Trustee Elections

Dear Fellows,

The Trustee elections are now in full swing and the selection of Governance Advisory Group members is also in progress, following the vote to accept Rudi Plaut's motion at the AGM. This promises significant developments and clarification in the governance structures for the RSA at national and regional level, encouraging engagement of Fellows and hopefully re-engagement of some that felt discouraged in the past. Cliched or not, as with the rest of life you get as much out of the RSA as you put into it and the best way to ensure that the RSA stays relevant, up to date and engaged is through the active contribution and support of the Fellowship. 

To facilitate this the RSA needs to be well resourced, run professionally and with vision and governed by a skilled and active Board of Trustees. I encourage all Fellows therefore to engage with the current ballot for Trustees and scrutinise the candidate statements. You may however be interested to know that four of us have decided to come together in our campaign for election. Your vote is of course free, however the pledge below shows how the four of us fit well together as a group, offering a complementary skill set to represent the interests of Fellows and the RSA. We hope that you feel able to share your votes between us. Above all, we hope that you use your vote and ensure an effective and strong ballot.

Dear Fellow,

We are four candidates standing for Trusteeship in the RSA Board elections. We share a vision for the future of the RSA. We have joined forces and ask that you vote for us as a group.  We seek to ensure that Fellows who are committed to the RSA’s aims are at the heart of the organisation’s charitable missions. Jointly we feel we can offer Fellows and the Society what is needed. We bring complementary skills and experiences both to Fellows in representing your interests and passions and to the RSA as we seek to discharge our legal liabilities for stewardship of the organisation.

We undertake to be active trustees who are visible and approachable and we represent a wide geographical reach; North, London/South East, South West and Wales. We will help develop strategy, challenge management on its implementation, and ensure the solvency and compliance of the Society, through effective delegation to the senior staff team. As a group we feel we are uniquely qualified for these challenges  and are committed to ensuring the RSA delivers the best performance for and with our 27,000 Fellows and, in turn, wider society.

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Dr Suzy Walton stands as a public interest advocate and someone highly experienced in corporate governance. She is a Chartered Director (the UK’s highest level qualification in corporate governance), Chartered Scientist and Chartered Occupational Psychologist. She has over 12 years experience in Whitehall, sits on around ten boards in the public and private sectors and many government committees including the Ethics Group of the National DNA Database. She is also a widowed mother of five and an active campaigner for disadvantaged groups.

Wiard Sterk has a background in leadership of large complex charitable organisations in art and design and experience in Public and Private Sector partnerships. He has sound administrative and financial acumen in the third sector, and experience of sustainability and regeneration issues. Having lived in Wales for over 25 years and with experience of working across the UK, he is uniquely aware of the need to reflect the devolved political context of Britain within the activities of the RSA. 

Ted Fowler started work within the manual trades until in his 30’s he was appointed Director of Bristol Community Transport.  He now works in economic development for Bristol City Council, initiating enterprise support and working with major investors.  He has 3 decades experience of practical governance responsibilities and representative roles: as a senior County Councillor and with regional practitioner networks within the social enterprise, arts, transport, local development fields

Don Pinchbeck brings experience of private and third sector organisations, having worked as CEO/Chair in British, Dutch, American and Japanese Corporates across Europe, Scandinavia, Middle East, Japan and Africa. Currently he is Chair of five companies, a Board member of Emmaus an international social enterprise for the homeless and HospiceCare.  He is a visiting lecturer and market researcher for several universities and has expertise in telecoms, internet and IT.

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Please read more about us in our official ballot biographies. We would be honoured to serve Fellows and the Society.