Council

Chair

René Olivieri CBE

René Olivieri was appointed Chair of the National Trust in February 2022. He moved from the United States to the UK in 1980 to become first editorial director and then chief executive of the international scientific and scholarly publisher, Blackwell.

In 2007 he became Chair of Tubney Charitable Trust, a major grant maker, supporting animal welfare and nature conservation charities. He then served as chair of the Wildlife Trusts for six years, before joining the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2018, where he was initially the Senior Independent Director and subsequently Interim Chair. He was a member of the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund Board and continues to serve on the government’s Cultural and Heritage Capital Advisory Board. Since becoming Chair of the RSPCA in 2019, he's overseen the modernisation of that organisation’s governance, finances and strategy.

Through his career in publishing, René has extensive experience of scientific research and higher education and has published peer-reviewed articles himself; he was a member of the board of the Higher Education Funding Council for England for many years. René cares deeply about biodiversity and the environment but he's also passionate about our built heritage and feels strongly that the pleasure and benefits of both nature and heritage should be open to everyone.

René is an avid horseman, tennis player, and theatregoer. He and his family live in Worcestershire where they share the extensive gardens of their home with the public and host, jointly with the Royal Shakespeare Company, an annual Tulip Festival.

Deputy Chair

Sandy Nairne CBE FSA

Sandy joined the Board of Trustees in April 2015 and was appointed Deputy Chair in February 2022. He's also an elected member of the Council. Until recently Sandy was Director of the National Portrait Gallery (2002–15) where he led the transformation of a much-loved museum into an even more successful national institution. Among many achievements as Director, Sandy enhanced the creative partnership between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire and Montacute House in Somerset.

He previously worked as Director of Programmes at the Tate and has served on various advisory groups from the Fourth Plinth Selection Committee to the Maggie's Art Group, supporting Maggie’s cancer care centres, and the Fabric Advisory Committee of St Paul’s Cathedral, which he currently chairs. Sandy is a curator and writer whose recent books include Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners and an edited volume of his father’s writings titled The Coincidence of Novembers. He's currently co-authoring a biography of Lord Desborough.

Over the years Sandy has contributed to the governance of several organisations including Middlesex University, the Royal College of Art and the British School at Rome. In recent years he served as Chair of the Board of the Clore Leadership Programme, developing creative leadership in the cultural and heritage sectors across the UK.

Alongside his enthusiasm and expertise in the arts, architecture and heritage Sandy has a long-standing interest in learning and cultural diversity. Sandy also includes racing-punting, competitive croquet and drawing among his various pursuits.

Council member

Hannah Bester

Hannah was nominated to the council by the Marine Conservation Society. Over the last 15 years she has become an established leader in the volunteering and community engagement sector, having worked for the Scout Association and the National Trust. She is currently Head of Volunteers and Citizen Science at the Marine Conservation Society.

Hannah developed governance experience as Chair of a social enterprise with the objective of working with nature to improve people’s lives and make a woodland richer for wildlife. Her professional pathway has been driven by her passion for mutually beneficial and impactful work for volunteers, communities, the environment and the organisations that she has served. She has done this by helping the strategic development of quality and supported volunteering experiences, and she finds it enriching to connect with communities.

In Hannah's spare time, you’ll find her having fun volunteering in the National Trust’s Stourhead bookshop and running a Cub Scout pack.

Council member

Nuthana Bhayankaram

Nuthana is a public health doctor passionate about supporting everyone to be healthy. Nuthana is particularly interested in tackling climate change, the biggest threat to health worldwide. Spending time outdoors connecting with nature has supported her own physical and mental health and wellbeing, and Nuthana wants to make sure that everyone has access to outdoor spaces.

Nuthana is incredibly excited to have been elected to the Council of the National Trust so that she can work with Council to ensure that the Trust is for everyone, for ever. When not working, Nuthana can be found outdoors or with her nose inside a book.

