Deirdre Butler - Born in England and living in rural areas next to farms and the moors, Deirdre spent most of her time outdoors having “adventures” either on foot or horseback. Her mother, a keen and observant naturalist, would take the family, accompanied by numerous dogs, on long walks and so developed Deirdre’s passion for all things wild and wonder-full. Work in the medical industry, brought Deirdre and her husband, Peter,  to America in 1997 - ostensibly for two years. Arriving in Colorado in 2000, Deirdre's desire to serve and her love of wildlife and nature led her to volunteer for a variety of wildlife and conservation focused organizations at both a local and national level. Deirdre has led over 50 day hikes and 40 mostly two-week long international trips including three successful summits of Mt Kilimanjaro.  Deirdre specializes in trips in her old home-country and has led England’s Jewel in the Crown - Coast to Coast trip, over eight times. A certified Wilderness First Responder, Deirdre lives in Lyons, CO with Peter and their menagerie of furry and feathered friends.

Derek Tunstall MBE - A Mechanical Engineer by trade, Derek was born, has lived and worked in the Lake District, England his whole life. Derek is the epitome of service to others. Serving 25 years in front-line rescues with the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team and now as an Honorary Member, Derek was awarded the prestigious Member of the Order of the British Empire honour in 2000, from the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to the Lake District National Park Authority. His 50-year Lake District National Park award, including 10 years as Chairman of the Voluntary Warden Service, and 500 duties award (he’s done more than that) was received in 2022. As a Park Ranger, Derek has led guided hikes for the public, and organises work parties to improve the footpath system, and a yearly Sea & Mountain Rescue weekend. Guiding groups since 2005, Derek’s speciality is leading long distance hikes and getting everyone to the finish line with a smile on their face. Derek has toured Mont Blanc in both directions on his mountain bike, completed Scotland’s West Highland Way on foot and on bike, climbed 283 Munro’s and 214 Wainwright’s, hiked the Laugavegur trail in Iceland and completed 4 of the 5 hardest Via Ferrata in France and Italy. Whilst an active rescuer, Derek held a Casualty Care certification and now holds an Emergency First Aid Certificate. Derek is married to Anne (45 years) and has two sons and 3 grandchildren.

Gene Goldberg - Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Gene was the only one in his family with outdoor interests. He met these by being active with the Cub and Boy Scouts. College and the army kept him from pursuing outdoor activities until he moved to Colorado in 1975. There he joined the Colorado Mountain Club and began hiking frequently. Eventually he became a leader for them, and afterwards also for another conservation and environmentally focused organization. Between these two, he has led over 100 day hikes and 70 one- or two-week long trips – hiking, backpacking, and cultural. These have been in the Colorado Rockies, Utah, Wyoming, California, England, Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Nepal, Bhutan, New Zealand, and Australia. Oh, and also 20 trips just in Italy, most of those in the Dolomites. Gene first became acquainted with Italy in 1969 when stationed in Naples with the US Army. A retired architect, he now fills his time leading hiking and hiking/cultural trips in these wide-spread areas. He lives in Denver, CO with his wife, Gail. 

George Rogers - Having grown up on a dairy farm in the county of Devon, England within Dartmoor National Park, George enjoyed the countryside and all it has to offer, exploring either walking, running or riding horses. In 2000, career progression took George to the West Midlands and city living. Situated in approximately the middle of the United Kingdom, the West Midlands offers easy access within a few hours by road to most parts of the UK, allowing George a huge amount of variety for outdoors activity on his days off and weekends. He has a passion for cross country running events ostensibly to be rewarded with a good quality T-shirt but the opportunity to roll around in the mud and have a beer afterwards with his friends, perhaps is closer to the truth? For work, George is a Personal Assistant to a Director within the Education and Skills sector of the UK Government. 

Lyn Potier - Although she was born and raised in Guildford, a town just south east of London, Lyn now lives with her husband, Warren, on the beautiful North Cornish coast where she can indulge her passion for all things outdoors. She enjoys body boarding and archery as well as cycling and keeping fit, but her main love is walking. So far Lyn has completed half of the wonderful UK National Trails including the iconic South West Coast Path and Offa’s Dyke. She has also undertaken a charity walk in the Sahara Desert and for five consecutive years was part of a team competing in the Snowdonia Challenge Plus, a tough orienteering walking race in Wales. When she wants to relax, Lyn can be found in her garden most likely sitting in a chair reading a good book.

Peter Butler - Peter was born in Calcutta and lived there until the age of 4. Professionally trained as a biochemist, when he changed direction and moved into Technical Sales and Marketing, Peter truly blossomed. On relocating to America, with Deirdre, Peter set up his own Marketing & Communications business  with his first customer being his former company in the UK. As Chief Operating Officer & Finance Director, Peter is lending his considerable skills and abilities to Big Round World. Besides learning new skills as his primary hobby, Peter is an accomplished musician (piano, electric & classical guitar, drums), a highly skilled wood-worker (builds from scratch acoustic and  electric guitars, Shaker furniture and more) a keen gardener and planter of trees.

Philippe Apchin - Born in Paris and brought up in the Loire valley, Philippe studied business and worked in industrial real-estate in the north of France for 10 years. Fortunately, his enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits and the natural world became too strong to resist in the 90s. He became a scuba-diving instructor in Asia, the USA and the Bahamas. Settling back in France in 2002, he chose Provence as his new home, and while still diving around the world, started exploring Provence: mountain biking, trail-running, birdwatching and hill walking. A generalist leader with a passion to share nearly 20 years of experience living in Provence, Philippe has a wide range of interests in wildlife, geology, geography and history developed through 30 years of extensive travels in more than 35 countries. Philippe is a member of the British Mountaineering Council, he holds a Mountain Leader Award Level 3 and a current First Aid for the Outdoors certificate. Since 2010, Philippe has shared his time between his English home in the Cotswolds and his beloved Provence.