Sue Sayer MBE

Previously a Secondary School Middle Manager in multiple roles, an Advanced Skills Teacher and ‘Classroom of the Future’ Director, Sue won a Cornwall Council ‘Innovation and Improvement’ award whilst managing 6 figure budgets effectively. As SRT’s Founder and Director since 2000, Sue has considerable experience in professionally managing and delivering successful contracted projects for a range of statutory agencies and other organisations including the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (x3), Natural England (x3) and Wave Hub (x3). She successfully line managed all aspects of a People’s Postcode Lottery Postcode Local Trust grants (x2), a TEVI grant, two Heritage Lottery Fund grants and most recently a grant from Defra’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund administered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Her first book ‘Seal Secrets’ was published in 2012 and after two reprints was substantially updated in 2023. Skills include article, report and paper writing; public speaking and she has presented at multiple conferences across Europe and America. Sue manages a large volunteer citizen science network and won a Cornwall Mammal Group Award for her ‘exceptional contributions to marine mammals’ in 2017. Her leadership was highlighted in a new book ‘Marine Conservation: People, Ideas and Action’ published 2018, as one of 19 leaders ‘rising to meet the challenges of ocean decline’. In 2018, Sue won two prestigious accolades: Cornwall Sustainability Award ‘Individual’ and Cornwall Volunteer Award ‘Environmental’. Sue has been the main author on two scientific papers: Sayer et al 2018 ‘Pinnipeds, people and photo identification’ and Sayer et al 2021 ‘Post release monitoring of rehabilitated gray seal pups over large temporal and spatial scales’ as well as being a co-author on multiple papers including on seal entanglement and microplastics. Sue is a Wildlife Safe Scheme Trainer on the topics of Seals and Seabirds.