Council member

Chris Blandford

Chris is a World Heritage Specialist, Master Planner and Landscape Architect whose career spans 45 years.  He trained as a landscape architect and environmental planner in both the UK and the USA and established the CBA Studios Consultancy in 1977. Over the next 30 years his visionary and influential work for private and public clients attracted many awards for excellence and innovation in landscape planning and design. During the 2000s Chris led the international work of the practice in the Middle and Far East, India, and the North Africa.

During the 1990s and beyond Chris became increasingly involved with the now more strongly emerging heritage conservation sector. Working at different scales, he undertook a variety of roles including leading projects for the restoration, conservation, and management of historic landscapes or destinations on the one hand, while providing strategic and policy advice to government and agencies on the other. Much of his work in this period was focussed on the nomination, management, and planning of over 25 potential and actual World Heritage Sites in the UK and Overseas – driven by a passion and deep commitment to the World Heritage concept which continues to the present day.

Following retirement in 2017 and in a voluntary capacity, Chris has continued to work in the charitable sector proactively providing leadership, technical, management, and advocacy advice to NGOs and on their behalf to Government Departments. These organisations and roles include World Heritage UK (President), The Gardens Trust (Vice Chair), and the Design Review Panel of the South Downs National Park (Vice Chair), and the European World Heritage Associations Network.

Council member

Harris Bokhari

Harris was elected to the Council in 2022. He's a social entrepreneur public engagement advisor and chartered accountant. His wide range of roles include serving on the Board of the Natural History Museum, The Royal Parks and the Prince’s Trust Mosaic Initiative. He's also an ambassador for the British Asian Trust. 

Harris founded Patchwork Foundation in 2010 to promote the political and democratic engagement of under-represented communities. He's an Independent Member of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Committee and an Independent Member of the Community and Voluntary Service Honours Committee. 

Harris was awarded an OBE in Her Majesty's 2015 Birthday Honours List for services to young people and interfaith relations named as one of London's most influential figures by the Evening Standard's Progress 1000 List and awarded Imperial College’s inaugural Distinguished Alumni.

Council member

Anne Casement

Anne was elected to the Council in 2011. Her undergraduate degree in botany led to a long and varied career with the National Trust in Northern Ireland, firstly as a property warden and subsequently compiling management plans for all its properties. This then broadened to include the preparation of interpretative material and compilation of landscape and garden surveys.

Anne’s current career as a freelance historian resulted from the opportunity to develop discoveries at Mount Stewart, County Down, into a doctoral thesis on the management of landed estates in Ulster in the mid-nineteenth century, and to become to some degree skilled as an architectural historian. Her findings have appeared in several academic journals and her 2010 book An Admiral's Eye View.

She takes an active interest in the planning-related matters at both a national and local level, particularly the success and wellbeing of her local Conservation Areas. She served for six years on the Historic Buildings Council (NI), and presently fulfils governance positions with the Northern Ireland Environment Link and Irish Architectural Archive.

With her husband, Anne cares for a Listed Victorian house and farm in County Antrim, and treasures walking in wild places, listening to music and promoting and enjoying local produce.

Council member

Jane Dean

Jane was elected to the Council in 2018. She was a Commercial Panel member for the Trust and remains as a Specialist Commercial Advisor. A career in the hospitality industry with international companies Compass and Sodexo in executive roles led her to setting up her own consultancy in 2008.

Jane has several non executive director and trustee positions, including with The National Museum for the Royal Navy and The Auckland Project. The latter is transforming Auckland Castle into a faith and heritage destination of international significance and to reinvigorating Bishop Auckland and the wider area through social and economic generation.

Jane is trustee director of P&O Member Funds & Investment, and member of their audit committee. She is non executive director trustee of Above & Beyond (a charity for six Bristol hospitals) and chair of their audit committee and a non-executive director on the trading board of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Jane is married with two children and lives in Bristol. With a keen interest of the countryside, walking, triathlons and running a charity fund raising for Bristol local hospitals.

