The museum is led by CEO Nat Edwards and governed by a board of trustees
Staff
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Nat Edwards
CEO
Nat has over 30 years’ experience working in Museums, Heritage and visitor attractions. His career has taken him from institutions such as the British Museum, National Library of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland and Glasgow Museums, through a number of award-winning developments – including the creation of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire, of which he was the founding Director – to a diverse array of business initiatives, exhibitions, community and educational projects, working with everyone from global brands and international NGOs to social enterprises and community health projects. Away from the museum, he is on the Board of Heptonstall Museum in Calderdale and a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Arts and Creative Industries Committee. He is author of Caledonia’s Last Stand: In search of the Lost Scots of Darien.
Trustees
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Dr Neil Kaiper-Holmes
Chairman - Board of Trustees
Leeds Medical School graduate and former GP, Dr Neil Kaiper-Holmes brings an outstanding record of managing diverse businesses and extensive experience in all matters of governance.
Previously both Group Medical Director and Managing Director of a group of healthcare and communications PLC businesses, Neil is also a Trustee of the much-loved Leeds Rhinos Foundation. During his time as Chair of the foundation, he implemented transformative change relating to income generation, as well as organisational restructuring to ensure the foundation continues to deliver life-changing initiatives to various communities.
Neil is a Director of a multi-academy educational trust and Chairman of their Audit Committee and a Parish Councillor.
His passion and commitment to changing lives and the wealth of experience he has in the charity sector mean he is well equipped to achieve our mission and propel Thackray forward as the leading independent medical museum in the country.
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Simon Kay
Medical Director
Simon Kay is a renowned consultant plastic surgeon, who led his team in performing the first double hand transplant at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He has been appointed as the first-ever medical director of the museum.
The acclaimed surgeon first became interested in medicine after suffering severe burns as a child. Fascinated with the psychological effects of surgery and particularly, hand deformity, he went on to specialise in plastic surgery. Simon now works at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, in both adult and children hand clinics, often performing difficult and time-consuming surgeries. Simon’s work has also extended to gallery development as he assists The Thackray in telling the story of medicine and healthcare for a 21st century audience.
Simon uses his expertise and knowledge to help the museum tell accurate and relevant stories about healthcare innovation in an accessible, original and inspiring way.
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Dr Atia Khan
Board of Trustees
Dr Atia Khan’s journey with the Museum started when was just 13 years old on a family day out. She visited a few years later as part of the GCSE history curriculum, once again in awe at the history of Medicine through time. After being accepted at Leeds Medical School in 2012, she applied for a part time job at the Museum and was appointed as front of house staff. Dr Khan graduated from Leeds Medical School in 2018 and bid adieu to Thackray to work full time in the NHS. She wasn’t apart from the museum for long though – returning in her new role as a doctor to help make a video on medical innovation that features in our refurbished galleries. More recently, Dr Khan has been working on the front line battling the coronavirus pandemic, administering novel COVID vaccines.
Atia has been a proud ambassador of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion throughout her academic and professional career, and is excited to bring this experience to the Museum’s Board. As the youngest trustee on the Board, she hopes that more young minds are inspired just as hers was by the museum.
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Nicole Fowler
Board of Trustees
Nicole Fowler is a Cyber, Information Security and Risk specialist with over 15 years’ experience in start-ups, professional services and financial services. She is Global Head of Strategy and Support Services for NCC Group and has previously worked in leading Information Security and Access Management roles with the Central Bank of Ireland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group, as well as running her own consultancy to support financial services clients. She is a staunch advocate of learning – both as a school governor and as the co-founder of Technology in Play, working with partners to deliver STEM outreach to inspire young people across the region.
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Sam Dixon
Board of Trustees
Sam is a Partner and UK Head of Innovation at transatlantic law firm, Womble Bond Dickinson. He sits on the Yorkshire board of the Turnaround Management Association and has extensive experience of advising businesses, charities and providers of public services on navigating through changes and challenges.
In his role as Head of Innovation, he has responsibility for shaping innovation strategy and has experience of rolling out technology solutions including automated processes and the use of machine learning. He has a long-standing interest in how technology can help to shape the future. Prior to qualifying as a lawyer, he led and grew the online retail division of Outdoor Action in the early days of online retail. He subsequently became an early adopter of music technology which helped to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming a professional DJ.
He holds a Masters in Advanced Legal Practice from Northumbria University, completed the PWC Leadership Development Program and is currently studying the Power MBA.
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Jo Norry MBE
Board of Trustees
Jo Norry is Director of Libraries and Learning Innovation at Leeds Beckett University, leading the service which manages the libraries, student IT support, student academic skills, and the support of digital learning technologies. She has been a Staff Governor of the University since 2018.
