations. I’m only in my second month but already I’m really enjoying learning about the innovation and responsibility that our partners are taking to genuinely make their businesses greener as well as their passion for the protection of coral reefs.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the marine conservation sector?
There are a lot of options: charities, NGOs, government agencies and institutions in roles ranging from research to communications to partnership management. Do your research about what it is you really mean by, and want from, marine conservation.
My advice would be to look for something that ticks the boxes of what you love, where your skills are transferable and what an organisation needs depending on where it is at in terms of development.
For example, for me – my passion is scuba diving and my private sector background was in business development, strategy and relationship building. The Reef-World Foundation needed a Partnerships Development Manager but is also looking to increase it’s scale and wanted experience with the processes and structure to support that, meaning my global corporate experience was a great match.
The combination of those things will find you a position you love and make you the perfect candidate regardless of whether you have a direct background in marine conservation.
Outside work, what are your hobbies/favourite pastimes?
I love to travel and explore new places, and I’m a huge foodie so anything involving getting to try tasty new things! I like to keep fit and active with running, hiking, spin and Pilates (got to burn that food off somehow!) and I’m a book lover so also very happy in a quiet corner engrossed in a good read. And of course – getting into the water scuba diving as much as possible!