Council member

Jim Dixon

Jim is an experienced leader who has had a successful executive career focusing on the environment.

Career highlights include his role as the Chief Executive of the Peak District National Park Authority, Head of Strategy for DEFRA and Head of Agriculture and Rural Policy for the RSPB. Jim’s first job was with the National Trust as a summer Ranger at a property in Frensham in the early 1980s.

Jim currently lives in Derbyshire and spends his time writing, running a small antiques business as well as holding many non-executive roles. Recent non-executive positions include Trustee of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Director of the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Jim has been a Nature Notebook writer for The Times for nine years and has a book due to be released in March 2024 titled Scattering Plenty: The People Who Made the Modern Countryside. Among the stories, the book tells of conservation in the 20th century and the work of James Lees-Milne in transferring country houses to the care of the National Trust.

Council member

Ros Farrell

Ros’ career began in sales for multinational companies and after 15 years she transferred into teaching where she held headteacher positions in both a small rural school and large, challenging inner-city schools. Ros later led, as CEO, a multi-academy trust before establishing an executive coaching consultancy.

Growing up in Northumberland, she moved to the south-west after studying History at university. Ros's involvement with the National Trust became hands-on during her first headship when she collaborated with them to create an outdoor learning and play area, utilising woodland lent by the Trust. Witnessing the benefits this project brought to the children, staff, and families, Ros became even more committed to the Trust's mission. Outside her professional life, Ros is an active volunteer, including time as a Child Advocate for Barnardo’s and serving on PCCs. With her family she has re-developed an old garden, making an orchard of local heritage fruit trees, wildlife and wildflower areas, and an organic vegetable garden.

Council Member

Richard Green

As Head of RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, Richard has helped deliver the fifth Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) garden, one of the largest gardening projects undertaken in Europe in recent years. The transformation of this 154-acre green space enriches the lives of local communities and their environment for the future.

Richard has enjoyed a broad career that includes extensive operational and commercial experience in museums, leisure attractions and tourism, notably during 10 years with the Science Museum Group.

Council member

Sarah Green

Sarah was elected to the Council in October 2017 and became a Senior Member in 2022. In 2019 she joined the Nominations Committees for Trustee and Chair. Sarah has over 20 years’ experience working with business as an international lawyer with Clifford Chance and as Director of Regions for the CBI. She's currently Chief Executive of Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, the public/private partnership responsible for tourism, destination marketing and inward investment for Newcastle Gateshead urban core.

Sarah is particularly passionate about the north of England and the role of the National Trust in supporting sustainable communities. Sarah is a board member at Ryder Architecture, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and is on the Court at Newcastle University.

Sarah is currently completing a PHD on the social impact of small businesses within rural communities at Durham University and spends her free time floating in the North Sea as an active member of the Craster Coastal Rowing Club.

Council member

Inga Grimsey OBE

Inga was elected to the Council in 2019. She spent the first half of her working life in brand development, marketing and retail with Sainsburys, Levi Strauss and Storehouse. She then made a career change and moved into the not-for-profit sector as CEO of the Ski Club of Great Britain. Following this, she became a Director of the National Trust where she worked for nine years, initially running the Trust’s commercial operations and then as an operations director on the senior management board. Later, she was appointed Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society where she initiated major change programmes.

After retirement, Inga was a volunteer at the 2012 Olympics and chaired the East of England Heritage Lottery Fund/National Lottery Heritage Fund. Now, Inga is a Trustee of a multi-academy trust and also Chairs the Regional Advisory Board for the National Trust in the East of England.

Inga lives in a zero-carbon house, where she's a keen gardener with a large garden, growing almost all her vegetables. In 2017 she was awarded an OBE for her work with Heritage and Communities.

Council member

Min Grimshaw

Min was elected to the Council in 2021. Min, who has an economics degree and is a qualified accountant, has enjoyed a varied career across the telecoms, financial services, water and rail sectors, working in finance, asset strategy and regulatory roles.

