Ben is the River Resilience Manager at Yorkshire Water and one of the founding members of Great Yorkshire Rivers. Ben combines his expertise in freshwater ecology and hydrology with a strategic approach to drive his ambition of seeing Yorkshire’s rivers flowing freely again. 

Emma is the Partnership Engagement Lead at Great Yorkshire Rivers and joined the team in August 2026. Emma leads the Communications and Engagement Working Group, fostering collaboration among the partners to expand the reach, influence and impact of the partnership.  

Josh is a Senior Technical Analyst, who has been part of the team since day one. His experience is in data, ranging from managing barrier data collection to prioritising barriers for removal and distributing data and insights to our Great Yorkshire Rivers partners. Josh also chairs the Data Working Group.

Laura is Project Manager at The Rivers Trust and joined the team in February 2025. She has been instrumental in implementing new systems that improve efficiency and enhance partners’ access to project information, alongside managing partnership updates. 

Mark is the Environment Manager at Yorkshire Water, one of the founding members Great Yorkshire Rivers and Chair of the Steering Group. Mark has a passion for restoring rivers via partnerships and dreams of a day when there are salmon in every Yorkshire river. 

Matt is a Senior Advisor at the Environment Agency. Matt joined the team in July 2026, with over 20 years of experience in fisheries improvement projects across England, including river restoration and improving fish passage. He offers advice and guidance to the partnership, helping to promote its work and showcase the successes of Great Yorkshire Rivers. 

Molly is a Project Officer at The Rivers Trust and joined the team in July 2026.  With a background in community engagement and environmental education, Molly leads the team through key Secretariat, Steering Group and Partnership Board meetings.

Natasha is the Great Yorkshire Rivers Technical Specialist and joined the team in September 2026. Before joining the partnership, Natasha was a geomorphologist in the Environment Agency, bringing expertise in fluvial processes, and a passionate about using natural processes as a driver for river restoration. 

Neil is the Regional Development Manager for Yorkshire at The Rivers Trust and one of the founding members of Great Yorkshire Rivers. Neil has delivered a multitude of major fish passes schemes across Yorkshire throughout his working career, through which he developed a strong relationship with Ben and Mark that sparked the idea of the partnership.

Phil is a Project Manager at Yorkshire Water. Phil joined the team in January 2025 and has been a vital cog in ensuring funding reaches the delivery partners for their projects removing Yorkshire’s barriers. With a background in countryside management and NFM, Phil now manages the financial and contractual elements of Great Yorkshire Rivers. 

Rosslyn will join Great Yorkshire Rivers in October 2026 as the new Partnerships Manager. She will coordinate the programme across partners, workstreams and catchments, supporting partners to drive positive changes for rivers, communities, and the environment. Rosslyn brings stakeholder engagement and programme delivery experience to the team, especially through her work across Yorkshire.