Four Lancaster University graduates have received Alumni awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements.

Tanya Steele

BSc Management Science-Marketing 1990

The first female CEO of the World Wildlife Fund UK, Tanya Steele began her career in the tech industry working in product development, marketing and communications in senior roles for Siemens and BT.

After nearly 15 years in the private sector and inspired by a volunteering assignment with the Red Cross, Tanya brought her corporate experience to the charity sector joining Save the Children in 2004 as Executive Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Communications, and later led the organisation as interim Chief Executive.

She joined WWF-UK in 2017 and was awarded a CBE for services to wildlife and the environment in 2023.

Dr James Grime

MSc Mathematics 2003

James Grime is a mathematician with a personal passion for maths communication and the promotion of mathematics in schools and to the public. He has toured the world giving public talks and his work can be seen on YouTube.

After graduating from Lancaster, he went on to do PhD at York. He ended up joining the Millennium Mathematics Project from the University of Cambridge. On their behalf James ran The Enigma Project, with the aim to bring mathematics to life through the fascinating history and mathematics of codes and code breaking. After leaving the Millennium Mathematics Project in 2014 James continues to give public talks on code breaking and other topics.

John Curtin

BSc Environmental Sciences 1990

John Curtin was in a senior role at the Environment Agency until 2023, where he advised the Government on rivers and flooding as Executive Director of Local Operations. His leadership of a new approach to flood resilience for the UK led to the Government’s adoption of the National Flood and Coast strategy to the year 2100. For this he was awarded the 2020 British Hydrological Society’s President’s Prize.

He has acted as advisor on 80 COBR meetings since 2007 including advising SAGE during the COVID pandemic.

Lucy Briers

BA Independent Studies 1988

Lucy is an accomplished actor, whose most recent role is as Lady Ceira Lannister in the Game of Thrones’ prequel House of the Dragon.

After graduating from Lancaster University with a degree in Independent Studies in 1988, Lucy won a place on a three-year course at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

She is a versatile stage and screen actor, who has appeared in some of British TV’s most iconic shows, alongside an enviable list of theatre credits. From an early appearance in Red Dwarf, Lucy’s career has taken in more comedy, including Twenty Twelve and The Thick of It; crime dramas, notably Endeavour, Midsomer Murders and Silent Witness; and drama, including BBC’s Pride & Prejudice.

Her on-stage success includes work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she won Equity’s Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ibsen’s Rosmersholm in 2019. Her recent credits include Ceira Lannister in the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, and on stage as Virginia/Elizabeth 1st in Orlando at the Garrick Theatre.