Trustees and staff
The Trust is governed by a board of up to ten trustees, elected by the members at the annual general meeting. Trustees are unpaid. The Trust employs three part-time staff.
Trustees
Geoffrey Marlow
Chair
A solicitor in the town for thirty-four years until he retired in 2018. Trustee since 2015 and Chair since 2020. Chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
Patricia Overend
Vice-chair
Head teacher of Church Walk Primary School from 2004 to 2021. Trustee since 2017. Leads on safeguarding.
Martin Dyball
Treasurer
A chartered accountant, formerly finance director of an agricultural engineering firm in the valley. Trustee and Treasurer since 2019.
Helen Brackenbury
Secretary
Practice manager at the doctors’ surgery. Trustee and Secretary since 2021, and the Trust’s data protection lead.
Susan Ravenhill
Trustee
A retired county archivist who has lived in the town since 1996. Trustee since 2016. Chairs the Collections Committee.
Rev. Canon Andrew Pilling
Trustee
Vicar of St Laurence’s since 2013, nominated by the parochial church council.
Rajesh Mistry
Trustee
Runs the pharmacy on High Street and chairs the Chamber of Trade. Trustee since 2024.
Clare Beddoes
Trustee
Taught history at the secondary school for twenty-six years and leads the schools volunteers. Trustee since 2024.
Imogen Rudge
Trustee
Chair of the Lilac Fair committee since 2022, and a member of the cordial committee since 2009. Trustee since 2026.
Trustees serve for three years and may be re-elected twice. The register of trustees’ interests is available from the Secretary.
Staff
Dr Fiona Kettlewell
Curator
Joined the Trust in 2011 from a regional museum service. Responsible for the collections, exhibitions and research. Works Tuesday to Friday.
Lynne Swithenbank
Visitor Services Manager
Runs the front desk, the visitor information point and the shop, and the volunteer rota. Joined in 2014.
Tom Ambler
Learning and Collections Officer
Leads school visits and the documentation of the collection. Works Tuesday to Thursday. Joined in 2019.
Janet Openshaw
Volunteer Coordinator (volunteer)
Recruits and inducts new volunteers and edits the volunteer handbook. A volunteer since 1998.
Staff and trustees can be written to at the museum. For the Curator, email curator@vengerberg.org; for anything else, info@vengerberg.org.