AIM Aspire mentor biographies

This is the list of consultants available via the AIM Aspire mentoring programme. Please name your preferred mentor when making an application to AIM Aspire. 

• Lucy Marder

As a museum leader, day-to-day pressures and decision-making can seem all-consuming. A skilled coach and mentor, I help create purposeful time for reflecting and planning. I offer confidentiality and listen. Asking the powerful questions that help you work through both concerns and opportunities. My many years’ sector experience include being on the development teams for two Museum of the Year award winners and serving as an advisor to museums large and small. I hold Chartered Management Consultant status, the highest accreditation in the field, and Professional Membership of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.

• Ruth Taylor

I have had a varied career working across museums and heritage in learning, interpretation and evaluation and am now a trustee of a small military museum. I have held a number of leadership roles and developed programmes from scratch working across arts, science, gardens and the environment. As a mentor I can offer support and coaching in leadership, project management, problem solving, relationship building, learning and community development.  My MBA qualification enables me to support business development and improvement in a museum, and I have spent the last few years developing community partnerships involving key people working with young people to enable access to more arts and culture.

• Harvinder Bahra

I have been working as a Connected Communities Mentor since the beginning of 2024, supporting a regional heritage organisation through the expansion of their community offer. I have over 15 years working within museum, gallery and heritage settings (Tate Modern, The British Museum, Kew Gardens, English Heritage/Chiswick House & Gardens). This has given me substantial knowledge and unique experience of working within the museum and heritage sector with collections and stories that span the world and cross time. I have been at the forefront of developing museum practice and engagement that supports marginalised voices, challenges hierarchies of knowledge and pushes for visibility and inclusion.

I would be keen to share this experience with colleagues across the sector, supporting others to develop their confidence in community engagement, understanding of participatory practice and effective collaborative methodologies.

• Rachel Adam

At every stage in your career within museums it is helpful to talk through the current challenges and opportunities. As a mentor and coach, I start by listening and asking open questions to understand what you want to achieve, what is currently going well and what any barriers might be.

My experience includes building and sustaining cross sectoral partnerships, co-creation, evidencing wellbeing impacts and fundraising. I draw on rich learning as Director of Museums Northumberland bait (Creative People and Places in Northumberland), Director of Juice (Newcastle Gateshead’s festival for children and young people) and Head of Development at The Sage Gateshead.

• Stephen Welsh

As a cultural practitioner, I provide a range of services to help museums connect with a wider range of people and their associated communities, cultures and collections. I specialise in working with museums to develop and deliver approaches to co-creation with communities that support the diversification and democratisation of decision-making in an effort to create and sustain more equitable, diverse and inclusive collecting institutions. Having been a member of the National Lottery Heritage Fund North committee since 2016, I also have a unique insight into and extensive knowledge of the wider heritage sector and current issues and opportunities.

• Sarah Lawrence

I can draw on over 30 years’ experience of management and leadership in different parts of the museum sector. I would offer mentee/s a safe space to reflect on their challenges and opportunities and support to address or change their situation in ways that enable them to move forward.

I would spend the first session building rapport, developing understanding, discerning aims and goals for the mentoring, and agreeing timescale and dates.

In subsequent sessions I would use a coaching model (eg GROW) to structure our conversations and provide appropriate feedback, reflection or other intervention. I would be happy to be contacted outside the sessions, if needed.

• Kate Brindley

I can offer a wide range of experience to mentees. My strength is in leadership and organisational development in a variety of regional settings in both local government and charities. I have both the operational and strategic experience and skills to offer. Most recently I have been working at a regional and city scale (South Yorkshire and Sheffield). Signficant and high-level experience with stakeholders, partners, public engagement, coupled with a wealth of deliver experience in a huge range of settings, with a variety of collections, historic sites, artists …. and bags of complexity.

• Reyahn King

Reyahn is an accredited coach and seasoned museum leader. As such, she can offer mentees structured time to reflect and plan in coaching sessions and/or professional advice. Support, advice or development needs to be identified by the mentee and agreed in a mentoring plan for the sessions. Reyahn is a consultant who was formerly CEO of York Museums Trust, Director of Art Galleries at National Museums Liverpool, Head of Interpretation and Exhibitions and a curator at Birmingham Museums. Reyahn also worked for National Lottery Heritage Fund and is a Heritage Fund framework consultant for public engagement.

• Raj Pal

I visit last week to see the “Victorian Radicals”  exhibition at Birmingham museums brought me face to face with “The last of England” by Ford Maddox Brown. I first came across this painting 25 years ago when I started my career as a curator. With a brief to think of new ways of interpreting to make the museum and collections relevant to a diverse, multi-cultural city, I was constantly frustrated by being told time and again, “Ah, you see, nearly all our collections are Eurocentric.” The distinction between European and non European collections in museums was and is often a way of thinking that holds many heritage institutions back from making themselves relevant to diverse communities that they seek to serve. ‘Last of England’ proved to be my first reposte to such a deeply ingrained resistance to change.

