Our People

Chris Whatley joined HALO in June 2019. Prior to HALO, Chris served as Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the United States. Chris previously served as Deputy Executive Director of The Council of State Governments (CSG) and began his career as a field-based officer for the International Republican Institute (IRI), leading programs in Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Helen joined HALO in January 2018 having previously worked within the NHS and more recently the Further Education sector. She brings with her, extensive strategic management experience having had responsibility for Human Resources, Finance and Facilities. Helen is responsible for leading the Human Resource and supporting approximately 150 staff employed by HALO.

Mick joined HALO as Director of Finance in April 2017 and brings a wealth of public, private and not for profit experience to the organisation, including Finance, Project Management, Systems Development, Logistics and ICT. Mick is a keen weekend golfer and enjoys spending time with his young family.

Lucy joined HALO in 2017 and completed operational training in Cambodia, Somaliland, Georgia and Abkhazia. She was then posted to Afghanistan, Cambodia and most recently Libya, overseeing the delivery of projects including mine clearance, weapons and ammunition management and IED clearance. In 2021 she took up the position as Chief of Staff. Before joining HALO, Lucy worked in sustainable travel and international development. She has a BA Hons in Chinese, an MPhil in racial and ethnic conflict and holds IMAS EOD Level 3 and IEDD Level 2 qualifications.

Matthew joined HALO in 1998. He has managed mine clearance programmes in Angola, Somaliland, Cambodia, Nagorno Karabakh and Colombia. He has completed two HQ postings as Regional Director where he set up and led our programmes in Georgia, Colombia, Laos and Myanmar. Additionally he has carried out assessments and surveys in Eritrea and Kosovo. Matthew regularly represents HALO at technical review boards and States Parties meetings. He is married to Sirei, an artist, and they have two boys.

Belinda completed her technical training across Cambodia, Afghanistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Georgia. Subsequently, in eastern Ukraine Belinda helped oversee 200 deminers and established a new forward operations base. As Deputy Programme Manager in Abkhazia she helped coordinate HALO’s emergency response to a large ammunition store explosion. Then, as Sri Lanka’s Programme Manager Belinda grew the programme from 700 to 1,100 staff. Today as HoR Belinda is committed to seeing Sri Lanka soon become mine free and to responding to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Prior to joining HALO Belinda worked as a scientist in Antarctic marine ecology and commercial fisheries management.

Pete joined HALO in 2018 following 33 years’ service with the British Army. A career EOD, C-IED, logistician and ammunition technical officer, he commanded the Army’s 3,000 strong EOD, Search, Military Working Dog and ammunition technical capability delivering task forces and specialist support to operations around the globe including the London 2012 Olympics. Pete became Head of Region for HALO in Afghanistan in 2019 before becoming Head of Region for West Africa in 2022. In 2023 he took up the role of Programme Manager for HALO in Ukraine.

Previously Nick was responsible for setting up and developing new programmes and technical projects as part of HALO’s Capability Group, with a particular focus on the Middle East and Iraq. He is now head of region for HALO's established programmes across the Middle East. He was previously HALO's Programme Manager in Laos and Operations Manager in Ukraine. Before HALO he served as a British Army Officer for over ten years, specializing in Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He enjoys long walks on the beach and patting dogs.

Former professional opera singer, who has worked for HALO since 2005. Has managed demining operations in Mozambique, Angola, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Georgia. As Regional Director for Europe he was responsible for developing private fundraising for Kosovo and Nagorno Karabakh and from 2017-2020 was Director of Private Fundraising & Communications.

Fiona joined HALO in 2014 as the technical officer in Côte d’Ivoire, and has since managed the programme plus those in Sri Lanka and Lao PDR. Following that, she headed up HALO’s global training team for two years before becoming Head of Region for the South Caucasus in 2021. Fiona was a British Army Ammunition Technician for nine years, specialising in explosives safety and bomb disposal.

Mike joined HALO in 2014 in Cambodia. He has managed operations in Mozambique and Somaliland, following which he was programme manager for Somalia and in 2017, Nagorno Karabakh. Mike became Europe’s Deputy Head in August 2018 and is now Head of Europe (Ukraine). Prior to joining HALO, Mike spent five years in the Royal Air Force and holds a MSc in International Relations.

Chris has worked for HALO since 2006, managing operations Somaliland and in western Cambodia. He went on to manage HALO’s programme in Kosovo in 2009, set up and manage HALO’s PSSM programme in Ivory Coast in 2011 and coordinate HALO’s HQ Logistics 2014/2015. Prior to becoming Programme Manager in Angola, Chris was HALO’s Regional Director for North Africa.

Susanna joined HALO in 2014. After training in Zimbabwe, Nagorno Karabakh and Afghanistan she became a Location Manager in Cambodia and then was the Programme Manager of HALO Laos for two years. Susanna worked globally within the Capability Department on training and R&D projects before becoming head of HALO's southern Africa region in 2021. Susanna has a BA in Geography and a post-graduate degree in Law.

Tom trained with HALO in Somaliland in April 2011 and subsequently spent time managing operations in Georgia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Afghanistan. Returning to Somaliland as Programme Manager in 2015 he overseen the establishment of HALO’s Southern Somalia Programme. Tom is currently HALO’s Regional Director for Latin America and is IMAS-EOD3 trained. Prior to HALO, he worked in Outdoor Education after attending university in the English Lake District.

Lawrie Clapton has worked for HALO since 2018, working primarily in Somalia and North Africa. Lawrie took up the post of Head of WAM in January 2021, and is leading new WAM project development in Africa’s Great Lakes region.

Kristen joined HALO Trust in 2017 while finishing her Master’s of Public Administration at American University. Previously, Kristen taught argumentation and public speaking courses in the Communication Studies Department at Western Washington University and coached the school’s competitive debate team. Drawing from a background in politics and the non-profit sector, Kristen now manages HALO’s Congressional advocacy and public policy engagement in the U.S.