Our Team
Annamarie works for the Trust in a fundraising and operations capacity. After her Bachelors degree in Politics from Durham University she attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and subsequently served in the British Army for six years as an education officer. The highlight of her time in the Army was spent working with Gurkhas, developing their English language skills and travelling to Nepal to monitor the education tests as part of their annual selection process. Since then Annamarie has worked in numerous educational environments, moving around regularly with her husband who is still in the Armed Forces, in both Germany and the UK. Annamarie has three children and spends her free time creating bespoke picture frames.
Rachel is Policy & Research Officer for The Angus McDonald Trust’s Myanmar operations. She spent several years at the BBC in London working on current affairs and documentaries, before moving to the private sector to work as a multimedia producer. Rachel holds a joint honours Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Southeast Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and has lived in China, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Christine Facella is a graduate of Parson’s School of Design and Fordham University, and founder of ethical design studio Beetle & Flor which has collaborated with artisan communities in India and Nepal to create models of sustainable craft work with strong branding appeal. All proceeds from her work support artists and producers in the developing world. Her interest in the living and built environment has seen Christine work on projects with the Berkshire Bird Paradise (NY) and Work + Shelter (Delhi), amongst others. Currently Christine is completing a degree in Landscape Architecture at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture and supports The Angus McDonald Trust on branding, web presence and marketing.
Yangon native Khai is a third year journalism student at the National Management College of Yangon University, and supports the Trust as a Project Assistant. Khai has considerable experience in the non-profit sector, as a volunteer with the Aung Foundation of Daw Than Myint Aung (Social and Environmental Development Training) and as a problem solver based in the athlete’s village of the 27th South-East Asia Games held in Naypidaw in 2013. She also volunteers as an English teacher with the Free Funeral Services Society charity in Yangon and is a member of the Green Lover team, an environmental protection group promoting the use of organic and chemical-free household products in Myanmar.
Catherine is the Founder of The Angus McDonald Trust. She was educated at schools in Italy and Austria, and at Durham University. In 2005 she established NGO Kokonor in the Tibetan exile community of McLeod Ganj, an ethical manufacturing outlet training and employing Tibetan refugees. Since 2010 she has been Chief of Staff to author, Afghanistan expert and British MP and government minister Rory Stewart. She is editor of Angus McDonald's India’s Disappearing Railways, published by Carlton Books in November 2014, and curated accompanying exhibitions in London, Sydney and Melbourne. She has written for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Geographical, and various travel magazines, and is a Huffington Post contributor. Her memoir The End of All Our Exploring was published in February 2017. For more information visit www.catherineanderson.live