Who we are

Michael joined the Foundation as CEO in 2018. Michael is a Manchester University Business Finance & Law graduate. Previously, he was Chief Executive of Mentor UK, a national charity working to help young people reduce the harms caused by drugs. Prior to this, he was the first Crown Representative for the Voluntary & Community Sector. In this role, he advised the Government on how to strengthen charities’ role in building communities. Michael sits on the East of England Leadership Board for Business in the Community and chairs the Cambridgeshire Cricket Board.

He has been a Trustee of three charities, a school governor and led the establishment of a new charitable consortium working in the children’s services early intervention sector.

Michael is a father to 4 children and enjoys watching many sports, theatre and trying to keep fit by running fairly slowly, but quite far!

Whilst not quite Cambridgeshire born and bred, Michelle grew up and went to school in Cambridge. After travelling, working and living away, a job brought her back to her home county, where she now lives with her young daughter.

Having started her career in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in sales and marketing, she felt she wanted to do something to support positive change with her work and skills. Moving to work in the third sector to support fundraising and the development of charities, she has worked as a Head of Fundraising and Development for a number of years.

Michelle gets to meet all the amazing people who support and make our work possible, along with all the incredible people and organisations that change the world around us. As she has lived and travelled, the inequalities and areas where we, as a society, need more help have become obvious to her. Working with the Foundation appealed to Michelle because Cambridgeshire is her home and the charity helps to make it a better place for everyone to live and work in.

Since 2016, Viv has co-ordinated all departments to ensure the smooth-running of the team and our many grant-making programmes.

Viv joined the Foundation from a digital agency, following 15 years in live broadcast for the BBC, Sky Arts and Commercial Radio. Previously a Director of an independent production company, she had originally planned a career in the heritage sector, having read History at Cambridge and completed a Masters in Museum Studies at Leicester.

She keeps up her interests in history and museums as a Trustee of The Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey, and her love of music with her piano. Originally from the hilly Peak District, Viv lives with her partner in South Cambs and has developed a love of rural Cambridgeshire and the Fens.

Julia joined the Foundation in 2022, after a role in events and marketing at another local charity. Having lived in South Cambs for most of her life, she enjoys having the opportunity to support the many community projects across Cambridgeshire that benefit from the Foundation’s funding. Being particularly passionate about animal welfare, she has also volunteered as a Publicity Officer and Committee Member at her local Cats Protection branch.

Julia holds a BSc in International Business Management and MSc in Strategic Marketing. Her Master’s thesis has received an award from The Worshipful Company of Marketors.

In her free time, you will find Julia running, training with her dogs, talking about cars or planning her next trip abroad.

Ruth joined the Foundation as an Administrator in January 2023. Before moving to Cambridge with her family, she lived in County Durham and Oxford, where she worked for Citizens Advice.

Ruth studied Architecture as an undergraduate but has spent her career working in social and health care and the charity sector, where she enjoys being part of organisations that make a difference to people’s lives. Alongside working for the Foundation, she is studying part-time for a Masters in Social and Public Policy

Ruth appreciates cycling in the flatter landscape of Cambridge, but enjoys walking in the hills when she goes back up north.

Sara joined the team as a Grants Officer in August 2019. Her background is in marketing and community engagement and she has worked on projects for several local charities.

Her particular interests include communities, environmental sustainability and social equality.

Originally from East Cambridgeshire, Sara lives in Ely and enjoys book club, bat detecting, board games and cooking with FoodCycle.

Kate joined the Foundation in November 2020. Previously, she worked at an education technology start up, and at Heritage Lottery Fund for many years before that.

Her background is in archaeology and community involvement in heritage. She lives in Cambridge with her family and enjoys walking the dog, camping and anything that involves eating local produce.

Erin joined the Foundation as a Grants Officer in September 2023. Before this, she worked as a teacher for 7 years, specialising in supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities.

Erin has lived in Oxford, Melton Mowbray and Edinburgh, before moving to Cambridge in 2020. Erin loves spending time outside, reading a good book or attending medieval history events.

Hailing from an international and multi-lingual background, Leonore was educated in France, Germany and the UK and speaks three languages fluently. She also started learning Italian at university, and she is planning on picking this up again in the future, because she loves eating Italian food!

After graduating with a Master’s degree in Music from the University of Manchester, Leonore moved to Cambridge in 2017 to pursue a year-long internship at the Academy of Ancient Music (an early music orchestra in Cambridge). This led to a career in arts administration, with roles at Arts Council England and the Royal Albert Hall.

Leonore is still very involved in musical activities – she plays the piano and the harpsichord and sings with the University of Cambridge Symphony Chorus (and recently travelled to Paris with 60 members of the chorus, where they performed on live TV!).