While on surface a classical example of a traditional ‘English’ painting – and not even a particularly good one at that –  upon a more creative interpretation, Last of England has an emotional universality and appeal that makes it almost a symbol of a modern city shaped by migration. In it one can see the joys, expectation, ambiguity, fear, loss of the known as you take a leap into the unknown to seek life, not just for you but the infant you are carrying with you, in a strange new land. And much more. It is, I believe is a wonderful example of using new, imaginative ways of seeing that have the potential of freeing us and our institutions form the shackle of fusty old narratives from a time when the world was very different from the one we live in. This is precisely the approach which potentially opens the museum’s collections to interpretations and collaborations with artists nationally and internationally. It is this attitude of encouraging and releasing creative ways of imagining and re-interpretation that I will encourage among mentees.

• Adele Patrick

As a trainer, coach and, or mentor for individuals and teams working in varied organisational settings, I support people to better understand ‘relational dynamics’ whether leading themselves or leading others. My mentoring approach is grounded in coaching principles centring a coachees/mentees specific needs whilst sharing tools gained over thirty years working in collections, in partnerships, with funders, communities and stakeholders that can be effectively used in a wide range of challenging work contexts. My practice is informed by research and professional development, focussing on how people working in museums can develop and maintain a values-led, equitable, sustainable and fulfilling practice.

• Nicola Nuttall

I have many years experience working as a mentor and critical friend with people at all stages of their careers from students to senior managers. I currently provide mentoring and leadership services for universities, The Clore Foundation, Cause4, Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy and multiple heritage organisations as a consultant.

My own substantial experience as a consultant and senior manager across the cultural sector (especially arts, heritage and museums) have given me real insight into both good and bad practice – then aligning organisations and individuals to the most appropriate development pathways.

• Louise Emerson

I have been mentoring professionally for 7 years at a senior level in and outside the museum/cultural/heritage sector so I am practiced  at getting to the essence of what is required to support mentees develop, change and meet their goals. I am accredited [senior level (EMCC)] and have experience in leading/developing organisations, managing people, income generation & business development.

I have experience of supporting people to increase confidence, harness/develop skills, progress their career, work through difficult situations/times, work with colleagues and teams, build their network, deliver new projects & effect deep change, design their futures drawing on my experience and knowledge.

• Kate Rodenhurst

Kate Rodenhurst has been a consultant for around eighteen years, working with a range of museums, heritage and arts organisations. She started her career in the sector working on outreach and community partnerships at National Museums Liverpool where she was involved in the initial development of Museum of Liverpool and International Slavery Museum. Much of Kate’s work focuses on fundraising, facilitation and evaluation, especially of NLHF and ACE funded projects, and she can support mentees to consider how to put effective evaluation in place for the organisation as a whole or a specific project. Kate is a confident facilitator and works with small organisations to help them think through strategy and planning, and she has lots of experience in supporting museums and heritage organisations to develop the seed of a project idea through to the submission of successful funding applications.

• Julie Molloy

Julie has over thirty years’ experience in the cultural sector, having previously held roles at National Gallery Global Limited as Managing Director, The Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Collection. She has proven experience in strategic development, commercial development and implementation, driving and managing meaningful change programmes and increasing organisational capability and effectiveness.

Julie has strong technical skills in financial planning, business management and process improvement, and her entrepreneurial approach allows her to offer strategic and practical advice as a coach/mentor.

• Sophia Woodley

My expertise includes business models, business planning and organisational resilience; strategies for digital innovation including user-centred design; and audience development and engagement. I’ve written digital strategies for NLHF-funded projects; reports for NLHF on resilience in the heritage sector and on local authority heritage priorities and support needs; an essay for the British Council on people-centred approaches for cultural heritage; and designed and delivered R&D in the cultural and creative industries. I co-ran “Digitally Democratising Archives,” an NLHF-funded project bringing communities and archives together for action research, and led a major user research project for Towards a National Collection.

• Christina Lister

I’m a marketing and audience development consultant, a Trustee of Kids in Museums, a school governor and author of the book Marketing Strategy for Museums. My experience and interests are centred around reaching, attracting and retaining audiences for heritage and cultural organisations.

This includes marketing strategy, positioning, campaign planning, monitoring and evaluation; audience development plans, audience and non-user research; membership recruitment and retention. I have been a mentor on several projects run by AIM, the Arts Marketing Association and the Social Enterprise Academy, and enjoy supporting and empowering people.

My experience spans smaller organisations such as the Museum of Cambridge and Jane Austen’s House; and larger organisations including the Science Museum Group and Art Fund (marketing for the Student Art Pass and Teacher Art Pass products).

• Hilary Barnard

Hilary Barnard is a highly experienced coach and mentor.  As part of the AIM Spark! programme and AIM Higher he has coached a wide range of museum and heritage leaders listening hard and offering support and counsel.  He is the co-author of AIM publications on successful museum governance and on museums facing closure. He has worked extensively throughout the wider charity, not for profit and school sectors throughout the UK. His skills as a mentor are particularly suited to leaders developing strategy and business plans, reviewing governance and considering significant organisational change and development.  Website: http://www.hilarybarnard.com

• Rachel Shepherd

As a professional with over 15 years working in the heritage industry and with third sector organisations, I offer a unique perspective on fundraising and strategy development. My experience as a mentor with the RAISE Arts Mentoring Scheme has honed my ability to listen and build support based on your unique situation. I bring a respectful attitude to our interactions, ensuring a supportive and productive mentoring relationship. By understanding your specific challenges and goals, I can provide tailored guidance to help you succeed and grow in your professional journey.

