Our people

A community of staff, trustees and volunteers working together to build a world where knowledge is free for everyone.

Volunteer with us

Wikimedia UK has a small paid staff, whose main role is to support the work of volunteers. Most of the charity’s employees are based at our London office, but some work elsewhere. Everyone else is a volunteer, including Board members.

Click on a person’s name for more information about them.

Senior Leadership

Lucy Crompton-Reid

Chief Executive

As Chief Executive, Lucy has overall operational responsibility for the charity, working with the Senior Management Team and Board of Trustees to ensure the successful and sustainable delivery of our strategy. Outside of work, Lucy is on the Advisory Council for the British Library, the Board of Advisors for Khalili Foundation and the Board of Trustees for The Audience Agency and Trad Music Trust. Lucy lives in Scotland with her family.
Sharon Mitcheson

Director of Finance and Operations

Sharon leads on the finance and operational function of Wikimedia UK and reports to the Chief Executive. She works closely with other members of the Senior Management Team and the Honorary Treasurer to help deliver on Wikimedia UK’s charitable aims and ensure the achievement of the strategic plan.
Belvin Tawuya

Head of Development and Communications

Belvin is responsible for managing and growing the development, fundraising, and communications functions for Wikimedia UK. He works closely with the Chief Executive and colleagues from the Programmes and Finance and Operations teams to shape the charity’s strategic direction and deliver on key objectives. Outside of work, Belvin supports various initiatives that champion Africa’s cultural diversity and rich heritage.
Daria Cybulska

Director of Programmes and Deputy Chief Executive

As the Director of Programmes and Evaluation, Daria leads on the strategy and implementation of the programme delivery, heading the Programmes team. Daria studied Philosophy at KCL, and supported a number of organisations in the charity sector after graduating, then joining Wikimedia UK in 2012. She is a trustee at Global Dialogue – a human rights field building organisation for funders, and is a Churchill Fellowship awardee in the Tech for All category.

Executive Support

Beth MacKenzie Executive & Governance Assistant

Programmes and Community

Sara Thomas

Programme Manager

Dr Sara Thomas is Programme Manager with responsibility for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and volunteering across the UK. Outwith Wikimedia UK, Sara works in events & festivals, and is Chair and co-founder of a community arts charity in Glasgow.
Richard Nevell

Programme Manager

Richard works in the programmes managing various projects including Wikimedians in Residence, university partnerships, and the Connected Heritage project. He has a background in archaeology and is a major castles nerd. He is a trustee of the Castle Studies Trust and the Royal Archaeological Institute.
Sally Latham

Education Lead

Sally has over 20 years experience teaching in Further Education and has a background in Philosophy and mental health. She is on the Executive Committee of the Children’s Media Foundation which advocates for access to good quality media for all young people. She is co-creator and educational consultant on the BBC Teach show Fantastic Philosophy, encouraging critical thinking in the classroom. Sally is working on an information literacy program for secondary schools. She is based in Birmingham.
Karla Marte

Programme Evaluation Coordinator

Karla supports the whole of the team in the administrative work of the charity, with a focus on programmes and reporting. She reports to Daria Cybulska.
Lucy Hinnie

Topics for Impact Programme Coordinator

Lucy works on the strategic aim of topics for impact, delivering projects with relevant partners, and advocating for the release of content and knowledge related to the climate crisis and topics such as health and human rights. She has a background in higher education and medieval Scottish literature. She reports to Richard Nevell.
Rupal Karia

Outreach and Community Coordinator

Rupal supports volunteers and recruits new contributors, particularly from underrepresented communities and groups that are new to Wikimedia UK and reports to Sara Thomas.
Gemma Coleman

Programme Coordinator: Wales & Languages

Gemma is responsible for the delivery of Wikimedia UK’s programme in Wales, in Welsh and to support other language communities in the UK. Gemma reports to Sara Thomas

Mae Gemma yn gyfrifol am y rhaglen Wikimedia UK yng Nghymru, yn Gymraeg ac am gefnogi cymunedau ieithyddol eraill yn y DU. Mae Gemma yn adrodd i Sara Thomas
Tatjana Baleta

Wikimedia Fellow for Climate at The Global Systems Institute

Tatjana is a science communicator with a background in environmental and conservation research. She is the Wikimedian in Residence for Climate at the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, where she works with researchers and students to update and improve climate change information on Wikipedia.

Development

George Colbourn

Fundraising and Relationship Lead

George works in all areas of fundraising at Wikimedia UK, including bid writing, campaigns, and donor communications. He reports to Belvin Tawuya.

