Board of Trustees

Diane McTurk, Karanambu Trust Executive Director

Diane with orphan otter, Sappho

Diane McTurk is the visionary behind both the Karanambu Trust and the Karanambu Lodge.  The North Rupununi is also her home.  She was born at Karanambu soon after her pioneer father, Tiny McTurk, established a cattle ranch there.  Tiny was also a naturalist and Diane learned to appreciate the region’s extraordinary flora and fauna at an early age.  After attending the Wychwood School in Oxford, England, she moved to London to work in the hospitality business for the Savoy Group. 

In 1966, Diane returned to Guyana to celebrate the country’s independence.  She subsequently became the Press Officer for The Guyana Sugar Producers Association.  She moved back England briefly and worked in corporate public relations before returning to her Rupununi roots in 1976.  Like all the cattle ranches in the area at the time, Karanambu had suffered from a series of misfortunes: epidemics of diseases had decimated the herds, and there were difficulties protecting the cattle from rustlers.  As a result, Diane looked for alternatives to make a living.  Karanambu was well known for its wildlife and spectacular fishing, and had always been a welcome rest stop for unexpected visitors.  So, in 1983, she opened her home to eco-tourists.  Diane also offered refuge to injured or orphaned wildlife.  Sadly, the animal that appeared most often was one of the most endangered: the Giant Otter. 

By necessity, Diane became a world expert on the care and rehabilitation of this species.  She has raised over 40 orphaned otter cubs, returning most of them to the wild for a chance at freedom.  In 1997, Diane, with the support of the McTurk family, established the Karanambu Trust as a private charity. 

Major General (rtd) Joe Singh, Trust Chairman


Joe Singh, Chairman of the Karanambu Trust (left) with
Project Coordinator Salvador de Caires (right)

Joe Singh is a leader whose work experience includes business, conservation, sustainable development, civil defense, and 34 years of military service—he is a retired Major General.  He graduated from Queen’s College in 1964 and was one of the first officers selected in 1965 for training in the UK to commence the establishment of the Guyana Defense Force. He also holds a degree in Public Administration from the University of Guyana (1976) and a Master of Science (2005) from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Greenwich, UK.  He has served as Commander, Border Operations; Commander, First Infantry Brigade; Director General, Guyana National Service (1981-1990); and, Chief of Staff, Guyana Defense Force (1990-2000). 

After retiring from the military, he has worked as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (2000/2001); Executive Director of Conservation International, Guyana (2001-2004); and, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (since June 2005).  He is currently Chairman of the National Working Group for the Millennium Development Goals, the Steering Committee of the Guiana Shield Initiative Phase 11 Project, and the Karanambu Trust. 

Joe also serves on the Board of the Agriculture Research Committee of the National Agriculture Research Institute, Conservation International Guyana, and the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society.  He is the country representative of the UK Scientific Exploration Society, a Patron of the Guyana Heritage Society, a Member (2006) of the Regional Eminent Persons Selection Panel for the AN Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence, and a founding member of the Civil Society Organization/Guyana Citizens Initiative.

Lucy Spelman, Karanambu Trust Secretary

Dr. Lucy Spelman

Dr. Lucy H. Spelman is a veterinarian whose work experience includes domestic animal, zoo animal, and wildlife medicine, zoo administration, media consulting, writing, and teaching.  She has also traveled extensively—her patients have included giant pandas in China, Asian elephants in Burma, giant river otters in Guyana, and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology at Brown University (1985), Lucy earned her veterinary degree from the University of California at Davis (1990), completed a residency in zoological medicine at North Carolina State University (1994), and received her board certification from the American College of Zoological Medicine (1994.)  She worked for the Smithsonian Institution for nearly ten years, first as associate veterinarian, and then as director (2000-2004) of the National Zoo in Washington, DC.  She was a consultant for Discovery Communications before moving to Rwanda in 2006 where she served as the Field manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project for nearly three years. 