• Kate Rolfe

Having worked with both very large institutions (National Gallery, Natural History Museum) and smaller, niche or more remote organisations (Cultivator Cornwall, mothers2mothers, Leicester Print Workshop, Tara Arts), I understand a range of challenges that people face within the cultural sector. Coming from the commercial side of arts organisations, I have an unusual mix of experience to offer – commercial development, marketing and audience development, and programming. I have also dealt with many situations requiring skills in diplomacy, collaboration and negotiation, as well as managing change, all of which I can support someone to develop their own skills in. I have managed many different teams and projects and have positive feedback on my management style; I will be able to share what I do but also listen to a mentee and work with them to develop their own style to team or project management. I have significant experience with supporting with mental health and tackling systemic challenges related to diversity and inclusion, all of which I can draw on as a mentor.

• Ruth McKew

Previously a curator I have long experience of encouraging museums to develop new audiences and supporting them to create engaging interpretation and exhibitions. Curiosity drives my interest in consultation and how best to help people discover our museum collections and stories, and informs my strategic approach to designing interpretation. Recent work has reignited an interest in collections storage and how poor storage and lack of collections information is impacting our engagement and knowledge of collections.

I’d love to support museums who are thinking about new interpretation or exhibition planning or thinking about a new approach to collections storage.

• Emma Parsons

I am an experienced mentor for AIM and for National Lottery Heritage Fund, supporting those working in the heritage and culture fields to flourish and thrive.  I have worked in museums as an employee, senior manager and consultant for 30 years, bringing that experience and knowledge to my mentoring. Whilst my museum specialisms are audience development and engagement, marketing and fundraising,  my consultancy work is much broader to support you in strategic decision-making and helping organisations to thrive. I am trained as a Relational Dynamics 1^st Coach, experienced in self-directed learning to help you find a solution to your issues.

• Anna Sexton

Anna B. Sexton is a certified creative leadership coach & enterprise mentor specialising in crafting bespoke, accessible, & practical programmes for emerging to established cultural leaders in museums, galleries and the wider contemporary arts. She has grounded experience in person-centred, community co-design processes to launch new projects, services & strategic and capital programmes. She brings clinical solution-focused mental health practices & lived experience of neurodiversity to support balanced, sustainable change processes whilst staying human & well. Clients included AIM, the Royal Worcester Museum, the Gordon Russell Design Museum, Hackney Museum, the V&A & The London Transport Museum.

• Rod Barlow 

I have been actively involved in developing, advising on, supplying, and implementing commercial systems in museums for over 20 years.

I have worked directly with over 200 cultural venues including English Heritage, The V&A, National Portrait Gallery, Antarctic Heritage Trust, BCLM, and many more.

For the last four years I have run a small consultancy practice. We have helped museums define requirements, create funding requests and produce business.

Dispelling those myths and equipping leaders with the skills to correctly understand the opportunity and how to deploy such technology to reduce friction, conserve resources and maximise opportunity.

• Iain Watson

My approach uses a mix of coaching and mentoring. I always start by spending time listening to the mentee and helping them work out what they need from the relationship. I believe I can offer particular support with professional development board and leadership development, strategic fundraising advice, evaluation, strategic project and program management.

My experience of running museums of a great variety of sizes coupled with very varied consultancy and board experience have allowed me to learn and develop personally and professionally and I would seek to share this learning with mentees.

I also offer the challenge the mentees often need and will, where appropriate, seek out the things that ‘can’t be changed’ as they are often the tings that, at least, need to be explored.

• Alex Lindley

Over the years, Alex has worked as a mentor and coach with a wide range of professionals in the cultural sector. She is  a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and runs a consultancy focused on organisation and people development. She can support you with:

• Developing leadership and management skills;
• Exploring people strategy and organisation design (e.g. team roles and responsibilities), particularly at times of change (e.g. to support capital projects);
• Helping you navigate challenging people management and HR issues;
• Supporting your workforce through change;
• Improving engagement and performance;
• Volunteering.

 

• Sam Hunt

I have acted as a mentor for  a number of independent museums, usually as part of wider consultancy work, supporting  individual managers and trustees undergoing service transition and management change through one to one conversations either is person or on Zoom calls. As a consultant I have worked with a wide variety of museums, large and small across the country, most recently  as mentor supporting  newly appointed managers and chairs of outsourced local authority services and museums having to adjust their operation and service offer against declining funding and withdrawal of local authority support. As a mentor I bring wide experience of museum operation having managed a regional  and a national museum agency and previously worked in museums as a curator and service manger as well as being a trustee of a number of independent museums, heritage organisations and funding bodies. Visit: www.samhuntconsulting.com.

• Sara Hilton

 

• Joe Traynor