Finance and Administration

Ilona Reynolds Finance & Operations Administrator

The Board is responsible for the strategic governance of the charity. It normally consists of up to 11 members who act as both trustees of the charity and as directors of the company. The majority of board members are elected by the membership, usually at Annual General Meeting, while some are co-opted for specific skills and experience.

Caroline Ball

Trustee and Chair of Community Development Committee (re-elected July 2024, term expires 2027)

Caroline Ball has been an editor of Wikipedia since 2018. She is an academic librarian at the University of Derby, supporting programmes in the fields of Business, Law and Social Sciences, and has also worked as a copyright and licensing advisor. She is an organiser of the #ebookSOS campaign, advocating for fairer pricing, licensing and access for academic ebooks.

She has been active in promoting Wikipedia within the higher education sector, bringing Wiki editing into the curriculum of several programmes, writing and presenting at conferences on the numerous ways Wikipedia editing can be used as a teaching and learning tool within higher education. She was awarded the UK Wikimedia of the Year Award in 2020.

She is interested in strengthening Wikimedia’s existing links with educational and cultural institutions, and is particularly keen to build on the work embedding Wiki editing within school curricula.

Email: caroline.ball@wikimedia.org.uk

Caroline’s elected term runs until the 2027 AGM.
Adrian Beidas

Trustee and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee (re-elected September 2025, term expires 2028)

Adrian has supported Wikimedia UK’s Audit and Risk committee since March 2021, and joined the board as a trustee in July 2022. He has been working in finance for over two decades, advising many of the UK’s largest companies. Prior to his finance career, he earned a Masters in Chemistry at Imperial College. He has acted as trustee of an educational charity, and as a school governor.

Adrian believes that the Wikimedia projects rank among the greatest achievements of the Information Age, and are an important public utility. He believes the Wikimedia projects’ global impact are still in their infancy, and believes that Wikimedia UK can help that potential be fulfilled through further collaboration with our country’s great cultural and educational institutions.

Adrian’s elected term runs until the 2028 AGM.
Mark Cruickshank

Trustee (co-opted April 2022, reinstated 2024 and 2025, term expires April 2026)

Mark is a lawyer with over 16 years’ experience in Intellectual Property and copyright, adding value to the Wikimedia UK Board with his legal and advisory skills. He has managed a diverse range of copyright issues, including licences, fair use exemptions and dispute resolution, much of which has related to new and emerging technology. In his role at the Bank, he works closely with strategic partners for which open sourcing and sharing information is a key deliverable. As a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s IP Committee, Mark has also gained experience of creating and influencing policy at national and UK level through drafting responses to requests for evidence and consultations. He therefore has a detailed working knowledge of the benefits of making content available to the public as well as the political and economic challenges that may arise.

Mark has worked with a number of BAME and socially disadvantaged organisations to increase access to the legal profession and has seen first hand the barriers that exist when there is a lack of resources, information and opportunities. He’s passionate in helping redress these issues and providing service to an organisation that has open knowledge as one of its main goals.

Mark’s co-opted term runs until April 2028.
Alex Ashby

Treasurer and Vice-Chair, serving as Interim Chair (co-opted September 2023, renewed 2025, term expires 2027)

Alex has been Treasurer and trustee of Wikimedia UK since September 2023. He is a chartered accountant, chartered treasurer and fellow of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Alex has been a treasurer and finance leader for all his career with over 15 years of experience in the treasury field and has worked in the media, energy, and retail sectors. Alex is a big believer in open knowledge and with the expansion of social media and AI believes Wikimedia UK continues to have a major role to play in growing and preserving this for future generations. He was previously a Trustee of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation. Alex also sits on the Audit and Risk Committee.

Alex’s term runs until September 2027.
Sarvesh Ramachandran

Trustee (co-opted September 2023, renewed 2025, term expires 2027)

Sarvesh is an accomplished business leader with many years of experience leading and advising large and complex international organisations. He is currently the UK head of a listed insurance business, where he is responsible for setting up and scaling the company’s presence in the UK. Prior to his current role, he spent over a decade in management consulting advising clients on strategy, operations and M&A topics. He is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and strongly believes that access to information and education, has the remarkable power to contribute to a more just and equitable society.

In his spare time, he works with various fintech and start-up organisations in an advisory capacity and serves as a Trustee on the board of an educational charity. He studied Financial Strategy at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and has qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant.

