It's Trustees' Week!

From the 9th to 13th November, communities across the UK celebrate the incredible contribution of the almost one million charity trustees who generously give their time and expertise to causes they care about.

As a charity ourselves, we at The Pound Arts Trust would like to take this opportunity to thank and celebrate our own fantastic trustees. Their dedication, guidance and support are essential to everything we do.

You may have spotted some of our trustees around The Pound, attending events, supporting fundraising activities, facilitating accessibility focus groups, helping care for our outdoor spaces, or meeting with local businesses, councillors and supporters. Behind the scenes, they also play a vital role in ensuring the charity is well governed, financially responsible and true to its mission.

Our trustees bring a wealth of skills, experience and insight, in business, law, charity governance, the arts, finance, fundraising and HR. But above all this, they give their time, energy and passion freely. We are enormously grateful for their commitment to The Pound Arts Trust and the communities we serve.

So a huge thank you to our trustees; we couldn’t do it without you!

Who are The Pound Arts Trust trustees?

Here’s a little detail about what makes our such a brilliant fit for The Pound Arts Trust, and how their skills help us to thrive and grow.

Adam – Chair of Trustees

I’m a management consultant by profession but have been involved in voluntary roles for many years, particularly since I retired about 10 years ago. I’ve been involved with the Pound in various roles since it started in early 2000s, as a volunteer, trustee, running the ‘Film at the Pound’ film club 2002-2008, and now as chair.

I’ve been particularly involved in promoting environmental action at the Pound and chair the Environmental Action board sub-group. I’m also involved in funding, working with the Board Development Group. Through my involvement with Corsham Climate Action we developed the Pound Community Garden a few years ago. I’ve lived in the Corsham area since 1995 so have reasonably good connections with the community, particularly Corsham Town Council and the Corsham Area Board (local Wiltshire Councillors). I also volunteer with a charity doing sailing for disabled people and I’m chair of Biddestone Parish Council

Sarah – Vice Chair of Trustees

My working life started as a visual artist largely focused in community arts and arts education. Over the past 30+ years I have held a number of senior roles within the public, cultural and charity sectors and bring particular expertise in governance, safeguarding, strategic development and business planning.

After relocating to the Southwest in 2012, I took up the role of a charity CEO withBath Spa University Students' Union.

I joined the Pound Arts Board in 2018, and have been vice chair and chair the Inclusivity sub-group and most recently developed the risk framework.

I now live in south Somerset, and when I have five minutes like to pursue my love of drawing and walking.

Charlotte – Treasurer

I’m a Senior Tax Manager at Monahans, where I work with both national and international clients to help them achieve their personal and business goals through accurate, high-quality tax advice and service. I’ve built up extensive experience across personal and corporate tax, managing a really varied portfolio, from private clients and high-net-worth individuals to trusts, partnerships, and limited companies.

Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my dog Luna, who keeps life interesting! I also love pottery and other small craft projects. Anything that lets me get a bit creative. My connection with the Pound actually goes way back. I first volunteered there for a week while still at school in 2009. I officially joined the Board last year, and it’s been great to be more involved again and see how much the organisation has grown since then.

I’m part of the Finance Sub-group, helping to keep an eye on the figures and support the Pound’s financial planning.

Alan

I spent the first half of my working life in high street banking with the Halifax and its various iterations. My wife Heather and I then bought and ran a pub/restaurant in 2000 which we retired from in 2016. Whilst at the pub, and subsequently we have been active fundraisers for the RUH charity Forever Friends, now known as RUHX.

Through this we have contacts, particularly around RUHX's professional fundraising team (past and present) who have proved invaluable in helping to shape the direction, documentation and actions of the Development and Communications group, which I lead. It has taken approximately 18 months for the group to grow in numbers, output and confidence and we are now enjoying some success and are increasingly active. I have been a member of the Board and a Director of the cafe CIC since late 2021. I am also on the Finance sub committee.

My interests and pursuits are pretty mainstream, but I think Heather and I went a bit out there when we both resigned our careers and bought a pub, having never even worked in one before - and taking our two young children with us! Our friends thought we were mad - and maybe bear this in mind if we are voting on something with some risk!

