Two GA Trustee vacancies open for nominations

A high-quality geography education is essential for future generations, as geography has a critical role in solving many of the global challenges we face.
The Geographical Association is looking for two new Elected Trustees to join its Board of Trustees from 1 September 2026.

Details and nomination form are here.

The Board of Trustees meets three times a year in Sheffield, London and online. It comprises 14 Trustees and has responsibility for providing strategic direction and sound governance for the Association.

Elected Trustees serve an initial four-year term with the possibility of continuing for a second term if supported by the Board. GA Trustee positions are not remunerated but travel and subsistence expenses are reimbursed. Nominees for the role of Elected Trustee must be members of the GA and will be asked to show that they actively uphold and support the aims, values and mission of the Association.

Trustees welcome the nominations of colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that can strengthen and complement the existing Board of Trustees. 

For example, this might include those in their early/mid teaching career stage, school leaders, primary colleagues and/or those with experience of leading the geography programme of a MAT.

The deadline for the current round of nominations is Monday 4 May 2026. 

If you have any questions about being a GA trustee, please contact the current Chair of Trustees, Alastair Owens via a.j.owens@qmul.ac.uk.

Judith Mansell RIP

I heard the sad news today that Judith Mansell has passed away.

She was the first Education Officer of the Royal Geographical Society. She authored materials which are still available on the website to this day. She was involved in the creation of the Discovering Antarctica and Discovering the Arctic websites - the former was recently given a fresh relaunch at an event at the RGS.

She also worked on the Unlocking the Archives project - a major undertaking which received a large sum of National Lottery Funding.

She also helped with the creation of the Geography Ambassadors Scheme.

She was also a judge in the early years of the Young Geographer of the Year award, along with the tireless Rex Walford.

From the RGS News - 1999

She held the post from 1999 to 2010, working latterly with Steve Brace.

Prior to that she taught geography at Bishop's Hatfield Girls School for 11 years, having been educated at Harrow County Girls School.

She was on the project team for the Digital Learning for Key Stage 4 project which happened during the Action Plan for Geography, and was also a Trustee of the GA for some time. This was a joint project between the RGS and the GA and she was one of the people to work to support both organisations, something I think is really important at this time. She was also involved in the Young People's Geographies project in an advisory role, and contributed to the GA's journals as well, as well as TES.

She contributed to many conferences and CPD sessions during her time with both organisations, and also on committees of the AGI.

In Jeremy Krause's GA Presidential biography he talks about her contribution below:

Membership and Professional Development Committee (M&PD)
Prior to becoming Junior Vice President in 1999 I served as Hon Secretary to the GA’s M&PD Committee Chaired by Judy Mansell. This Committee no longer exists, but at this time it played the role described in its title. It carried overall responsibility for Membership and Professional Development activities such as Conference. It also held an overview of Local GA Branches. Each of these areas had a Hon Officer such as Paul McDermott for the GA’s Annual Conference. When it was decided to close down the Committee its activities moved either to Education Standing Committee (Education Group) or to paid staff at GA HQ.

She also wrote an obituary for David Wright - who contributed a great deal to Norfolk geography during his time at UEA.

From the GA Magazine, 2018 - talking about her work as the GA Branches Officer.

Update

Thanks to Claire Brown, who worked with Judy when she started out at the RGS. She says:

Judy was the Society's first Education Officer and the work that she started in that role has shaped our education programme today. Judy started our CPD programme for teachers, A Level study days, the first Young Geographer of the Year competition, and so much more.

An official RGS obituary of Judy is here.

And here's an appreciation of Judy by Steve Brace from the GA Magazine's Autumn 2025 issue.