Meet our Team
NWFed Board of Trustees
NWFed is run by a board of museum professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
There is an annual opportunity for members to join the board at our AGM which takes place in the summer. To find out more, please contact our Chair.
Chair
Helen Fairs
Helen has nearly 25 years’ experience in the cultural sector working for Tate, National Football Museum, Arts Council England, All About Audiences and currently the Whitworth, to name but a few.
Primarily an administrator, Helen is experienced in leading, facilitating and project managing independently within and with Research, Legal, Teaching and Curatorial teams.
Helen says: “I am passionate about what our museums and galleries can do for society and how important a grassroots organisation like the NWFed is in keeping us all working together, sharing best practice and maintaining the fluid approaches we need to keep our spaces welcoming and relevant to the audiences we serve.”
Board Members
Treasurer: Jessica Webb
Despite being relatively new to the heritage sector, Jess has worked the ropes, from pot washing and volunteering as a Christmas elf, to currently being on the leadership team at Dunham Massey.
Jess has volunteered and worked at Tyntesfield, Killerton and Lyme and is currently Business Services Lead at Dunham. Her role is varied, working with a range of partners and teams, helping to implement strategy by managing resources, finance and compliance. She is passionate about engaging people in the heritage sector whose skillset is not directly in collection and conservation management.
As part of her role, she is involved with multiple national working groups to improve procedures. She also volunteers at The Pankhurst Centre and is Pride Co-ordinator for the National Trust, organising their representation at the Manchester Pride event.
Individual Membership Secretary: Claire Sleightholm
Claire has over 15 years’ experience in museums and galleries, gained in collections and curatorial positions.
Claire is currently a member of the curatorial team at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle, caring for the Designated and internationally important collections. Claire is committed to socially engaged practice and she was part of the team which developed the first English museum’s Of By For All project. She has been honoured to co-curate projects and exhibitions with diverse members of Carlisle’s communities.
Claire has previously worked in roles and been involved at projects at Wordsworth Grasmere, Museums Association, Tate, Henry Moore Institute, Manchester Art Gallery and Art UK. Claire is passionate about sharing collections in ways that are relevant, exciting and accessible.
Institutional Membership Secretary: Amy Carney
Amy has over 20 years’ experience in the heritage sector. She has worked for the National Trust at Dunham Massey, Lyme and within the Regional Consultancy, working her way up from Collections Assistant to Cultural Heritage Curator.
She is passionate about cultural heritage, significance, collections management and care, interpretation and research, and is always striving to ensure her work delivers more benefit to more people.
As a NWFed Board Member, Amy is keen to support members’ development and ensure our practice remains relevant in an ever-changing world.
Eleanor Rose Webster
Eleanor is a marketing and communications professional with more than 10 years’ experience across the private, public and charity sectors.
Eleanor is currently a Marketing Manager at the British Council, working across a range of global and national programmes. She has previously worked as a Marketing Officer at National Museums Liverpool, leading marketing campaigns for teams including Learning & Participation, Exhibitions, Fundraising and Commercial.
Her previous experience includes working in communications at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHSFT and The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation For Peace, as well as copywriting for commercial magazines and websites.
Alys Rouncefield
Alys has been working in museums and galleries since 2017, both in volunteer roles and in contracted positions.
Alys can mostly be found having a chat with whoever might listen, and as an Outreach and Engagement Officer at Blackburn Museum & Gallery, this suits her quite well. At Blackburn, she is working to develop and deliver an engagement programme and collaborate with communities and partners to create inclusive narratives of the collections and borough.
Most of the work Alys has done in museums has centred around community outreach projects and displays which strive to include diverse voices in museum narratives.
Sammy Oates-Miller
Sammy is currently a Visitor Team Coordinator at Manchester Museum while completing an Master’s in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester.
Sammy also volunteers as a Coordinator for the Heritage Trust Network’s Youth Forum, helping to create events and content for young people looking to enter the sector. They are particularly interested in helping underrepresented and diverse groups get into museums.
Before working in Manchester, Sammy was part of the Family Learning team at the V&A. She previously did an MA in Medieval Studies at the University of Manchester and worked in career support before getting into the museum sector.
In Conversation
Our In Conversation events take place in person and online, covering key current issues in the sector. You’ll hear from expert speakers with inspiring case studies, and have the chance to contribute your expertise too.
Museum Basics
Museums Basics are focused, small group training events covering critical practical museum knowledge, like object marking and labelling, packing and storage, and disaster planning.