Working in Partnership

Chris Cousens

I grew up in St Davids, enjoying the beaches of north Pembrokeshire from a young age. Surfing and the sea have been important parts of my life ever since.

In 2015 I joined the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, initially in a media and comms role and since 2018 I have been the charity’s Water Safety Lead for the Wales, West and Isle of Man region. I lead a team of staff and volunteers delivering drowning prevention and education work across the region – from delivering water safety talks to children in a local school to working with government on national strategy and policy.

In the last decade I have seen the amount of incidents of suspected suicide or self-harm at the coast and inland waterways in Wales increase in many areas and I am keen to work with experts in contributing to prevention and ensuring RNLI teams are best supported in this area.

Since 2021 I have had the pleasure of being Chair of Water Safety Wales, a collaboration of around 40 organisations with a collective vision of a Wales without drowning.

I now live outside my beloved Wales – in Chester – with my wife Sarah and young kids Elin and Charlie.