WHO WE ARE
We welcome the support of our patrons the Countess Sondes and Sir David Melville. Our Board of Trustees come with a variety of skills and knowledge including finance, fundraising, project management, engineering & design. They are all passionate about the heritage of the Creek and preserving it for everyone to enjoy and learn from.
Patrons
The Countess Sondes
The Countess Sondes is not a typical member of the British aristocracy in either her origin or her attitude. She represents the fusion of twenty-first century enterprise and insight, with centuries-old tradition. An American by birth, the widowed Phyllis Kane married Henry George Herbert, The Fifth Earl Sondes, in 1986. The Countess rapidly embraced the natural beauty of Lees Court, the Sondes family ancestral Estate, and its way of life evolving over seven centuries. When The Earl Sondes died in 1996, The Countess was determined for Lees Court to be retained and to preserve the continuance of its way of life; she has brought her own unique vision to the Estate.
Unusually, the ownership of the Lees Court Estate includes the majority of the Swale Estuary and Faversham and Oare Creeks. The Countess Sondes is passionate about this area and the Estate adopts a proactive approach to its management and conservation. There is particular focus on protecting its biodiversity and using the Estate’s ownership to responsibly protect socio-economic activity on the Estuary and Creeks, including moorings, wildfowling, fishing and the management of its oyster beds and works closely with Hollowshore Fisheries on the day-to-day activities. The aims of the Faversham Creek Trust are aligned with those of The Countess Sondes which is why she was honoured to become a patron of the Trust.
Professor Sir David Melville CBE
David Melville is a Faversham resident and he has been a sailor for over 50 years. His career has been in Further and Higher Education as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, Chief Executive of the Further Education Funding Council and Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University and before that as a Professor of Physics.
He has been Chair of Pearson Education Ltd and a member or chair of several national Government education reviews and inquiries. He was the Government Thames Gateway Skills Envoy and chair of Health Education and the NHS Postgraduate Deanery for Kent Surrey Sussex, Lifelong Learning UK, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Learning and Skills Council in Kent and Medway, the University Vocational Awards Council and Higher Education South East, and a board member of several universities, the ifs School of Finance, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, The Place and the Council for Industry and Higher Education. He is currently a member of the Parliamentary Higher Education Commission, a Kent Ambassador, Chair of Faversham & Oare Heritage Harbour Group and Vice-Chair of the Faversham Society.
Trustees
Philippa Dickenson – Chair
Philippa started her working life as a chartered engineer with engineering degrees from Cambridge University. She followed her work in industry with an MBA from INSEAD and then worked as a senior strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co before becoming a freelance organisational and leadership specialist. With over thirty years of coaching and facilitating experience, she has worked with senior executives from a range of sectors and government agencies. She is also a registered psychotherapist with UKCP.
Liz Tootell – Vice-Chair
Liz has lived in Faversham since 2004 and loves walking or cycling along the creek and all the history of Faversham. She is a freelance fundraiser and has worked in the charity sector for 20 years. She has secured grants to support children and young people, grants to help adults to recover from addiction and projects to support physical and mental health. It’s the best job in the world when you help to bring in funding and make a project happen that has a transformative impact on people’s lives and their loved ones.
Kristyna Hill – Treasurer
Kristýna was born in Prague, however as soon as she finished secondary school where she studied languages and tourism, she decided to travel abroad. She worked in the UK, Slovakia, Japan and Ireland before eventually settling in England to resume her studies. She studied at the Open University and later moved on to study with the ACCA to become a fully qualified Chartered Certified Accountant. She has worked as an accountant in accountancy practices for over 10 years, specialising in advising owner managed businesses. Kristyna lives in Faversham in Kent with her husband and 2 daughters and her hobbies, amongst other, include walks along the Creek with her family.
Sue Akhurst
Sue lived in Canterbury before moving to London after marrying Bill, whose family has lived in Faversham for generations, with bargemen among his ancestors. She worked for over 30 years as Account Director and General Manager for IT companies specialising in the advertising industry. Sue made her home in Faversham in 1987. She believes strongly in working for the greatest good of the town, especially for Faversham’s maritime heritage and future development.
Eldon Hinchliffe
Architectural and landscape designer, advisor to Faversham Creek Trust and the Arden Theatre. Eldon has been involved in sailing on Thames Barges since the early 1970s and belongs to the Thames Sailing Barge Trust and the Kentish Sail Association. His first visit to Faversham was aboard SB Pudge via the Creek.
Joanna Wood
Joanna Wood has lived in Faversham for 30 years and been a member of the Faversham Creek Trust for many years. As a plant scientist working for much of her career in the fruit industry it was hardly surprising that she moved to Kent and continues to work as a journalist covering both the growing of fruit crops and vines. Walking and cycling along the banks of the Creek is a much- loved pastime and she considers looking after the unique heritage Faversham has in the Creek vital to the future of the town.
Orville Wright
Orville’s background is Mechanical Engineering whose early years were spent as a Materials Test Technician within the manufacturing sector. His formative work experience was largely spent in both Quality and Project Management roles across a variety of sectors including transportation, insurance and pharmaceuticals. Orville moved from London to Faversham in 2012 where he later became an active participant in the Abbey Neighbourhood Association.