Founder
As an accredited horse trainer for over 30 years, Andrew developed and manages the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, specialising in horse training and behaviour modification. He holds a PhD in equine cognition and learning and is the winner of the Eureka Prize, the highest Australian Science Award. Andrew is also the co-founder of H-ELP and the only Australian member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group under the Species Survival Commission of the International Union For Conservation of Nature.

Using Learning Theory and humane training methods similar to when he's training horses, Andrew trains working elephants in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Andrew has written numerous books (including an International Best Seller) and has authored 35 peer-reviewed journal articles. One of Andrew's books is the Elephant-Friendly Training for Working Elephants: A practical manual for foundation training from first handling to riding and trunk control.

Chair

Mark is a strategy and marketing leader with considerable non profit experience but first and foremost loves animals. He remembers at age 8 meeting elephants in the wild at Chitwan National Park in Nepal and later in India. He still looks at these gentle giants with wonder.
He has a B.Sc.(Econ)Hons from University of London (UCL), MBusLaw from Monash University, MBA from Columbia University, GradCertEduStudies from University of Sydney and is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. Mark has been published in Gulf Marketing Review, Marketing Magazine, The Educator, Journal of Banking & Financial Services, inFinance and Journal of Law.

Board Member
Nicki Stuart is a foundation member of H-ELP. She was inspired to become involved after accompanying Dr McLean on his first trip to Nepal in 2007, from which she made a documentary about the training camp. As a professional horse trainer, Nicki was already aware of the many benefits science-based training brought to her work in terms of handler safety and animal welfare. Nicki has held the role of Chair and is a director with the H-ELP board.

Board Member
Dr Portland Jones is a writer, lecturer and horse trainer. She has been on the board of H-ELP since its inception. Although she is passionate about improving animal welfare through the use of evidence based training methods she also believes that one of H-ELP's most important roles is to enhance the quality of life for mahouts and their families through increased understanding, education and safety. She is excited about the future for H-ELP and in particular is looking forward to being able to share some of the organisation's training experiences with others.

Board Member
Kevin has a Bachelors in Emergency and Disaster Management. He has been working in the emergency services for the past 20 years as a paramedic around the world and currently lives in Hermanus South Africa where he works in the Emergency Department. Congruently to his love and career in medicine, Kevin has had a life-long passion for horses. Additionally, Kevin studied under Dr Andrew McLean in Australia at the renowned Australian Equine Behaviour Centre and earned his diploma in Equitation Science from ESI. Kevin is founder and director of Equitation Science Africa which educates students and their horses in the principles of Equitation Science and Learning Theory. Continuing with his experience working with horses, Kevin has been passionately working with H-ELP as a trainer in SE Asia to improve the welfare of elephant and Mahouts.

Board Member
Daniel is a Chartered Accountant and a Partner at his firm in Camberwell. His experience in leading teams and in helping his clients to achieve their strategic goals, provides him with a strong base to assist H-ELP and its stakeholders.
Adding to this, Daniel also lived in South East Asia for five years whilst growing up, and has travelled to the region on multiple occasions, which is where his love and appreciation for elephants began.

Board Secretary
Mark is a cybersecurity and IT professional, as well as a tech investor, and currently serves as the Secretary of the H-ELP Board. Originally from South Africa, Mark developed a deep connection to wildlife from an early age. He fondly recalls childhood trips to South African conservation parks, where he was captivated by the majesty of wild animals in their natural habitats. These formative experiences sparked a lifelong passion for wildlife conservation and the protection of endangered species and their ecosystems.
Mark continues to nurture this passion through regular visits to conservation areas around the world. One of his most memorable experiences was a seven-day walking safari through South Africa's Kruger National Park, where he had the rare privilege of observing elephants and other wildlife up close in their natural environment. These experiences continue to fuel his commitment to conservation efforts.
Throughout his life, Mark has lived in South Africa, the UK, the Caribbean, the US, and now calls Australia home. He strongly supports the H-ELP organisation's mission to enhance the welfare of working elephants in Asia and improve the lives of the mahouts who care for them. Mark is deeply committed to making a positive impact on both the animals and the communities that depend on them.

After reading Dr McLean's work 'The Truth About Horses' Laurie recognised many similarities with the behavioural training he had carried out in his Australasian based elephant programmes.
He approached Dr McLean regarding a collaboration to advance his elephant programmes in the science based training principles Andrew champions.

"Andrew and his team have worked with the Wildlife Trust of India where I have witnessed the extraordinary sight of a young, wild elephant becoming enthusiastically co-operative as he was taught his basic riding training. These young elephants are not tethered and so are free to leave at any moment. This young male did so and then returned time after time for further interaction with Andrew. There is no doubt he enjoyed the training. I hope that this new method of teaching elephants becomes global and future human-animal inter-relations can be based on love, compassion and trust, rather than fear and domination."