Two new appointments and one reappointment have been made to the Board of Natural England.
Kate Gibson and Rachel Danemann have been newly appointed to the Board for three-year terms, both of which commenced on 1 May 2026 and will run until 30 April 2029. Kate will serve as Deputy Chair for the duration of her term. Her appointment comes as Peter Unwin steps down after six years on the Board, most recently serving as Deputy Chair. Peter remains on the Board until 31 May 2026.
Furthermore, Professor Lynn Dicks has been reappointed for a second term on the Board. This three-year term began on 29 April 2026 and will run until 28 April 2029. Lynn will continue to serve in her role as Co-Chair of Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee (NESAC).
In addition, Kim Shillinglaw will step down from the Board on 31 May 2026 after completing two terms. Finally, Melanie Austen and Caroline Spelman left the Board on 31 March 2026 and 30 April 2026 respectively, each having served for three years.
Natural England and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would like to thank the departing board members for their dedication and contributions during their tenure.
The new appointments have been made on merit and all appointments have been made in accordance with the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments. Political activity plays no part in the process, nor is a bar to appointment.
Biographies
Kate Gibson
Kate Gibson is a global leader with a deep love of nature and more than 20 years’ of experience in strategy development and implementation, and leading complex transformation programmes to embed sustainability at the core of multinational organisations. Kate’s experience spans both the private and not-for-profit sectors. She currently serves on the Board of Forum for the Future and the Fundraising Board of Thames21. She is also a Senior Advisor with Systemiq and BRODIE Partners. Kate has extensive experience in strategy, transformation and sustainability, as well as successful stakeholder engagement at an international level.
Rachel Danemann
Rachel Danemann is currently Regional Planning Manager for the Midlands and South-West with the Home Builders Federation, where she is also the national lead for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). She is a voluntary board member of the Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association and has over 20 years of experience in planning policy and enabling development in Local Government, with a demonstrable history of delivering development projects in a nature-sensitive way and a passion for improving access to nature to help support health and social care.
Lynn Dicks
Professor Lynn Dicks is a Professor of Ecology at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, where she teaches ecology and conservation. She leads the Cambridge Agroecology Research Group, working on sustainable agriculture and insect conservation, and co-leads the Conservation Evidence project. Lynn is a Fellow of the Royal Entomology Society and co-chairs NESAC. Previously, she held research positions at the University of East Anglia (2016-2019) and the University of Cambridge (2009-2016). She worked as a science writer and broadcaster from 2002-2010.
Further information
Natural England is the government’s advisor for the natural environment in England. Its purpose is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. You can read Natural England’s new strategy here.