Trustees and key post holders

An experienced science communicator and a Learning Volunteer at the Natural History Museum for the last eight years, Leah's interest in spiders lies in their venom. She won a grant from BAS in 2018 to fund specific aspects of her MSc thesis on the phylogeny and venom of  Steatoda nobilis (the Noble False Widow Spider). Currently she is working on primate genomics for her PhD at Oxford Brookes University but still has a soft spot for British arachnids and is eager to encourage the public to have a more positive attitude towards our spiders. Leah joined BAS Council as an Ordinary Member in 2021.

Liam has had a keen interest in natural history since a young age, particularly invertebrates and birds. While studying for his undergraduate degree in Wildlife Conservation he attended a spider identification workshop at FSC Preston Montford where he was shown a pseudoscorpion for the first time. From that moment on he was absolutely fascinated with the Order and has spent much of his time since recording and identifying British and European pseudoscorpions. He hopes to continue his work with this Order and encourage others to record them. 

Luke has had a keen interest in UK wildlife from a young age. Started off birdwatching and engaging with the British Trust of Ornithology, taking part in voluntary work on Bardsey Island aiding in ringing Manx Shearwater and doing daily bird surveys during the yearly Young Birder’s weeks. Around this time his passion for entomology and arachnology grew and starter to contribute to the islands arachnological records. Originally from the Wirral he also grew a fondness for brownfield sites! Where a Pan-list for his local reserve, Bidston Moss began. Over the years his passion for arachnids grew stronger as well as for macro photography, documenting and photographing every arachnid he could find. Now a student at Edge Hill University, studying Ecology and Conservation he aims to develop these entomological skills further with a primary focus on arachnology.

Meg grew up in the rural Cotswolds and has always had an interest in natural history. She studied Biodiversity Conservation at Nottingham Trent University, where she began recording invertebrates as a hobby. Meg has contributed to several wildlife conservation projects and currently works as an ecologist. She has a special interest in harvestmen and has been organising the BAS harvestmen recording scheme since 2019. She was elected to BAS Council in 2021.

After a successful career in education, Paul opted for voluntary redundancy in 1997 and established an independent ecological consultancy specialising in arachnological and entomological surveys. His work has included establishing the invertebrate charity Hymettus and developing spider and other invertebrate identification courses for the Field Studies Council, University of Birmingham and Manchester Metropolitan University. This new career was based on a lifelong interest in invertebrate recording that has involved spells as newsletter editor for both the Conchological Society and the British Myriapod and Isopod Group (BMIG), Chairman of the Suffolk Naturalists Society and BMIG and he is currently National Organiser for the Millipede Recording Scheme. He is county recorder and SRS Area Organiser for Suffolk and has served on BAS Council as an ordinary member and as Vice-president and President.

A retired academic from the Universities of Manchester and Kansas, Paul researched the palaeontology of arachnids and other chelicerates for over 50 years. Paul joined the Council in 1983 as Distribution Manager (to 1986). He served as Vice President 1994–1997 and 2000–2001, and as President 1997–2000. He has been editor of the Society's academic journal Arachnology since 2011, and is an honorary member of the Society.

Richard Burkmar is an ecologist & technologist with skills in programming and field ecology, currently working as a web programmer for the UK Centre of Ecology and Hydrology. Previous roles include biodiversity project management and teaching for the Field Studies Council, manager of a Local Environmental Record Centre and GIS programmer. He is SRS Area Coordinator for Cheshire and Lancashire and web site manager for the BAS.

Richard works as a species specialist at a Local Environmental Records Centre in Wales. He is an active contributor to the Spider Recording Scheme, with a particular interest in montane and wetland spiders, and also undertakes taxonomic research on African theraphosids. He became a Council member in 2002, Editor of the BAS Newsletter in 2004 and National Organiser for the Spider Recording Scheme in 2021.

After a career of fifteen years in the retail jewellery industry, Tylan has taken a break to focus on a lifelong passion of discovering and identifying British spiders. He has recently completed a degree in environmental resource management and spends much time volunteering with local conservation groups to help widen the profile of the UK spider fauna. He is the County Recorder and Spider Recording Scheme Area Organiser for Cornwall, and can most often be found looking for spiders on rather beautiful, but precarious, sea cliffs.

His mug shot shows the face of a man who has just found a third British site for Gnaphosa occidentalis.