Meet The Team!
Oliver Worsley
Founder
Oliver Worsley is the co-founder and co-chair of the RGS-Singapore. Oliver has a PhD in molecular biology from the Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR/NUS), and has enjoyed an international track having previously studied at the University of Edinburgh and Leiden University (Holland).
Oliver is passionate about the outdoors and when he’s not in Singapore working on a new lab project, he’s overseas taking part in endurance races, or climbing a mountain somewhere far-afield!
Grant Rawlinson
Chair
Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson is the co-chair of RGS-Singapore, a human powered explorer, and team decision-making coach.
Originally from New Zealand but based in Singapore for 20 years, Axe has made over 50 expeditions across the globe including walking across countries, cycling across continents, climbing Mt Everest and crossing sea's and continents completely by human-power.
Jialing Zhong
Secretary
Jialing Zhong is the Secretary of RGS-Singapore. As a Geography graduate, Jialing has a keen interest in a variety of topics pertaining to geography, including climatology, agriculture, transport, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). She is passionately curious about the intricate relationships between mankind and nature, and incorporates some of these ideas in her creative writing works from time to time.
Jialing always loves a good cup of tea, and devotes a substantial amount of her free time to the exploration of traditional tea brewing methods across different cultures.
Eleanor Great
Committee Member
Born to a Singaporean mother and a British father, Eleanor Great grew up in the UK and Europe, but has spent most of her career in Singapore with her husband and two teenage sons. She holds a degree in Modern Languages (French and German) from Cambridge University, which fuelled her love for travel and exploring different cultures from an early age.
Eleanor is passionate about the outdoors and loves all kinds of water sports, from her days as a competitive swimmer, to rowing, triathlon, diving and sailing. In her spare time, she loves ocean canoeing with her crew, catching the sunrise and competing at international competitions for Singapore.
Wong Pak Yeong
Treasurer
Wong Pak Yeong is a keen sports enthusiast who has an affinity for the outdoors and enjoys hiking. Having recently accomplished walking in the Camino de Santiago, he looks forward to a new challenge of hiking the Shikoku trails in Japan.
He used to be in the Geospatial industry, with a strong focus in digital transformation and location based services. Prior to this he was a geophysicist in the Oil & Gas industry, operating in the Asia Pacific region.
Ian Coppell
Committee Member
Ian Coppell has lived in Singapore since 2001 after having taught geography in London, Nairobi, Mussoorie, and Manila during the 80s and 90s. His passion for maps and travel has led him to visiting 116 countries, or geopolitical entities that might claim sovereignty, and he has also, in the recent past, been an antique map dealer.
He owns a cabin in Colorado with his wife and two daughters, all of whom work or study at Singapore American School and he hopes to retire to the mountains one day.
Ian has been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for over ten years.
Victoria Great
Committee Member
Victoria Great is a dual citizen of the UK and Portugal and has lived in Singapore for the past 20 years with her family. She is an avid traveller and nature lover, as well as being a strong advocate of social responsibility and believes that everyone should do their part to leave this planet in a better state than when they first entered it. In her free time, she can be found climbing mountains, crossing the Arctic Circle Trail and diving in coral restoration projects for marine conservation. She often combines her passions of fitness and supporting social causes.
Victoria joined the RGS-Singapore Committee in 2023 and is excited to do her part in the mission to further share geographical knowledge and understanding.
Montse Castells
Committee Member
Montse Castells, originally from Barcelona, has lived in the UK and Hong Kong, and has now been living in Singapore for 18 years. With an explorer's spirit from a young age, her passion for travel and discovering the world began with interrailing at 18 and has since taken her on solo adventures to Cuba, Peru, Ecuador, Kenya, India, China, and beyond. She has run through Nepal, explored the remote regions of Bhutan, and dived in some of the world’s most stunning underwater landscapes, developing a deep passion for ocean conservation and protecting marine ecosystems.
Montse embraces geographical and physical challenges, particularly when they support a good cause. As a dedicated volunteer with a strong commitment to the planet, she believes in contributing to positive change, no matter how small, knowing every effort makes a difference.
Ian Bellhouse
Committee Member
Ian Bellhouse loves being outdoors, likely kindled by his early days as a Boy Scout, further fuelled by a degree in Geology (with a notable prize for fieldwork mapping,) and lived out through a mix of adventure races, ironman triathlons, and mountain marathons.
Influenced by his two teenage boys, Ian is now interested in the interaction of humans and our precious planet and how we can build a more circular and sustainable economy. He also mentors school teams working on the United Nations sustainability goals.
Past Committee Members…
William Russell
Founder and previous Co-chair
Originally from Hampshire in the UK, Will has taken advantage of being in the countryside his whole life, exploring all corners of the UK on foot, bike and even water. He likes nothing more than digging out the OS maps and plotting a route. Further afield, Will has always been an avid traveller, making use of every holiday to explore a new country, from trekking in India, road-tripping in the USA and canoeing along the Zambezi River - the more planning and map-reading required the better!
One of his most recent adventures took him to Morocco for the Marathon Des Sables, a 250-km endurance race across the Sahara Desert, by foot. The experience gave him a thirst for more challenges, and he's currently planning his next expedition across Southern Africa!
In 2016, Will moved to Singapore where he eventually co-founded RGS-Singapore. This gave him the chance to explore new destinations and cultures in Asia, while exercising his passion for unearthing the lesser-known regions of the planet.
Now back in the UK, Will regularly attends Monday night lectures at the RGS-IBG HQ and never fails to be amazed by the fascinating talks. Although hard-pushed to choose just one, one of his favourite recent talks was 'The Polar Ocean Challenge' by Sir David Hempleman-Adams.
His favourite piece of exploration trivia is: Which part of the world was once known as the 'Dark Continent'?
Sam Strang Steel
Previous Treasurer
Sam has always been fascinated by maps. From the moment he had a duvet cover with a Map of the World on it, he has been drawn to learning about different people and places; the physical barriers that divide them and the many historic, socio-economic and cultural forces that connect them.
Following his MA (Hons) in Geography at the University of Edinburgh, Sam has wandered further and further from his home in Scotland; living and working in London, Madrid and for the last 5 years in Singapore where he has been transported to other worlds through music and mindsets; enchanted by natural and wildlife photographers and inspired by young environmentalists at the many RGS-Singapore events before joining the Committee in 2020.
His favourite piece of Geography trivia is how many countries are there that are only 4 letters long and which are they?