Having worked in higher education for over 30 years, Jo has been at Leeds Beckett since 2000, having worked at Sheffield Hallam University, University of Northampton, and York Minster. She is a chartered librarian, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and holds postgraduate qualifications in librarianship, human resource management, and a Masters in Medieval English Literature from the University of Newcastle.
Jo was elected Chair of the Northern Collaboration in 2018, an organisation of 29 university libraries in the north, and has served as a Trustee and Member of the Board of SCONUL (Society for College, National and University Libraries). In the 2022 New Year’s Honours, she was awarded an MBE for her services to higher education and social inclusion.
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Nosober Latif
Board of Trustees
Nosober Latif is Partnership Development Lead at NHS Digital and currently leads the international engagement activity for the organisation, previously she led on industry liaison and introduced a model for industry engagement and established a strategic partnership with techUK.
She has extensive experience of working in the UK public sector and has held senior positions in the NHS and local government, including Programme Delivery Manager at NHS England, Senior Project Manager at Leeds Community Healthcare Trust, Deputy Chief Executive at Doncaster New Deal for Communities and Resources Director for Burngreave New Deal for Communities. She has worked on policy and strategy for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and on partnership activity for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Sheffield City Council.
In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors and taking her children for long hikes at the weekend.
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Sharon Heal
Board of Trustees
Sharon is the director of the Museums Association, a campaigning membership body that promotes the value of museums to society. She regularly comments on museums and cultural policy in the UK; speaks at conferences and events in the UK and internationally; and has published extensively. She lectures in the history of museums, museum ethics, and museums and social impact.
Sharon is the chair of the Museum of Homelessness and a trustee of the European Museum Forum (which administers the European Museum of the Year Award).
Sharon is passionate about the difference that museums can make working with their local communities. We know that museums can enhance health and wellbeing and create better places for us to live and work. Brought up in east Leeds, she is delighted to be joining the board of the Thackray at such an exciting point in its development.
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Aidan Hindley
Board of Trustees
Aidan started nursing in 1982 after working as a Hospital Porter. He trained as an Enrolled Nurse at Pinderfields Hospital Wakefield, before working for Leeds Eastern Health Authority, initially at St Georges Hospital in Rothwell and then St James’s Hospital Leeds.
Aidan has worked in a variety of areas, but for a number of years in Ophthalmology where he developed an interest in transplant and donation. After providing an eye retrieval service for Leeds, he was invited to work for UK Transplant Tissue Services as part of a new project based in Leeds and covering the Northeast of England. When this finished, he was invited to work with Professor Quirke at the University of Leeds to run a research tissue bank and then to provide support to Cancer Researchers within his Section on ethics and regulation. Aidan has been a Person Designate for the NHS/University HTA Licence, and he works with the sections MHRA Committee. He developed an interest in ethics as well as regulation around research and use of human tissues, and is now a member of a local NHS Ethics Committee, as well as the Leeds University School of Medicine Ethics Committee. Aidan provides help to the Museum and volunteers on some of the education events.
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Dr David Hopes
Board of Trustees
Dr. David Hopes is Head of Service for Leeds Museums & Galleries. David was formerly Head of Interiors and Collections for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) from 2016-2021 and, previous to this, Director of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway (also part of the NTS).
He has over 20 years’ experience as a curator working on a range of initiatives from the Open Museum’s Pollok Kist Project to new-build capital projects such as MUSA (now the Wardlaw Museum, University of St Andrews) and Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (shortlisted for the Museum of the Year Prize, 2011). David is a member of the Recognition Committee and the UK Accreditation Committee, and a trustee of Robert Burns Ellisland Trust and the Leeds Art Fund. Research interests include digital humanities, the subject of a research fellowship with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and The Shakespeare Institute (University of Birmingham), and relevance in historic house museums.
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Mark Goldstone
Board of Trustees
Head of Business Representation & Policy
Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber of CommerceMark heads up the Chamber’s business representation activities advising local authorities, politicians, government departments and ministers on regional business issues and sentiment. He is responsible for the Chamber’s research function providing evidence and intelligence on issues as far afield as planning and infrastructure investment to overseas trade, education and skills. Mark is actively involved in economic development and policy issues within the Leeds City Region working with partners across the public and private sectors to help create the environment for business to grow and expand. He holds a Masters’ degree in Physics from the University of Birmingham and an MBA from Leeds Business School.
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Hannah Fox
Board of Trustees
Hannah began her career in the advertising and photography industries before moving her focus to work with non-profit organisations as a consultant and business-leader. For the past 18 years she has developed and delivered creative projects for education, culture, heritage, and health clients in the UK.
In her role as Director of Projects and Programmes at Derby Museums, Hannah has led the vision and project delivery for Derby’s Silk Mill as the UK’s new £18m Museum of Making, a fully participative organisation that puts people and place at its heart.
Hannah consults on human-centred and co-production methodologies with people and organisations internationally and has served on several boards and advisory groups, including FIGMENT, a participatory arts festival based in New York.