Leonore is very excited to be part of the team at the Foundation, helping to create change and opportunities within our wonderful county. She lives in rural Cambridgeshire with her husband and two guinea pigs.

Julie is the Foundation’s honorary President. A graduate of Liverpool University and I M Marsh College of Physical Education, where Julie trained to teach PE and Biology. Julie moved to the West Country to take up a teaching post, but soon discovered that teaching was not for her.

In 1978, she joined Avon and Somerset Police and was posted to South Bristol. After postings to CID, community policing, the force communications centre, the Family and Child Protection Unit, the Press Office and uniform operations, Julie was seconded to the Association of Chief Police Officers secretariat in London for two years. In 1999, Julie was appointed to Assistant Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police.

Appointed to Deputy Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary in April 2004, Julie was responsible for Operational Policing for the County. In 2005, Julie was appointed Acting Chief Constable and subsequently appointed to Chief Constable in 2005.

In the Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours, Julie was awarded an OBE for her management of complex and contentious organisational issues, leadership of Thames Valley’s contribution to the operations to protect Heathrow and the Queen Mother’s funeral, her work for the ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee on Royalty and VIP Protection and her strong leadership and determination in taking forward the Gender Agenda and the development of the British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP), which have both become major drivers for gender equality in British policing. She was President of BAWP for 10 years (2000-2010).

In 2008, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Anglia Ruskin University and, in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list, she received the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM).

In September 2010, after a 32 year career, she retired from policing.

Julie is Chair of the Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, and is also the Chair of the Police Mutual Assurance Society, Chair of Wellbeing of Women (Cambridge Branch) and a Trustee of Ormiston Families.

In April 2017, she was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, The Queen’s representative in the county, a post that she will hold until 2030.

The Very Revd Mark Bonney has been the Dean of Ely since September 2012.

Mark read music at Cambridge and taught for 3 years, before training for the priesthood in the Church of England, and was ordained in 1985 to a curacy in Stockton-on-Tees. After serving sixteen years in the Diocese of St Albans, mostly in parish ministry, Mark become the Canon Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral in 2004, and Dean of Ely in 2012.  Mark is a Church Commissioner and member of Bishoprics & Cathedrals Committee since 2018. In 2023, Mark was appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant as a Deputy Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire.

With a concern for issues around social justice and inclusion, as well as a strong advocate of art and music within the Cathedrals, Mark has always sought to make these glorious places accessible to as many people as possible.

Mark is a keen golfer and cook, is married to Katy, a primary school headteacher, and has two grown up daughters.

A retired academic publisher, Sir Charles founded the Chadwyck-Healey publishing group in 1973, which published research material in the humanities and social sciences for university libraries throughout the world. He sold the group in 1999 to ProQuest, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the international office still based in Cambridge.

Since his retirement, Charles has been an investor in start-up companies, mainly in IT and biotech. He instigated the Young Carers Fund, run by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, to support young carers in the county, and is closely involved with Centre 33. He is Chairman of the Open Trust, and has held office as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Chairman of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust and Chairman of openDemocracy. He is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, and is the author of Publishing for Libraries at the Dawn of the Digital Age, Bloomsbury Academic 2020.

Charles is a book collector and has created two major book collections: Photo books, which has been given to the Bodleian Library and ‘Literature of the Liberation 1944-1946’, which was donated to Cambridge University Library. He is married with three children and six grandchildren and lives with his wife, Angela, in Cambridge.

Christopher joined Marshall in 1983 and has worked in all of the principal operating companies. Since 2011, he has worked alongside the Chairman and Chief Executive with particular responsibility for external relationships and communications.

Christopher is the UK Chairman of the British-American Committee for RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. Christopher is also a Board Member of Cambridge Ahead and of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association in East Anglia and Chairman of their Regional Employer Engagement Group. He is Chairman of No. 104 (City of Cambridge) Squadron of the RAF Air Cadets and a member of Commandant Air Cadet’s Business and Industry Forum.

Christopher is a Trustee of the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and a Member of Anglian Learning (multi-academy trust). He is also a Member of the Joint Assembly of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, and a Vice-President of the Air League Trust. He is a Trustee of the Sir Michael Marshall Charitable Trust and a Vice-President of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation.

Until recently, Christopher was a non-executive director of Marshall Motor Holdings plc and is a former Vice-President of Automotive Fellowship International. Until 2017, he was an Honorary Commander with the US Air Force at RAF Alconbury. From 2015 to 2018, Christopher was a member of the National Employer Advisory Board (NEAB) at the MOD and is a former Chairman of the Air League and a former member of the Air Cadet Council.

