Our Board

Fiona Morris

Chair

Fiona is Creative Director and Chief Executive of The Space, a digital development and commissioning agency set up by Arts Council England and BBC to help support the UK arts and cultural sector make great art and reach new audiences using digital media, content, and platforms. She is a broadcast producer with over 30 years’ experience in the television industry commissioning and producing performance, documentary and entertainment programmes that have received Prix Italia, Emmy, Grammy and BAFTA awards.

She has extensive experience working with cultural institutions in the UK and has provided consultancy services on the arts and the digital world to organisations including Arts Council England and English National Opera.

Colin Vallance

Heritage and Environment Director at South West Lakes Trust - Managing Director at Wheal Martyn Trust

Colin has worked for South West Lakes Trust since 2000, initially within hospitality. In 2007, he graduated through the Trust’s Supervisory and Management Development Programme. In 2010, Colin was appointed as General Manager of Wheal Martyn Museum following its merger with the Trust. 

In the first two years, he worked hard to re-engage Wheal Martyn with key stakeholders and re-energize the volunteer and paid workforce, increasing visitor numbers, turning its trading subsidiary into profitability, and successfully raising funds to employ curatorial and education staff and commissioned a Conservation Management Plan for the site. 

Now, as Managing Director of Wheal Martyn, he leads a small and dynamic team working to realise the potential of the museum. As Heritage and Environment Director for South West Lakes Trust he leads the Countryside team, managing conservation of the environment and built heritage, grounds maintenance and forestry at nearly 50 lakes across Devon, Cornwall and West Somerset as well as maximising car park revenue and developing the Trust’s angling business.

Libby Buckley

Director at Leach Pottery

Libby Buckley is the Director of the Leach Pottery. Previously, she worked as the Director of the Telegraph Museum for five years, and oversaw the recent and highly successful £3.2 million redevelopment of the museum. This led to the museum going on to win South West Cornwall Tourism’s 2014/2015 Gold Award for Museum and Industrial Attraction of the Year.

Libby has an MA Honours in Classical Civilisation from Glasgow University, and an MA in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester and has over fifteen years of experience in the arts and heritage sector. She previously worked at the British Postal Museum and Archive, and the British Museum in London, the Caribbean’s Turks and Caicos National Museum.

She also set up and chaired the Cornwall Museum Group, which provides opportunities for museum staff and volunteers to get together and exchange ideas as well as apply for joint funding.

Chloe Rickard

Head of Communications and Development at Kneehigh

Chloe’s career in communications began at Kneehigh, the international touring theatre company based in Cornwall. In 2019 she returned there as Head of Communications. She is passionate about the transformative power of the arts in rural and marginalised communities.

Chloe previously worked with Cool Earth, the charity that works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction. She developed their communications strategy and used digital opportunities to reach and engage new and current donors.

Sarah Trethowan

Institute of Directors Chartered Director

Sarah Trethowan after selling TRAC, the business she co-founded in 2001, has become an angel investor and provides support to small businesses who are looking to grow. Sarah is an Institute of Directors Chartered Director has been involved with economic development activity since 2008, firstly as a non-executive director with CPR Regeneration then the Cornwall Development Company and most recently as a non-executive director of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership.

In the 17 years Sarah & Jonathan ran the company, TRAC grew from a home-based business to an established and respected award-winning consultancy employing 20 people and working with some of the leading names in the pharmaceutical industry. This growth was achieved in no small measure, because of Sarah and Jonathan’s strong entrepreneurial skills and ability to identify opportunities, manage risk and create an extremely strong team ethic.

When not at work, Sarah likes to spend time with family and friends, shopping or a trip to the cinema or a good restaurant. She is also trying to keep fit by walking as much as she can whilst making the most of the wonderful Cornish landscape.

Ellie Collier

CEO of Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust

Ellie is Senior CEO of Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust. She is a Personal and Executive Coach and a Clore Fellow.

She previously managed the Heritage Lottery Fund Catalyst Programme for Cornwall, working with over 70 museums and heritage organisations. She has 10 years’ experience in museums and heritage, including being Project Manager at Salisbury Museum where she managed an extensive £2.4 million HLF capital and activity project; Project Development Officer at Croome, National Trust where she managed a successful £4.8 million bid to HLF; and HLF Project Officer, Limestone Journey for Creswell Heritage Trust.

Zoe Partington

Consultant/Contemporary Artist

Zoe lives in the Welsh borders with her three children and two dogs in rural farming countryside.

She was educated locally in Ludlow a market town and eventually studied at Portsmouth university and gained a BA (Hons) she was accepted to study an MA in the history of Art, Design and Architecture at Birmingham university.

She lost her sight in her twenties but developed an interesting international career in equality embedding this-across culture and heritage. Zoe identifies as a disabled person and had embraced disability culture in all its facets and alternative approaches. She believes losing sight has given her more vision and insight not less in our changing world.

Zoe has spent a lot of time growing up with grandparents in Cornwall who lived and worked in Mevagissey. She is passionate about all our heritage and the power and fantastic insights it provides communities to share their experiences and culture.

Through her work with British Council she has had the fortune to travel around the world and meet many disabled communities that are vibrant, tenacious and resourceful but have less freedoms than we have in the UK.

Sarah Waite

Assistant Curator at the Military Intelligence Museum

Sarah currently works as Assistant Curator at the Military Intelligence Museum, the only public museum in the UK which explores the secretive world of espionage, sabotage, deception, and intelligence gathering. In addition to caring for the MIM’s unique collection, Sarah is helping to plan and facilitate an exciting relocation and redevelopment project.

Prior to joining the MIM, Sarah was a Trainee Curator at Bodmin Keep: Cornwall’s Army Museum. This post was created as part of a scheme run by Cornwall Museum’s Partnership to diversify the workforce. Sarah collaborated with members of the Keep’s veteran community to curate an exhibition exploring mental health in the military whilst also embarking on several digital projects during the lockdown, such as producing a podcast with the other CMP Trainees.

In Sarah's curatorial work she is interested in prioritising the inclusion of historically marginalized voices and stories and creating cultural spaces which are accessible to diverse audiences.

Sarah holds an MA in Museum Studies and a BA in English and has been volunteering for museums and cultural organisations for several years. She is a keen explorer who loves discovering new places and (more often than not) getting lost.

Heather Coupland

Management Accountant and Programme Manager for Access to Finance

Heather is a hands-on Management Accountant and former Director of both large and small companies.

A former independent Business Consultant, Heather’s experience spans the gamut of finance, funding and investment – from traditional lending, invoice discounting and factoring to ‘alternative’ sources such as grant funding, crowdfunding and peer-to-per lending.

Her previous appointments have included Finance and Operations roles ranging from Operations Director for Cornwall-based Richfords Fire and Flood Ltd to Group Finance Director for Future Services Ltd (a national group of companies based in York).

Heather currently works for Oxford Innovation Services Ltd as Programme Manager of the Access to Finance programme, where she draws on her vast experience to assist clients in understanding the finance available, grant market suitability, gross margin analysis, financial forecasting & cashflow, amongst other things.

When not working, Heather enjoys ballroom dancing with her husband or having ‘nanny’ time with her four grandchildren.

Katharine Wills

Professor at the University of Plymouth

Katharine is a Plymouth University Professor in Smart Cities and Communities in the School of Art, Design and Architecture.

Katharine also Co-Chair’s the School of Art, Design and Architecture Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Ethics and Integrity Committee.

Katharine has a magnitude of research interests under her belt including, but not limited to; rural communities, social deprivation and sustainability.