Lucy returned to the United States in 2009 to teach undergraduate students interested in animal health and conservation, first at Brown University, and now at the Rhode Island School of Design.  She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mountain Gorilla One-Health Program, based in Rwanda, and as Secretary of the Karanambu Trust Board of Trustees based in Guyana, South America.  Lucy has been filmed at work for television and is a frequent public speaker.  She is also a published author: she and a colleague, Dr. Ted Mashima, collected and edited The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes, 28 stories by zoo and wildlife vets about their patients (Bantam Dell/Random House, 2008).  In addition to long walks with her Labrador retriever, she enjoys reading, photography, and exploring the-out-of doors.

Sydney Allicock at Karanambu in February 2011

Sydney Allicock is from the Rupununi and a pioneer of community based tourism in his village Surama. Sydney is the Executive Director of globally recognized Surama Ecolodge, which employs 70 people, and Chair of the North Rupununi District Development Board.  Sydney also represents local communities on national initiatives and was previously Toushao of Annai Village where he established the progenitor for national Amerindian Heritage Day. Sydney is the recipient of many prizes and awards, the most recent being his recognition as the 2010 Anthony Sabga Public and Civil Contributions laureate.

Dr. Godfrey Bourne

Godfrey R. Bourne is currently Associate Professor of Evolutionary and Tropical Ecology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His earned his B.A. in zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University, his M.En. in Wetland Ecology at Miami University, and his Ph.D. in Avian Behavioral Ecology at the University of Michigan. Between high school at the prestigious Queens College in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana and earning his first degree, he taught biology, geography, and general science at Christ Church Secondary School in Georgetown.

Godfrey has spent more than 40 years conducting behavioral and ecological research, and has worked in some of Guyana’s most remote locations. He runs an active research laboratory investigating evolutionary aspects of sexual selection in fishes, frogs, and birds, and the ecology of butterflies and other pollinators of rainforest plants. Godfrey’s primary field site is CEIBA Biological Center which he co-founded with his wife Carol M. Bourne and college friends, Gary and Amy Komlos. He has lived in the USA since 1966, spending one year as Curator of Birds at the Detroit Zoological Park, one year as a Senior Research Scientist at the South Florida Water Management District, six years teaching behavioral ecology, and evolution at Florida Atlantic University, and 18 years on the faculty of biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Godfrey is actively involved in rainforest conservation, as the Executive Director of CEIBA Biological Center, a researcher for the International Center for Public Health and Environmental Research (PHER), as a member of the Amphibian Specialist Group of IUCN/SSC Brazilian Amazon-Guianas Regional Working Group, and as a trustee of the Karanambu Trust. He was a Visiting Professor of Biology at the University of Guyana, during fall semester 2008, and is also on the editorial board of Aquaculture, Aquarium, Conservation and Legislation (AACL), of the Bioflux Society, Bucharest, Romania. Godfrey is an Elected Member of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU), member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), Animal Behaviour Society, Cooper Ornithological Society (COS), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS). His hobbies include nature photography, bird painting, and international travel.

Father Malcolm Rodriques, Academic Liaison

Father Malcolm

Malcolm Anthony Rodrigues S.J. (M.A.Oxon) is a physicist by training, as well as a Jesuit priest.  Father Malcolm has been a member of the Society of Jesus since 1960.  At the University of Guyana, where he first started teaching in 1980, he is both Head of the Department of Physics and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.  His degrees include: a Licentiate in Philosophy from Heythrop College in Oxfordshire, England (1965); a M.A. in Physics from Oxford University, England 1969; a Licentiate in Theology from Colegio de Cristo Rey, Mexico City, Mexico (1974); and a Certificate in Career Guidance & Counselling from Missouri University, USA (July 1984.)  Previously at the University of Guyana, he served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor from 1992 – 1994, Director of the Environmental Studies Unit from 1995 – 2000, and Chairperson of the Board of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In addition to his considerable experience as both professor and administrator, Father Malcolm has served on a number of non-profit boards.  He currently serves as Chairperson of the St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital Board, a Member of the Mercy Wings Board, Sophia Squatting Site, and a Member of the Committee of Management of Castellani House, The National Gallery.  He is Chairperson of the Council of Management of the Electoral Assistance Bureau and has held this position since 2001. He was a founding member of the Interim Iwokrama Board and was also a Member of the Iwokrama International Board of Trustees for ten years from 1999 – 2009.  In addition to various academic publications, he is working on a book about Bishop Piercy Austin, first Anglican bishop of British Guiana and the founder of Queen's College.