Profile

I have been working with heritage and culture organisations for 30 years - from independent charities and local government services, to national bodies including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Trust and Arts Council England. 

During my time as Executive Director for  Torbay Culture at Torbay Council, I established the area as one of the first ‘Heritage Places’ selected by the Heritage Fund for its innovative 10 year investment partnership; secured millions of pounds of external investment; and built trust and confidence through my leadership for the local culture and heritage sector.

Currently I serve as a board member of Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset, and the Marine Theatre Lyme Regis, Dorset. I am available for freelance work - please visit the contact page to reach me.

At Torbay Council my focus was on improving quality of life for people - making the civic motto of 'health and happiness' possible - through participation in culture, creativity, and heritage. I also served on the board of  the Agatha Christie Festival increasing its profile and supporting its aim to be more sustainable.

Achievements include:

• Establishing Torbay's 10-year Heritage Places strategic partnership 2023-33 with the National Lottery Heritage Fund (2023/24)
• Devising and designing Torbay's local heritage grant scheme 2023-25, and securing £250,000 external investment (2023)

• Coordinating and authoring the bid to the DCMS Cultural Investment Fund for Torbay's Cultural Development - Paignton Picture House securing £3m from the Cultural Development Fund managed by Arts Council England (2022)
  

• Working with lead consultant Katherine Findlay and colleagues in Torbay Council's Planning team to develop a new Torbay Heritage Strategy 2021-26. This is resulting in greater support from Historic England and the Heritage Fund for Torbay; the strategy was highly commended by the Royal Town Planning Institute at the RTPI south west awards (2021)

• Providing detailed evidence to the Parliamentary inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on the DCMS sectors; and holding discussions with politicians to advocate for a comprehensive culture recovery fund (2020)

• Advocating for support for the culture sector: the result of the Culture Recovery Fund meant grants of more than £800,000 to Torbay organisations - including Kents Cavern, Pilgrim Heritage Sailing Foundation, Palace Theatre Paignton, Babbacombe Theatre, and Torquay Museum, among others (2020-21)

• Ensuring that the analysis and evaluation of Torbay Culture's programmes was completed - providing clear evidence of the impact of culture
• Redefining the priorities of the cultural strategy to reflect the changing circumstances, including the impact of COVID-19
  

During my time as a National Lottery Heritage Fund mentor (2010-18) I supported the successful development and completion of projects across the south west of England, from large scale capital projects, to community led initiatives. 

As a National Trust regional advisory board member (2009-15) I worked across the south west, and extended my knowledge of issues impacting built, natural, and intangible heritage, coastlines and UNESCO world heritage sites.

I was the first Culture Director appointed by Exeter Cultural Partnership (2015-17) where I enabled greater collaboration in the city, and encouraged support from strategic partners who committed more resources including Exeter College, InExeter - the Business Improvement District, University of Exeter, Exeter City Council, and the Arts Council.

As Creative Programmer at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (2012-17) I initiated and developed a new way of working between creative practitioners, RAMM’s collections and the historic building; and secured Arts Council funding for the work to continue. During my time with RAMM I created the 'Artists Reflections' programme and commissioned leading artists - including Mark Anstee, Dame Sonia Boyce RA, Susan Collins, Serena Korda and Polly Morgan among others - and curated exhibitions by Gordon Cheung, Gilbert & George, Rui Matsunaga, Nahem Shoa, and the Arts Council Collection.

Earlier roles include Head of Learning for the south west of Arts Council England where I led the Children, Young People and the Arts strategy for the region; and Head of Development for the South West Museums Libraries & Archives Council, where I managed a team of regional development officers for archives, libraries, museums, learning, and cultural participation.