Min values challenging convention and conventional thinking, and strongly believes that diversity and inclusion are an essential ingredient. Min is working hard to reciprocate the opportunities available to her; she is on the local parish council and has been a Re-Engage volunteer for over five years. She's also a passionate Aston Villa season ticket holder.

Council member

Sarah Hollingdale

Sarah was first elected to the Council in 2019. She began her heritage career as an oral history intern at Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, but has moved all over the UK delivering engagement programmes. Sarah’s priority is to improve access and inclusion, and is something she’s really passionate about. 

Sarah supported with significant accessibility work at Hereford Cathedral, which was recognised as the first place of worship in the UK to be awarded Autism Friendly status from NAS. Sarah is incredibly proud of the work, both internally and with the local community, done to achieve this status.

Sarah currently works for the Churches Conservation Trust, which is based in Worcester. In autumn 2024, she’ll also be starting an MA in History, Place and Community at the Institute of Historic Research in London. In her spare time, Sarah loves going to the theatre and is also a huge fan of Eurovision. 

When she first became a Council member, she’d been to 76 National Trust places. She promised to double this in her first term and just about succeeded, despite delays by the Covid-19 lockdowns. Sarah will still try to venture to as many new properties as possible in her second term – the current total is up to over 160. 

The National Trust offers so much variety with the many places it manages, and Sarah is keen to experience the full range. Her itinerary is set to explore everything from pubs to cotton mills and mountains to bogs, and of course will eat plenty of scones along the way. 

Council member

Mark Horton

Mark Horton was elected to the council in November 2024. He's an archaeologist by profession, educated at Cambridge University, where he received his PhD. He was a research fellow at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, before lecturing at the University of Bristol for 25 years, retiring as Professor of Archaeology in 2019. He's currently Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. 
 
Mark has led numerous excavations in East Africa, the Caribbean, North Carolina, Egypt, France, Mongolia, as well as medieval sites in the UK. He has had a long-standing media career, working with the early series of Time Team, before presenting BBC’s Time Flyers. Between 2005-16, he was one of the original team of presenters for BBC2 Coast. He also works regularly for Discovery Science Channel.
 
He now lives in a medieval house in the Forest of Dean, looking out over the ancient landscapes of the Severn vale.
 

Council member

Sally Hunt

Sally was elected to the Council in 2022.  She's had a long career as an elected officer in the trade union movement and has served as General Secretary of both the Association of University Teachers and then the University and College Union.

Sally was a member of the TUC General Council and Executive, its international spokesperson and President. She represented the TUC in the European and global trade union governing bodies and the ILO. She was a council member for ACAS for which she was awarded an OBE for services to industrial relations.

She holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sussex. Sally now spends her time volunteering for a food recycling campaign and charity and two theatres in her home town of Brighton and is training to be a Deputy Registrar of marriages. 

Council member

Ruth Jenkins

Ruth was elected to the Council in November 2024. She has over twenty years of experience of working with not-for-profit organisations in a variety of sectors. As a chartered accountant with a master’s degree in voluntary sector management, Ruth focuses on how to leverage available resources to maximise charitable impact.

With a life-long commitment to the environment, Ruth is the finance director at Keep Britain Tidy, deputy chair of Veganuary, and a director of ProVeg UK. Over a decade ago she and her partner retrofitted their house to include solar panels, a ground source heat pump and rainwater harvesting system.

Ruth is focused on the changes we need to make to ensure a safe future for all our children, and enjoys developing programmes of work that aim to spread the knowledge and actions we collectively need to make those changes with joy and determination.

Council member

Sara Kassam

Sara is currently the Sustainability Director at King’s College London. She has worked in sustainability at different levels from strategic planning to practical implementation in a number of different organisations including UK Sport, the Victoria & Albert Museum, CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services), the University of East London, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and Ashford Borough Council. She loves connecting people and ideas to make positive change happen, working across organisations to embed sustainability expertise and catalyse systemic change in operations and behaviours. She believes that everyone has their part to play, and it’s the enthusiasm and expertise of all professions and roles that are essential for positive action on environmental issues. Sara has two young daughters and is also a Scout Leader.

