Jack Harrison

Jack is a helicopter engineer, physiotherapist, ultra-endurance athlete, author, and explorer. His achievements have been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV, and he was dubbed “Britain’s Fittest Madman” by the Daily Star after completing many of the world’s toughest races across more than 15 sports, which included multiple British records and world’s firsts.

Jack is a multi-discipline ultra-endurance athlete, helicopter engineer, physiotherapist, author, and explorer. With a passion for adventure and human performance, Jack has dedicated the last decade of his life to pushing physical and mental boundaries. After starting his professional career in real estate investing and aircraft engineering, Jack spent years travelling the world, leading him to over 100 countries and still counting, while simultaneously competing in some of the harshest and most extreme races in the world. These include ultra-marathons, Ironman triathlons, 24-hour races, summiting mountains, cycling across countries and sailing across seas. These races have seen Jack compete in over 15 different sports with his long-term aim to find and finish the world’s toughest race in every endurance discipline. As a former British Triathlon and Cycling academy athlete, Jack has been involved in elite sport since school. Now, with over 20 years of multi-sport racing experience, he’s transitioned into a career supporting other athletes as well, coaching strength & conditioning, nutrition, and rehabilitation. Jack’s story has earned him the title of “Britain’s Fittest Madman” from the Daily Star and features in countless national publications. Whether it’s chasing records, sharing stories, or inspiring others to test their own limits, Jack is a true ambassador for endurance and adventure.”

Samantha Gare

Sam’s love of the outdoors comes from her own experiences of the wild and spends a lot of her time visiting some truly breath-taking remote places, such as Svalbard, South America, and the Galapagos Islands. However, of all the places she has been she has a deep sense of home in Scotland and the vast and open Scottish wilds. As a keen outdoors woman, she finds that the stresses of everyday live melt away as she steps into nature. Sam has focused her passion for conserving wild spaces through her artistic practice, and is a successful wilderness artist, represented by multiple galleries, with solo shows in London. Her core mission is to communicate the positive effects of the wilderness and explore our relationship with natural spaces around us.

Not surprising she is also a keen environmentalist and surrounds herself with scientists and keen lovers of the outdoors and uses her artistic practice to not only share the positive effects of the wild but to inspire people to actively conserve the wilderness that is slowly disappearing from our planet. She left a successful career in events, art and cultures to become a full-time artist, having worked at the Natural History Museum, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Royal Horticultural Society and as a Fair Director for the Affordable Art Fair.

As an Ambassador for the Foundation Sam is excited to use her creativity to connect people to nature through imagery and art, helping to communicate the benefits of stepping outside, especially in the face of the technologies that are pulling us in the opposite direction. She was instrumental in the organising of our successful RGS speaker event in September 2024 in partnership with The Wilderness Art Collective which is a group Sam belongs to of creatives, artists, environmentalists and explorers whose work discusses the natural world.

Christina Ballard

Christina is a dance teacher and Examiner for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and over the last forty years has been involved in several Dance Committees, taught and lectured overseas, and helped to choreograph and produce many dance syllabi. Christina first became involved in the Wilderness Foundation following the untimely death of her son Rees in April 2016. He was a gifted mentor on the TurnAround Project, and was able to help many vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.

Christina was delighted to become an Ambassador and helped set up an award in Rees’s memory, The Rees Ballard Memorial Award, presented to a worthy candidate at every graduation of the TurnAround Project. Since April 2016, Christina’s dance colleagues, friends and family have helped to fundraise thousands, to help continue the wonderful work of the TurnAround Project which her son volunteered for. This scheme enables young people who are struggling to cope with their lives, connect with nature and includes one to one mentoring, camping trails, life-skill workshops and learning to work as a team. It has a hugely positive effect, and enables them to gain confidence and achieve their goals.

Christina is totally committed to the Wilderness Foundation and by ‘spreading the word’ and fundraising, she continues to work on the Foundation’s behalf, giving many more young people the chance to benefit from the Foundation ‘s work and the legacy of her son Rees.

Wouter Schuitemaker

Wouter is an economic development and marketing consultant with over 25 years’ experience working with Government agencies and Fortune & FTSE 500 clients globally. The early part of Wouter’s career was spent in Asia Pacific where he held management roles at Japan’s largest market research company as well as the Japan offices of global brand consultancies Interbrand and Superunion, working with companies including P&G, Gillette, Nissan and Sony. Upon his return to the UK, Wouter headed Asia Pacific operations at the Mayor of London’s investment agency, managing overseas offices. He subsequently took on the role of Executive Director and member of the board at the West Midlands Growth Company, the region’s economic development agency, where he established and led the highly regarded investment promotion agency. In his time at both the London and West Midlands agencies his focus was on creating employment opportunities and prosperity for disadvantaged communities. It was in the West Midlands that Wouter also managed the UK’s largest multi-million-pound European Regional Development Fund project.

Wouter was delighted to discover that the unique work of the Wilderness Foundation covered a number of areas close to his heart including mental health and child welfare. Having spent a magical year trekking across Africa as an 18-year old, the Foundation’s original links with the continent also resonated strongly.  A firm believer in the restorative power of nature and himself a keen hiker and climber, Wouter was excited to be asked to join the Wilderness Foundation as an Ambassador.

Tim Sayers

Tim has over twenty five years in corporate life at senior management and board level across a range of market sectors working in global organisations such as Coca-Cola, Nielsen & Whitbread, as well as helping to develop smaller owner operated businesses in the UK. For the last ten years Tim has specialised in leadership and team development, working in professional sport as well as being fortunate to work with many organisations including SkyTV, Morrisons, Weetabix, Noble Foods, Volvo Trucks, Danish Crown, Fisher German and many leading names in agriculture and professional services.

Tim’s role as Ambassador has helped support the Leadership Academy, introducing corporates to the Foundation’s wellbeing and team building opportunities, at the same time raising awareness to support society and the environment.