Sarvesh’s term runs until September 2027.
Monica Westin

Trustee (elected September 2024, term expires 2027)

Monica Westin is a librarian passionate about Open Access, scholarly search, and the future of fair use/fair dealing. She currently serves as Associate Director, Content and Discovery, at Manchester Metropolitan University Library, where she leads teams of librarians working on collections investment strategies, access & discovery, and digital transformation. With a background in copyright policy, web indexing, digital preservation, and product management, Monica’s career spans roles at the Internet Archive, Google Scholar, and the University of California Libraries. Monica is also a member of the Board of Directors for COUNTER Metrics and an active volunteer in various Open Access and scholarly communication membership groups and initiatives.

Monica has been editing Wikipedia since 2014 and organizing Wikipedia edit-a-thons and other events for new editors since 2018. She’s particularly interested in strategies to retain new Wikipedia editors and to ensure a welcoming space for all editors.

Monica’s term runs until the 2027 AGM.
Andrew Russell

Trustee (elected September 2024, term expires 2027)

Andrew is a policy, public affairs and communications consultant with over fifteen years of experience advising CEOs, founders and charity leaders on political engagement and thought leadership. He has worked for global brands including McDonald’s and Pearson, and social impact start-ups focused on improving education, skills and health outcomes. Passionate about access to knowledge and respectful dialogue, between 2015 and 2022 he served as a trustee of The Philosophy Foundation, a charity that promotes the teaching and practice of Philosophy across the UK. At present, he is also on the Board of Trustees for Humanists UK.

Andrew’s academic background is in Philosophy and he holds a BA and MA from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, respectively. In his spare time, he runs two book clubs with a combined membership of over 6,000 readers.

Andrew’s term runs until the 2027 AGM.
Lucy Yu

Chair of the Board of Trustees (appointed by trustees 15 September 2024)

Lucy Yu is a British technologist, venture-builder, science communicator and policymaker who builds, creates, and promotes frontier technologies and innovation for the universal benefit of people and nature. She has more than twenty years of deep and varied experience building, scaling and leading high impact public, private and non-profit ventures at the intersection of technology, policy, and regulation.

She has held UK government public appointments focused on clean energy, AI and data, and advised numerous organisations including the European Commission, the Russell Group, SEforALL, and UK and European-based venture capital funds.
Ian Watt

Trustee (elected September 2025, term expires 2028)

Ian has nearly 30 years of experience in technology, data, and public service, with a strong track record in charity governance. He has served on the boards of two charities, one at UK level.

Ian has been an active contributor on Wikipedia and its sister platforms since 2008, with over 143,000 global edits. For the past six years, he has delivered Wikimedia UK training across Scotland and beyond, helping community groups, universities, and cultural organisations to ensure local history, culture and voices are represented online. He also runs his local Wiki Meetup, supporting newcomers and helping build confidence in new editors.

Ian has been an active advocate for open data since 2010, and has led data projects at national scale. Since leaving the public sector, he has been deeply involved in setting up and driving the civic open data movement in Scotland. He has worked with government, cultural and educational institutions on digital access and inclusion. He is passionate about the power of open – whether data, knowledge, software or transparency. He is deeply committed to equity and inclusion and believes in elevating diverse perspectives in open knowledge.

Ian’s term runs until the 2028 AGM.
Douglas Scott

Trustee (elected September 2025, term expires 2028)

I am a long time Wikipedia editor (since 2006) and have been very involved in both online and offline community events in a volunteer capacity since 2011. In that role I have been a director of Wikimedia South Africa for 12 years and was the chapter’s president for 5 of those years. A period that saw the hiring of the chapter’s first employee and the establishment of long term partnerships with national entities in higher education to support the growth of multiple African language Wikipedias. In my role as a volunteer organiser I was lead organiser of Wikimania 2018 and a contributing organiser of multiple regional Wiki conferences (Wiki Indaba). I have been the volunteer project lead for over 20 events ranging from multiple Wiki Loves Monuments (and other photographic events), to edit-a-thons and other outreach initiatives. I have also led the chapter’s initiative to advocate for Wikipedia friendly copyright legal reform in South Africa since 2014. I now organise a regular Wiki meetup in Edinburgh. I am passionate about furthering the free knowledge movement by supporting community growth and health. In addition to fostering stronger relationships with the Wiki movement globally. In my professional life I am the research manager at Campaign Lab. Before that I was a criminologist in Cape Town at the Safety Lab, a South African non-profit organisation focused on innovation to reduce violent crime, where I was the chief research and technology officer.

Douglas’ term runs until the 2028 AGM.