Council member

Simon Kearey

Simon is a senior leader with a professional background in accountancy, systems implementation and business transformation.

Simon is currently the Senior Programme Manager for Buckinghamshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, where he’s responsible for primary care transformation and clinical leadership. Simon's previous roles include Head of Transformation for Oxfordshire County Council, and Systems Implementation Manager for the BBC.

Simon currently lives in Buckinghamshire, where he holds a number of non-executive positions including Trustee of the Bucks County Museum Trust and Chair of the Chiltern Society.

Simon developed his passion for conservation and heritage from a young age, and worked for the National Trust as part of the Acorn Camp programme when he was 17 years old.

Council member

Duncan Mackay

Duncan was elected to the Council in 2018 and is a member of the Nominations Committee. He was born in South Yorkshire and enthused with geology by his coal miner grandfather. His father taught him to read maps, examine vernacular buildings, identify birds and, on holidays, enjoy wild landscapes chasing choughs or picking bilberries at Brimham Rocks to make pies.

After studying geology and geography at Newcastle University, where he met his wife, he worked in conservation in the voluntary, public (state and local authority) and private sectors. He recently retired as urban environments adviser to Natural England.

Duncan is curious about everything. He sees beauty in small things and the potentiality for any place to be better. He is the author of six books: The Secret Thames; Apples, Berkshire, Cider; Eat Wild; Bizarre Berkshire; Reading, the place of the people of the Red One; and Whispers of Better Things (about Octavia Hill’s family).

The Trust’s founders have inspired him throughout his life and he loves the accessible open space freedom Trust land offers everyone. Duncan is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute, a Trustee of the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, and a member of the Canal and River Trust’s Environmental Advisory Group.

In 1996 he won the Henry Ford European Conservation Award for Heritage and in 2004 an Unlimited Award to explore the longest straight line in Britain (from Culver Point to Cape Wrath) on a folding bicycle. He s a past Commodore of Henley Sailing Club. Duncan also owns a collection of lucky pebbles, a coracle and a cider press.

Council member

Simon Murray

Simon was appointed to Council by CPRE (the Campaign to Protect Rural England) in 2021. 

Simon retired as a member of staff of the National Trust in 2019 after 32 years. During his career he was a property manager, a curator and a regional director before joining the executive team as, firstly, Chief Operating Officer and subsequently Senior Director for Strategy, Curatorship and External Affairs. He has long championed the campaigning role of the National Trust to preserve and enhance the British countryside, both in its built and natural heritage, and is now taking that campaigning spirit forward as chair of CPRE.

Council member

Martin Nye

Martin was appointed to the Council by the Soil Association in 2022. He's been a trustee of the Soil Association since 2017 and became Chair of Trustees in 2019. Martin has had a broad-ranging career in business over more than 35 years, including a number of Chief Executive roles in private and public companies, and latterly has held a portfolio of non-executive chair positions. He's Chair of the Wiltshire Museum and a Trustee of Worldreader and the World of Books Foundation, both of which support literacy. He read History at the University of Cambridge.

Martin has been a member of the National Trust for over 20 years. He lives on a farm in north Wiltshire where his wife Victoria breeds grass-fed beef shorthorn cattle and opens their garden under the National Gardens Scheme and to support local charities.

Council member

Tom Ovenstone

Tom was appointed by the Duke of Edinburgh Award in 2022. 

Council Member

Joshua Rice

Joshua is a doctoral candidate in History at Royal Holloway, University of London with several years’ experience working and volunteering in the Arts and Heritage sector in a number of different institutions. He has been a member of the National Trust since joining as a Young Member in 2019. He currently teaches undergraduate modules, including the History of Political Thought from Plato to modern environmentalism, at the University of London.

