Staff

Dr Karen Purnell is a chartered chemist and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Prior to joining ITOPF in 1994 she was a Project Manager involved in nuclear/toxic waste management and environmental remediation. She was promoted to Managing Director in May 2009.

Dr Michael O’Brien is a natural resource economist with experience in the fields of environmental impact analysis, resource valuation, and damage assessment. Prior to joining ITOPF in 2001, Michael worked in the United States for the NOAA Damage Assessment Center as well as in Austria as Assistant Professor for Environmental Economics.  He was promoted to Technical Team Manager in September 2009.

Senior Technical Advisers

Natasha Lippens has a degree in Zoology and an MSc in Environmental Technology, specialising in ecological management. She has worked as an international relations officer and research diver on a coral conservation expedition in the Comoros Islands. She joined ITOPF in 2006, after completing an assignment with the Marine Resources Assessment Group Ltd.

Dr Mark Whittington is a marine biologist with a background in fisheries, aquaculture and environmental monitoring. Prior to joining ITOPF in 2007, he worked in marine consultancy in the UK and before this, on coastal zone management projects in East Africa and the Middle East.

Kelly Reynolds has a degree in Maritime Environmental Management and a Masters degree in Coastal Zone Management.  Before joining ITOPF in 2008 she worked for the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the Counter Pollution Response Branch.

Dr Henk Renken is a marine ecologist and has a Masters degree in Tropical Coastal Management. Before joining ITOPF in 2009 he worked as a project manager for the Bonaire National Marine Park and as a consultant on coastal/marine conservation projects in Sri Lanka and Vietnam with a focus on mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses.

Tim Wadsworth has degrees in engineering and in law. He joined ITOPF in 1991 and has subsequently been involved in many spills internationally. His primary role is to provide advice on spill response resources and to assist in the assessment of claims for compensation for clean-up activities. He became Technical Support Manager in 2006 and is responsible for ITOPF's technical support functions.

Lisa Stevens has a degree in physics with satellite technology.  Before joining ITOPF in 2006, she worked at a defence and technology company on their satellite programme and information mapping service. Her responsibilities at ITOPF include developing and maintaining ITOPF’s Geographic Information System and other project work.

Technical Support Co-ordinators

Iain Harrison has a Masters degree in Law and Environmental Science.  He has previously worked as an environmental consultant and an environmental risk underwriter.  He joined ITOPF in April 2010 and his duties include claims assessment and other project work.

Enya Elswood has a degree in industrial Design and joined ITOPF in 2005. Her main duties include secretarial support to the technical managers and their teams. Enya is also responsible for arranging travel for members of the technical department and oversees the maintenance of ITOPF's central filing and email tracking system.

Technical Group Secretary

Carla Smith has a background in entrepreneurship and business studies. She has previously worked for a global consultancy firm as PA to the directors prior to joining ITOPF in May 2009.  Her main duties involve providing secretarial support to the technical group.

Deborah Ansell has an MA in Librarianship and joined ITOPF in 1996 from the Institute of Petroleum Library. She is responsible for maintaining ITOPF's extensive library of technical publications, the website and Country Profiles.

Chris Pavey joined ITOPF in 2006 as IT Support Technician. He was promoted in July 2007 to IT Administrator and is responsible for maintaining ITOPF’s IT systems.

Amanda Howarth has an MBA and joined ITOPF in 2000. In total, she has over 10 years' experience of the tanker industry and 16 years' experience in managerial accounts. Her responsibilities at ITOPF include the management of its financial affairs, membership procedures and company administration.

Doreen Pounds has 30 years' accounts experience and joined ITOPF in 2001. She is responsible for ITOPF’s accounting transactions, including the collection of Membership and Associate dues.

Carol Remnant joined ITOPF in 2001. She is an Associate Member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), with over 10 years' practical Human Resources experience. She is responsible for maintaining and developing all personnel and ITOPF people-related issues, as well as additional administration tasks.

Karen Young has eight years' experience working within a membership administration role at the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST).  She joined ITOPF in August 2008 and is responsible for all matters relating to Membership, including the issuance of Membership Record Forms and liaising with relevant parties.

Terry Goodchild worked for a market research company prior to joining ITOPF in 2002. As well as acting as Receptionist, she is the Managing Director's Secretary, undertakes general clerical duties and is responsible for the distribution of ITOPF's publications.