Katie Foster (Chair)
After reading English at the University of Leeds, Katie Foster worked as a freelance journalist and then joined a Swiss tour company, working for five years in various countries around the world.
On her return to the UK in 1981, she joined the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. She helped establish the Museum as one of the leading attractions in the UK, exploiting the status of Ironbridge as a UNESCO World Heritage Site declared in 1986. Katie was responsible for the Museum Trust's marketing and public relations, wrote guide books, contributed to heritage publications, and lectured at tourism and heritage conferences in the UK and overseas. She worked closely with the Association of Independent Museums, and the then Heart of England Tourist Board of which she is a former Vice-Chairman.
In 1999 she left Ironbridge to set up her own consultancy. She is a member of the Tourism Management Institute, a fellow of the RSA, Board Member of Tourism West Midlands, a School Governor and Chairman of the Telford and Shropshire Marketing Partnership. From 2001-2004 she was Tourism Consultant to the Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands and has continue d to work closely with many significant heritage, cultural and tourism bodies including British Waterways and Culture West Midlands.
Katie joined HLF’s Committee for the West Midlands in 2001 and became its Chairman in April 2004.
Sarah Blackstock
Sarah Blackstock began her career in museums in 1998 and has worked at all levels within the sector. She has provided customer service and guided tours as a Museum Assistant at Aston Hall, mapped the history collections at Birmingham Museums, as Assistant Curator, locating and providing alternative interpretation for objects relating to diverse cultural histories; carried out consultation and actively engaged communities as Community Development Officer at the same museum, and worked on the development of the International Slavery Museum as Curator of Transatlantic Slavery at National Museums Liverpool.
Since 2006, she has worked as a freelance curator and consultant in cultural heritage, primarily working with community organisations and Black artists. She is increasingly working across the cultural sector, most recently as creative researcher for the Birmingham Rep in a musical theatre production. She is passionate about the cultural heritage of the West Midlands and interested in the historical and contemporary international connections the region has and keen to play a key role in the regional contribution to the Cultural Olympiad, and profiling the cultural assets of the West Midlands.
Sarah joined HLF’s Committee for the West Midlands in 2008.
Harriet Devlin
After reading Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge, Harriet Devlin worked at the Museum of London, before becoming a Museum Consultant. She moved to Northern Ireland in 1990 and working for the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society where she compiled volumes of Buildings at Risk, a Directory of Funds for Historic Buildings and a Directory of Traditional Skills, and organised international conferences on heritage issues.
In 2000 she established the Mourne Homesteads project - using diverse funding to conserve and reuse vernacular buildings linked to skills training. Whilst in Northern Ireland, she was a member of the Historic Buildings Council, and ran a Townscape Heritage Initiative scheme as a volunteer.
On returning to England, Harriet worked for Oswestry Borough Council administering their Townscape Heritage Initiative and established a Building Preservation Trust, to restore a Welsh non-conformist chapel.
In 2005 she received a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to study Preventative Maintenance schemes in Europe. Since 2005 Harriet has been running the postgraduate course in Historic Environment Conservation at the Ironbridge Institute.
Kathy Gee (NHMF Trustee)
Kathy Gee has had a 30 year career in museums, working initially with the independent and voluntary sectors. For 17 years she was Chief Executive first of the West Midlands Regional Museums Council and then of Museums, Libraries and Archives West Midlands. Kathy is now self- employed and provides consultancy, executive coaching, facilitation and evaluation to the cultural sector.
Jenni Ord
Jenni has lived and worked in the West Midlands for the last 36 years. She began her career as a teacher, working in inner city secondary schools in London and Birmingham. Thereafter, she joined the Department of Social Security where she worked in a number of roles at local and regional level in the West Midlands. She was appointed as Regional Director for The Benefits Agency in 1995 and similarly for The Pensions Service in 2002. In both roles she had the opportunity to lead and contribute to organisational and policy developments resulting in major service changes, including increased access to services for people from diverse backgrounds.
In 2004 she moved to work for The Highways Agency where she firstly led a division of engineering and environmental specialists concerned with road scheme standards and maintenance. She has also led Information Service Delivery for the Agency, providing both internal and external ICT services. Currently she is the Organisational Development Director for Major Projects providing training, recruitment and communication services for the Directorate.
Peter Shirley
Peter Shirley has always lived and worked in the West Midlands. He worked for the Wildlife Trusts for twenty years before retiring in 2006. His work focused on engaging people, and the ways in which this aspect of conservation complements sites, habitats and species. This involved him in project and programme development, funding and management, working with non-conservation partners, addressing strategic policy issues (especially in relation to the “urban renaissance”) planning work and speaking, writing and broadcasting on nature conservation and the environment. His involvement in these issues has been at the local, regional, national and international level. Activities have included managing the production and publication of broad ranging nature conservation strategies, and the development of Britain’s first purpose-designed and built inner city environmental education centre in Birmingham, aptly named, the Centre of the Earth.
Media work has included writing and presenting numerous feature programmes for BBC Radio West Midlands, publishing books, researching and writing information packs for viewers of Central Television ' s environmental programmes "ECO" and the "Earth Dwellers' Guide", numerous radio and television interviews, and articles for magazines such as British Wildlife, the Natural World and BBC magazines. He currently writes a natural history column for the Birmingham Post.
He is Vice-President of the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, and Trustee of the National Wildfowl Centre in Merseyside, the Urban Wildlife Network and the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. He is also a member of Sustainability West Midlands and the independent Chair of Sandwell MBC’s Environment and Housing Partnership. Before joining the Wildlife Trusts he ran his own commercial business.
In 1995 he was awarded an MBE for services to nature conservation.
Susan Vaile
Susan read geography at Exeter University where a charismatic lecturer sparked a great interest in historic buildings and heritage landscape. She went on to qualify as a town planner at University College London and worked for several local authorities on urban and countryside projects and the preparation of local plans.
In 1989 she joined the Commission for Local Administration (the Ombudsman) and soon after, moved back to her home county of Warwickshire. Susan’s recent projects have included working with the Government on revisions to planning law, advocating the need to involve local communities effectively. She has also worked at local level helping to produce a plan and design statement for her village.
Susan serves on a number of Committees at local and national level and has a particular interest in children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.