From 2020-2023, Joshua was the Amy Buller Scholar and Cumberland Fellow at Cumberland Lodge, an educational charity based in Windsor Great Park, that seeks to empower young people to lead the conversation around social division. In this role, he designed and led workshops on contemporary ethical questions relating to AI, the climate crisis, and the future of democracy for universities, businesses and charities.

Joshua has written for academic and popular audiences in publications like History Today and the Times Literary Supplement. Additionally, he has researched and written episodes of BBC Radio 4’s critically-acclaimed programme, You’re Dead To Me, that blends comedy and history. He is a passionate advocate for making rigorous public history available to the widest possible audience.

Trustee, Council member

Paul Roberts

Paul was appointed to the National Trust’s Board of Trustees in September 2022.  He has been an elected member of Council since November 2015 and served as Senior Member from September 2018 until his appointment as a Trustee. 

He started his career as a strategy consultant at Accenture and subsequently gained a wide range of commercial and general management experience, including at Cable & Wireless and Tesco. With a more recent focus on the world of startups, he brings particular expertise in technology-driven transformation and innovation. 

He is currently CEO of GPDQ, a fast-growing primary healthcare provider and also sits on the Board of Limalimo Enterprises Ltd, which built and runs an eco-lodge in the Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia. 

A keen hill walker and climber, Paul is passionate about conserving and sharing the enjoyment of our green spaces. An academic background in history and archaeology through a degree in Classics from Oxford has also given him a lifelong enthusiasm for our built heritage.

Trustee, Council member

Michael Salter-Church MBE

Michael was elected to the Council in October 2019. He’s also Chair of the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill, London, as well as Director of External Affairs, Policy & Sustainability at Openreach Ltd, where he’s the senior sponsor of the Pride employee network.

Michael founded the community interest company (CIC) that organises London’s LGBTQ+ Pride event. He co-chaired and ran the events 2013-2022, turning it into the city’s third largest annual event. He’s received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service on behalf of Pride’s volunteers. He’s also worked on a number of organising, advisory and fundraising committees, including Action for Children, the Terrence Higgins Trust and National Student Pride.
 
Michael previously served as an advisor in 10 Downing Street, including leading on broadcasting and equal marriage legislation. Michael’s professional background is in public affairs and communications. He’s a member of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership alumni network and has been awarded an MBE for public service.

Council member

Andrea Selley

Andrea is passionate about using our heritage to bring people together and grow happy and thriving communities.

Having studied archaeology, Andrea became interested in how we engage the public with our past. She went on to work at the Natural History Museum, Hampton Court Palace and for the National Trust, as well as working as an independent consultant, primarily concerned with developing sustainable cultural attractions. Andrea has been Territory Director for English Heritage since 2017, acting as the senior representative of the charity in the north of England.

Council member

David Stocker MA (Cantab. & York) DLitt, DUniv, FSA, MCIfA

David was appointed to the Council in 2017 by the Council for British Archaeology. Since 1978, David – an archaeologist and architectural historian by training – has worked in the heritage sector throughout England, but especially in Yorkshire, the East Midlands, and Lincolnshire. Having worked for heritage charities and as a self-employed consultant, he served as Inspector at English Heritage from 1986–2012, retiring early following disability. In 2013 he was appointed to HLF’s East Midland Committee, and in 2018 he became an NHMF Trustee. Subsequently, he has served on four NLHF Committees (as Trustee and Chair) and currently sits on the NHMF Panel and several other government sub-committees. 

David has held many posts and Trusteeships with heritage-sector charities and currently chairs the Lincoln Record Society Trustees. 

David also has a busy academic career, having published many books and articles on landscapes, buildings and churches, early stone-sculpture and nineteenth-century art-history. His most recent co-edited volume – Freiburg Letters (2022) – is a wartime diary, written by an English ex-patriot in Germany in 1942–6. He's held research posts at the University of York, UWTSD and St John’s College Cambridge and in 2010 he was appointed Hon. Visiting Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds.

