Honorary President: Sir Simon Alexander Bowes Lyon, KCVO
Honorary Vice-Presidents: Colonel Peter Echlin Gerahty, Robert Wilson (2008-2013, elected 13 September 2008), Richard Ball, (elected 17 October 2009)
For the purposes of the Companies Act 1985, the Council of Management is regarded as the Board of Directors of the Company.
The following serve as Charity Trustees on the Council of Management:
Michael Master (Chairman), Dr. Veronica Edmonds-Brown (Vice Chairman), John Bristow (Treasurer), Tim Bell, Dr. Agneta Burton, Paul Knutson, Paul Moran, Anthony Oliver, Steve Shaw, David Telford
Company Secretary: Brenda Barrett
Mike Master - Chairman
Mike Master retired in 2003 from a career in the construction supply industry, as Director and General Manager of RMC Aggregates (Greater London) Ltd. and now runs his own mineral development consultancy. Somewhat naturally he has a keen interest in the potential of the quarry industry to foster conservation initiatives.
In addition to his role at HMWT, he is a director to Hertfordshire Groundwork Trust, Groundwork (UK) and Chairman of Groundwork East of England. He is also a Trustee of the Hertfordshire Community Foundation, a director of QPA Restoration Guarantee Fund and life member of the National Trust.
Dr Veronica Edmonds-Brown – Vice Chairman
Ronni Edmonds-Brown is an aquatic ecologists working for the University of Hertfordshire. Current projects include a breeding programme for the native white clawed crayfish.
Ronni sits on the HNHS Management committee and is Chair of the Hertfordshire Biological Recorders. In addition she is the Secretary of the Aquatic Ecology Group of the British Ecological Society and also a member of one of the Environment Agencies regional strategic committees.
In addition to her academic duties she is also responsible for the ecological management of the Bayfordbury field centre.
Ronni and her husband moved from Surrey to Barnet in 1981 and have a son and daughter. Interests include reading, music, messing about in water and conservation.
John Bristow – Treasurer
Originally from North London, John has resided in Hertfordshire since the early 1970s, currently in Harpenden. Educated in Finchley, he followed his father’s footsteps and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1971. After qualifying, John left the accountancy profession for corporate life and held a number of financial posts, mainly in retail, before establishing his own consultancy practice in the early 1990s finally retiring in 2005. He is now actively involved in a number of charities helping with financial input and advice.
John’s interest in wildlife started from an early age, birdwatching in Norfolk on visits to grandparents and has remained a passion. An active member of local birdwatching groups, other interests include walking (especially long distance paths), local history and watching football at Luton Town. A member of HMWT since the early 1980s, John has enjoyed making an active contribution to wildlife conservation since becoming a trustee in 2004.
Brenda Barrett – Company Secretary
Brenda Barrett is an emeritus professor at Middlesex University.She is a lawyer and her academic specialism is occupational health and safety which straddles employment and personal injury law.She is still actively involved with the University and has worked on two research projects this year.She is Company Secretary of both HMWT and HMWC and also serves on the Trust’s health and safety working group.
Tim Bell
Tim is a Chartered Surveyor with over 30 years experience in commercial property, most of which has been in advising pension funds on UK and international property investment. He took early retirement from F&C Asset Management in 2008, fortunately just prior to the collapse of the investment markets.
Tim is currently a Board Member of COIF, who operate a range of investment funds for Charities and a Trustee of the Hertfordshire Building Preservation Trust.
Tim is married to Sue and has two children, one at University studying landscape architecture and the other, recently graduated and looking for a job. He plays tennis and badminton and loves walking long distance trails.
Dr Agneta Burton
Dr Agneta Burton is a botanist who has lectured in environmental sciences at the University of Hertfordshire since 1991 after working on biological monitoring of the environment in Canada and at King’s College London. She has always had an interest in natural history generally but particularly in mosses and liverworts, enjoying bryological excursions, when time allows, in different parts of the country – especially in wetter mountainous areas.
At present she is actively involved in a project to encourage local communities in the East of England to take part in observing and recording biodiversity and hoping to persuade them to gain enthusiasm for looking at and learning to identify bryophytes (and lichens) in orchards. As a new Trustee she is looking forward to getting to know more of the reserves owned and managed by the Trust.
Paul Knutson
Paul grew up in Maryland, USA, worked his way to Europe after university, travelled, met a woman in London, and has lived in Northwood since 1972.
His career started in IT, in manufacturing, then project management, and then his own consultancy from1986 (to help people manage change successfully). Past achievements include 24 successful projects, Director at Thomson Holidays, Amersham International and AMED, Chair of Hillingdon CAB, main contributor to The Effective Director, (2001), Chris Pierce (ed.)
His wife Linda, 3 children, 6 grandchildren, gardening, tennis, walking, and so much of London fill Paul’s time, along with learning more about wildlife.
Paul J Moran
Born in Dublin in 1963, Paul achieved Bachelor and Masters degrees in Computer Science at Trinity College, Dublin. He moved to Hemel Hempstead in 1987 and worked as a software engineer, project leader and technology consultant developing IT communications equipment. Paul became a full time student again in 2008/09 and have just completed an MSc Environment Management at Hertfordshire University.
Involved in practical nature conservation for over 20 years as part of the Hemel Hempstead Conservation Volunteers (currently Chairman). Paul also enjoys walking, cycling, folk dancing, and growing his own fruit and veg.
Anthony Oliver
In his youth Anthony enjoyed National Service in the RAF, and had a great three years in Cambridge obtaining a degree in Economics and Sociology and having fun.
For a career he got involved in the computer industry, working as a systems designer for all sorts of organisations in UK, USA and the West Indies. He ran his own company - a service bureau in North London - and finally ended up as a consultant for a major accounting firm.
All his life Anthony has been keen on "Natural History", especially birds and flowers. He bought a house in the village of Hertford Heath in 1972 and volunteered for the first working party when the local SSSI was taken over by HMWT. When the first warden retired in 1980 his arm was twisted to take over, and he only relinquished the post when he moved to St Albans in 2005. Anthony has been a Trustee of HMWT off and on for many years (I have lost count!).
Other hobbies include sailing, local history and church architecture.
Steve Shaw
Recently retired public sector Finance Director, living near Hertford but actually a Yorkshireman.
Interests include travel, walking, reading, bridge. Happily married with a daughter and son - one saving rhinos, the other providing clean water and sanitation for third world communities – and a black lab.
Full of admiration for the skill, enthusiasm and hard work of the staff and volunteers.
David Telford
With the surname of Telford, it is perhaps no surprise that he is a civil engineer whose career has spanned highway, canal and river engineering.
David is currently a consultant working for the Environment Agency and a small consultancy on river, lake and pond restoration projects, flood defence asset maintenance and flood risk assessments.
David is an identical twin, married with two grown-up children, and enjoys swimming, badminton, football refereeing, reading, wildlife and listening to choral music. He grew up in Finchley and has lived mostly in Barnet since.
Principal Staff: Judith Adams (Chief Executive), Valerie Johnson (Finance Manager), Tim Hill (Conservation Manager), Stephen Bound (Reserves for People Manager), Danielle Porteous (Marketing and Fundraising Manager)
The Trust publishes its annual review and accounts annually. Download our 2008/09 Annual Review.