Christopher was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire in March 2021. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers. He is married to Penelope Walkinshaw who is also a Deputy Lieutenant in Cambridgeshire and a former High Sheriff of the County.

John is Chairman of the G’s Fresh group of companies, having joined the family business, founded by his father in 1952, after completing a BSc Hons in Agriculture at Newcastle University in 1976.

The family fresh produce and marketing business now has sales of £670m per annum in the UK, Europe and the USA. Integral to its business is its expertise in growing and, together with members of the G’s Grower Producer Organisation, grows 14,000 hectares of salads and vegetables in the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Spain and Senegal. The business also produces several thousand hectares of arable crops including maize for an anaerobic digestion plant which produces all the energy needs for the Group’s mushroom farm.

In 1996, he was awarded an OBE for services to Horticulture and exports in recognition of the Group embracing the Single Market. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Harper Adams University in 2009.

John has served on several Government committees including the Agrifood Tech Council and the National Food Strategy and has recently served on the Cambridgeshire Commissions on Economics and Climate Change. In 2022, John was commissioned by DEFRA to Chair an Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain.

John is a Director and founding member of the Modern Slavery Intelligence Network (MSIN), a non-profit organisation created to share intelligence to aid in the disruption of modern slavery and labour exploitation within the UK food industry.

John has also been heavily involved in the establishment of TIAH – The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture.

John is Chairman of Fenland SOIL, a not-for-profit members organisation that aims to inform and develop ‘whole farm’ land use policies, aimed at achieving climate change mitigation and biodiversity enhancement in the Fens.

Michael manages farming of 2,000 hectares, over three family farming businesses in The Fens. The family in various parts have been involved in drainage and farming in the Fens since the 17th Century.

Growing a rotational mix of arable crops, wheat, sugar beet, mustard, peas and including environmental stewardship across the farms.

He is Vice Chair and a Director of Condimentum, who mill and manufacture mustard seed and mint plants through a state-of-the-art facility at the Food Enterprise Park in Easton Nr. Norwich, for food ingredients and condiment use, some of which supplies Colman’s, a Unilever brand.

Michael Chairs the NFU Sugar Board representing 2,500 growers. He has also served as NFU County Chair and the Council delegate for Cambridgeshire, the most farmed county in the UK.

He is Chair of the North Level District Internal Drainage Board, serving 34,000 hectares. He also spent 10 years on the Anglian Northern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

His other interests include hosting Open Farm and Vintage Weekend every June, with 10,000 to 12,000 visitors attending over the weekend, welcoming over 96,000 people since 2006. It has become a large, community supported, free event to promote farming, food, the environment, drainage, our past and our future.

He is Chair of the Thorney Society which promotes the history and architecture of the parish and runs the village museum.

He was awarded an MBE in the late Queen Elizabeth II last birthday honours list for services to the agricultural community in East Anglia and the English Mustard Growers Cooperative.

Stephen joined the Foundation in February 2021 as a Trustee and became Chair in October 2021.

Stephen has spent over 30 years in the food and food ingredients industry. He is the former CEO of Associated British Foods Ingredients division and a former Divisional President of Danisco (DuPont).

Stephen currently has his own advisory, non-executive and consulting business which has a special focus on Private Equity and Venture Capital mergers and acquisitions in food, nutrition and wellness. In addition to this, he currently has a portfolio of Board positions – Non Executive Chairman of both Condimentum Ltd and Arborea Ltd, and Non Executive Director of Oceanium Ltd in the UK , and BRAIN-Biotech AG in Germany.

He was the Chair of the Trustee Board of FoodCycle, a UK national charity, for the last 5 years until end of 2023.

Stephen is married with two adult children, and has been a resident of Cambridge for 30 years. He is a keen cyclist and skier. He is also a true foodie – not just content to work in the industry – but loves great food and fine wine.

Alison is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Taxation. She has worked as Director of Taxation in FTSE companies in London since 1995. A particular focus during this time has been on international expansion, project management, board governance, and corporate simplification.

Now living in Cambridgeshire, she joined the Foundation’s board in December 2015, with a particular focus on finance and governance skills.

Her interests include walking, tennis, travel and building her new home.

Jonathan enjoyed a successful career in investment banking, holding various executive positions in global financial institutions. As Vice President, he had responsibility for managing key external commercial relationships. He was asked by the US tycoon, Michael Bloomberg, to establish his financial Information business in the Middle East, resulting in multi million pound annual revenues across seven countries.

He voluntarily supported SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, for over 23 years, rising from a county branch to Trustee and National Vice Chairman. He led the charity’s first ever strategic review to shape it for the future. In 2012, he was appointed MBE in Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours and awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2019.