Council member

Tim Stowe

Tim was appointed to the Council by the RSPB in 2022. He's had a lifelong love and fascination with the outdoors and has now more than 40 years' professional experience of biodiversity conservation primarily across the UK but also in a range of countries across Europe and Asia. 

For a decade, Tim was part of the executive leadership team at the RSPB, helping to steer the charity through challenging changes. As well as conservation, Tim’s experience includes governance, financial management, change management, policy development and advocacy to the highest levels of government.

Following retirement in 2017, he moved to Norfolk to continue his support for wildlife and landscape conservation as a volunteer. Tim has travelled widely in search of wildlife, iconic landscapes and heritage sites around the world. He's been a Trustee of Plantlife International since 2014 and is currently Vice-chair. He's also Chair of the Environment Committee of the South Georgia Heritage Trust and a Trustee of The International Eco Fund.

Apart from wildlife, Tim’s interests include mountain and hill walking, Park Runs, gardening and inspiring two grandchildren to value and appreciate the beauty of nature.

Council member

Tara-Jane Sutcliffe MCIFA FCMI FRSA

Tara was appointed to the National Trust Council in 2021 by the Open Spaces Society.

A former landscape archaeologist, Tara serves as a company Director and Trustee of a number of conservation charities – including the Open Spaces Society, CPRE London and the William Morris Society. She's also a member of an expert panel advising Defra on disbursement of funds to promote global biodiversity and climate change resilience.

As Executive Director, she formerly led a national, conservation body on a UK Overseas Territory (the St Helena National Trust) and prior to that a Wales-based, international voluntary service charity. Most latterly, Tara has been working in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and as interim managing director of a foreign policy think tank.

Tara is also a member of her Local Access Forum – an independent statutory body established under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act of 2000, advising the local authority on improvements to public access and enjoyment of the countryside.

She splits her time between South Wales and London.

Council member

Patience Thody

Patience is a senior leader with over 20 years' experience as a CEO and deputy CEO. She's also gained valuable experience in human resources, people development and operations management in the corporate and charity sector. Patience has extensive experience in leading change, strategic development and building, leading and motivating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver departmental, organisational and governance objectives. Patience is a strategic, caring leader with excellent all-round communication skills. Professional, highly motivated, enthusiastic and flexible, she's confident working in a rapidly changing environment.

After starting her career in the banking sector, Patience joined the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts in 2008 to apply her passion for finding talent to a cause closer to her heart. Now as Deputy CEO, she oversees the internal running of the charity and management of the senior leadership team.

Council member

Alexandra Verney

Alexandra Verney’s career began at Sotheby’s and since then she's devoted much of her professional life to the luxury industry.

Following four years with the Fashion and Accessories division of Richemont, Alexandra set up Alexandra Verney Ltd, a creative projects and events business.

In 2014, she moved with her husband Nicholas Verney to his family home, Claydon Estate, to take on the joint responsibility and custodianship of this historic site in north Buckinghamshire.

Alexandra ran her independent business alongside the onsite events and visitor attractions at Claydon Estate until 2023. Today, she takes on fewer external projects to focus on diversification and collaborations at Claydon. Most recently, Alexandra created The Claydon Collection pearl jewellery, retailed by Claydon Estate, based on the Verney family portraits hanging in National Trust Claydon House.

Alexandra is the Historic Houses Regional Chairman for the Thames and Chilterns and sits on the Historic Houses Business Development committee. She's also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars and, in 2022, joined their Events committee. Alexandra is a Trustee of the Verney Almshouse Charity and the Sir Ralph Verney Memorial Fund.

Alexandra enjoys spending much time at her family home, Novar, where she's learning the skills necessary to steward a diverse Highland estate including farmland, forestry, hill, wildlife, hospitality and alternative energy enterprises.

