Caroline Acton

Caroline began her journey with Operation Wallacea as a Research Assistant in Indonesia while studying for her BSc in Zoology at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She quickly caught the “expedition bug” and, almost immediately after completing her final exams, joined the team in Honduras as field staff.

From there, Caroline moved into a full-time role in the UK Operations office, taking part in five expeditions to Honduras and one to Cuba. In 2010, her love of travel and all things Latin American inspired her to take a break from Opwall to explore the Ecuadorian Amazon for ten months—seeking out weird and wonderful wildlife, improving her Spanish, and consuming what she happily admits was an obscene amount of rice and beans.

She returned to the UK office in 2011, taking on a central role in the operations and logistics of our global expeditions. Over the years, she has run and managed projects of every scale—from our largest undertakings to remote, smaller sites—and led field surveys for bats, birds, butterflies, and habitats. A qualified OSSM Instructor, EFR First Aid Instructor, and holder of advanced medical training, Caroline brings a wealth of technical expertise and calm, decisive leadership to challenging field environments.

From 2012 to 2021, she managed our Mexican expeditions before being appointed Director of Operations. In this role, she now oversees the running of all Opwall research locations worldwide, ensuring every expedition is delivered safely, smoothly, and with the same spirit of adventure that first drew her to the field.