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.

Kristýna Hill (Treasurer)

Kristýna was born in Prague and her early years and education were split between there and a village in the mountains in Moravia, in the Czech Republic. She studied tourism and enjoyed languages which lead her to travel for a few years after finishing secondary school. She worked in the UK, Slovakia, Japan and Ireland before eventually settling in England to resume her studies. She worked in the fresh produce logistics industry whilst starting at the Open University and later moved on to study with the ACCA to become a fully qualified Chartered Accountant. She also completed her bachelors degree in accountancy with The Oxford Brookes university. She has worked as a Chartered Accountant in accountancy practices for over 10 years and lives in Faversham in Kent with her husband and 2 daughters.

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.

Griselda Mussett

Griselda is a writer and historian, and a business owner and consultant for 20 years. Trained at the BBC and Anglia TV as a broadcast journalist and film-maker, specialising in science programmes. She is a life-long environmental campaigner, founding the Friends of Faversham Creek in 1989. The Friends successfully fought three Public Inquiries to protect the Creek from unsuitable, unsustainable development in its lower reaches. She has a particular interest in young people and their advancement and has lived in Faversham since 1987.

Reverend Andrew Sweeney

Andrew grew up in the Midlands, and worked in London for 25 years in the IT industry, before a new vocation led him to ordination in the Church of England. After theological college, he was a parish priest in London, then moved to Canterbury Diocese as Priest-in-Charge at Hythe. Andrew and his wife Lou have lived in Faversham part-time since 2012, and full-time since 2021. Andrew helps in the ministry team of the Faversham churches, is a Pastoral Supervisor for other clergy, and supports other clergy in formation and training. He has been a barge-owner, loves the waterways, and would like to see Faversham Creek used to its full potential by the whole community.

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.