The museum is run by a dedicated staff team and governed by a board of trustees.
Staff
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Edward Appleyard
Chief Executive
Edward joined Thackray as Chief Executive in January 2023.
Prior to joining Thackray, Edward was Director of Engagement at Harewood House Trust, where he led the business through all aspects of audience engagement (marketing, communications, visitor experience, membership, programming and more), building on two decades’ experience of working within arts and culture environments. Before entering the museums and heritage sector, Edward’s focus was on music and he led the hugely successful re-brand of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), part of a team winning 26 national and international awards, later using this experience to re-brand Harewood which won Large Visitor Attraction of the Year in 2020 at the White Rose Awards. Before that he was based in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music and University of Manchester.
Edward is driven by a continuing ambition to connect people with culture, heritage and the arts.
Trustees
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Michael Lewis
Michael works in healthcare advisory, providing consultancy support to a range of NHS and private sectors. Michael originally trained as a Doctor at Leeds Medical School and worked as a junior doctor across West Yorkshire, prior to retraining as a Chartered Accountant. Since retraining, he has worked for several large accountancy firms in areas such as insolvency, healthcare turnaround, and healthcare advisory.
This has provided him with experience in a wide range of assignments and industries – ranging from trading an insolvent coal mine to supporting NHS clients to improve productivity. Michael also spent five years at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals as the Head of Transformation and Continuous Improvement team.
Between May 2022 and December 2023, Michael was the President of the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants, having undertaken voluntary work with the Society since 2011. Michael is thrilled to be joining the board of Thackray and looks forward to using his experiences in health and finance to add value.
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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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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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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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Martin Dickson
Board of Trustees
Martin is the Head of Marketing for LeedsBID since its inception in 2015. From studying music at University Martin spent over 14 years in the music industry through the nineties working with major artists across the world for EMI. Martin was also a member of the Senior Management Team who led the merger and launch of Leeds City College in 2009 as the Director of Marketing working in the city’s FE sector for 10 years prior to joining the BID.
Martin is also the Head of Festival for the Leeds International Festival of ideas, an innovative place making project developed and run by LeedsBID. The event claimed an IDA award in 2018 and is in its 6th year. Hosting major speakers and thought leaders in their field, Leeds International Festival of Ideas has become a well-established autumn event in the city’s calendar. Martin is currently Vice Chair for The Market Place, a mental health charity based in the city centre supporting 11-25 year olds with mental health challenges
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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.
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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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Michelle Barry
Board of Trustees
Michelle Barry is a commercial, product and development professional, with specialisms in New Product Development, Innovation and corporate transformation. Michelle is currently a senior leader in the Cybersecurity sector. Michelle has over 15 years of experience working in commercial roles for a number of FTSE 100 companies, covering the Payments Telecoms, and Cyber sectors.
Michelle was most recently nominated and, awarded a place on the prestigious Northern Power Women Awards – Power List 2022.