Emmanuel

Dr Emmanuel K. Nartey has recently joined the Pound Board. He is an Associate Professor of International Law and Artificial Intelligence at Bath Spa University. He has previously held positions at several UK institutions, including the University of East London, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the Open University and the University of the West of England (UWE).

He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Financial and Corporate Integrity at Coventry University and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Bolton University Centre for Generative AI in Education. He is also an active member of the Athens Institute for Education and Research, reflecting his strong commitment to international academic collaboration.

Before transitioning into academia, Dr Nartey served for 17 and a half years in the British Army’s Royal Tank Regiment. During this time, he trained as a professional athlete at the University of Bath, representing the Armed Forces and Ghana in Judo. His sporting accolades include being named the 2012 Army Sportsman of the Year, the UK Armed Forces Sportsman of the Year, UEL International Sports Excellence Award recipient, and Ghana Judoka of the Year in both 2013 and 2014.

Judith

Judith Knight is the founder and ex-Artistic Director of Artsadmin, an arts producing organisation in London which she developed and ran for forty years. Much of her work focussed on the environment and climate emergency, including Imagine 2020 European Network and the Two Degrees festival. She initiated the Season for Change 2021 with Julie’s Bicycle. She was awarded an MBE in 2007, and made Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2009. She received an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University in 2012.

She moved to Batheaston in 2019 where she lives with her husband and dog Molly. Her daughter and 3 grandchildren also live in the village.

She continues to work as a freelance arts consultant and is a Trustee of a number of arts/environment organisations including Time and Tide Bell, the Empathy Museum and Grow Batheaston.

She became a Trustee of Pound Arts in 2024 and is on both the Fundraising and Activity & Programming sub-committees.

Megan

I have been working in Higher Education for the past 6 years in various roles. Currently I am Student Campaigns Manager Bath Spa University. I have a BA (hons) in English Literature with Drama and an MA in Arts Management. During my MA I primarily focussed on events management and theatre management, in my final project I carried out research and reports on Equality and Diversity at The Pound.

I also am heavily involved with the events industry. Working with Bath Festivals as an event manager over the past few years. I am also an Access and Logistics Coordinator on the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury festival, managing a team of over 30 volunteers and working out the logistics of arctic lorries and tour buses!

I joined as a trustee of the Pound in 2019. Since then I have helped develop and edit the Equality policy, trained staff on EDI practices, written reports on how we can diversify our board and am the Equality lead. I sit on the Inclusivity and Environmental sub groups.

Some fun facts about me… I am an actor at heart and recently played Lucentio in a production of Taming of the Shrew in Bath. In my spare time I also do pole fitness.

Alexandra

Alexandra Ricou is an actor and writer, having worked in the creative industries for nearing a decade. Their career has included performances in the West End, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Glastonbury Festival. Born and raised in the West Country, they have always been passionate about supporting regional arts, particularly across the South West of England. The Pound Arts' rich offerings of cultural programming and opportunities is exactly what Corsham and Wiltshire needs, and Alexandra is proud to be part of the team of trustees.

Tamsin

Tamsin Willis-Stovold runs her own business, Natural Steps Coaching and Consultancy, and works with impact-led organisations to develop their people. As a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, and EMCC Accredited Executive coach, Tamsin acts as a retained HR Director for small companies as well as partnering with teams and individuals to transform their performance. Tamsin lives locally, has two young children and is passionate about creating opportunities for joy, growth and development through nature and the arts.

Terry

My name is Terry Bracher. Born in Southend on Sea, having studied and lived in various parts of the country, I moved to Wiltshire in 2007 and have lived in the Corsham area since 2009.I recently retired from my role as Heritage Service Manager with Wiltshire Council and have spent over 40 years working in Libraries and Heritage, previously working in Shropshire and Northamptonshire. Professionally, I remain involved with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and organise the national Alan Ball Awards for Local History. I have co-authored several local history publications. In 2021 I was awarded a B.E.M for services to Heritage and Public Libraries. Before becoming a Trustee, I have been a regular visitor and Friend of the Pound.