Growing up in Scotland instilled a love of foraging, riding and the outdoors. She also has a keen interest in jewellery and decorative arts.

Council Member

Will Wilkin

Will was elected to Council in 2022. He's an award winning Commissioning Executive and creative strategist with an outstanding track record across podcasting, national radio brands and innovative social content.

He's currently the BBC’s Commissioning Executive for Music, working with some of the world's biggest labels and artists to create content across platforms. He has extensive creative leadership experience across major music brands including Radio 1, Radio 2 and Eurovision, creating content across platforms to bring in diverse new audiences. Will is a BRITs judge, sits on the Grand Jury of the New York Radio Awards and has previously been named Audible's Best Entertainment Producer as well as a four time 30U30 in the audio industry.

External member

Nigel E Hallam

Nigel was Clerk to the Justices at the Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court for 11 years and was involved in the recruitment and training of Magistrates, Legal and Administrative staff for more than 20 years. In 2006 at the National Justice Awards he won the individual award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity. He's a Barrister and holds a number of Management and Training qualifications.

Nigel undertook overseas consultancy work in Croatia on projects relating to the modernisation of the Municipal Courts in that country.

Nigel served as the Vice Chair of New College Nottingham for 6 years. He's also been a Board Member of Framework, a charity working with the homeless, and was the Lay Chair of NHS Nottingham West Clinical Commissioning Group for 5 years. Additionally, Nigel served on Audit, Nominations and Remunerations Committees as either Chair or Vice Chair within these organisations.

Nigel has been involved in the recruitment and selection of two College Principals, a new Chief Operating Officer (Chief Executive) and a large number of Board and Senior Management appointments in both the Education and NHS sectors.

Nigel served as a Lay Member of the Conduct and Health Committees of the General Chiropractic Council and served for 8 years as a Chair of the Fitness to Practise Committee at the Nursing and Midwifery Council dealing with hearings in Belfast, Edinburgh and London. He continues to sit on Mental Health Tribunals.

Nigel sits on both Regional and National Serious Case Panels for the Football Association and sits of the Board of Nottinghamshire FA, with lead responsivity for Equality and Inclusion.

He was a member of the BBC East Midlands Regional Audience Council for 5 years and was the 'link member' for BBC Radio Derby.

Our external members

Our external members support the Council's nominations committees in its various election and appointments. Each of them are experienced in making senior non-executive appointments and are themselves appointed for a maximum of five years.

External member

Jas Rai

Jas is Head of People at the British Library and a Trustee at the Commonwork Trust, a charity that focuses on regenerative agriculture and inspiring and educating young people to connect with nature.

Jas has a wealth of experience in all aspects of HR, leading on organisational design, development, workforce planning and talent management and joined the British Library in August 2020 after six years with Sony as Global Head of Talent & Development based at their headquarters in Japan.

Joining the British Library in the midst of a pandemic was incredibly challenging, but was a great opportunity to put HR at the forefront of change, leading on mental health, wellbeing, diversity, inclusion, future ways of working, hybrid/ remote working and developing policies overnight to support people. 

Our external members

Our external members support the Council's nominations committees in its various election and appointments. Each of them are experienced in making senior non-executive appointments and are themselves appointed for a maximum of five years.

External member

Judy Roberts

Judy Roberts is Director of People and Change at the V&A having joined in September 2016. Judy started her career in biochemistry, however moved into the travel and tourism industry and subsequently specialised in Human Resources (HR).

Judy has had a broad career in HR working across different industries in the UK and Continental Europe, including travel, financial services, the police service and latterly at English Heritage where she was Head of HR, for the newly formed charity business.

Judy is a chartered member of the CIPD, has a BSc in Psychology and has undertaken a number of external governance roles in education. She's currently an external member of the Royal College of Art Remuneration Committee.

Our external members

Our external members support the Council's nominations committees in its various election and appointments. Each of them are experienced in making senior non-executive appointments and are themselves appointed for a maximum of five years.