He was appointed by the Minister of State for Veterans as Chairman of the East of England Veterans Advisory & Pensions Committee, acting as an independent advisor influencing social policy to ensure non-discrimination of veterans and the sharing of best practice across the region in relation to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Jonathan was appointed to the Magistracy in 2006 and serves as a Presiding Justice in Peterborough. A Freeman of the City of London, he is also Chairman of Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service and is a voluntary mentor at the Allia Future Business Centre at Peterborough to support entrepreneurs, start ups and social enterprises. He is a Non-Executive Director of Healthwatch Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and a trustee of the Peterborough Cathedral Preservation Trust.

Liz grew up in Manchester and studied at London University.

After a couple of years working in research, she then spent 30 years working in sales, training and management in the pharmaceutical industry.

When she retired, planning to become a lady who lunches, her husband persuaded her to take over the management of the Cambridgeshire Police Shrievalty Trust. This took up six years of her life, where she gained valuable experience fundraising and applying for grants, as well as running the office. It was here that Liz got to know the staff at the Foundation and was involved with the High Sheriff’s Award Scheme.

Volunteering at the Foundation, she has gained valuable experience on the grants panel, as well as working in the office and getting to grips with the database.

Liz is married and has one grown-up daughter. She lives in an old house that needs constant TLC, but is also great for entertaining.

Sara has lived in Cambridge for over 30 years and is an active member of her community. She worked at a senior level locally, nationally and internationally, across a range of industry sectors; most recently as general manager for an exciting ed-tech start up in Cambridge.

With many years of experience in executive and non-executive roles in the third sector, Sara brings experience of housing, education and the arts.

Paul is a brand strategist and copywriter, helping businesses clarify and communicate their strategy, story and style. Previously, he held a range of senior roles at the RSPB, latterly as Director of Communications.

He ran the Cambridge franchise of The Alternative Board and currently sits on the committee of the Cambridge Business and Professionals Club. Paul’s interests include cycling, travel and jazz. He’s a passionate supporter of Liverpool FC, having grown up in that city.

Before retirement, Simon served for 30 years as CEO of a succession of Chambers of Commerce and professional bodies, all of them not-for-profits, at the interface between business and government. The last three were London Chamber of Commerce, Lloyd’s Market Association, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. He has served on, or chaired, boards and governing bodies in education, training, business development, policing and the arts. Part-time roles since retirement include being an independent assessor of Chambers of Commerce for national accreditation, Interim Director of Professional Standards and Ethics for an international accounting body and, most recently, Chair of the Customer Challenge Group for Cambridge Water.

Simon has lived in Cambridge for 15 years, is an alumnus of Pembroke College, and has an MBA from Cranfield.

Agata is Operations Director for a clinical laboratory, focusing on precision medicine. She is experienced in working in regulatory environments where quality culture is the basis for success. With more than 10 years in leadership positions, Agata gained experience in scaling and downsizing operations, people management and development and enterprise thinking. She is also a Mentor, STEM Ambassador and Trustee at Pegasus Partnership Trust, where she supports academy mission of ‘Children First’. Agata became a Trustee of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation in November 2023.

Agata holds an MSc in Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Zielona Gora and a Master of Business Administration from Warwick University.

Agata is married with two young children and family dog. When she is not busy with family life, she is keen on fitness activities, wellbeing and reading.

Colin has worked in the investment management industry for over 35 years, advising private individuals and charities on their investment strategy. He has worked in Cambridge for his entire career with NW Brown Group which, in 2020, became the Cambridge office of the Brown Shipley Private Bank.

Colin sits on the board of The Cambridge Network, which is a membership organisation based in Cambridge, encouraging collaboration between business and academia, bringing people together through networking, learning, recruitment and events.

Colin became a Trustee of the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation in 2023, having been attracted by the wide scope of the charity, dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of Cambridgeshire. He has a particular interest in finance and the evolving concepts around philanthropic gifting.

Colin lives in Cambridge with his family and can be regularly seen braving the cycle lanes of Cambridge on his large Dutch Bike.

Kendi grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, where she worked in the NGO/iNGO and public sectors in Kenya; including the UNHCR, and various UK and US Government funded programmes.

She moved to Cambridge in 2011 and worked with Action for Children and Papworth Trust in East Anglia, before joining the Civil Service where she currently is the Head of Disability Inclusion Policy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. During her Civil Service career, Kendi has worked on various policy issues, including labour market participation, international labour standards, later life analysis and inclusion.

She holds undergraduate studies in International Development from Kenya and University of Cambridge, and a postgraduate in Public Policy Analysis from King’s College London’s International School for Government.

Kendi is a mentor for young people in and outside the Civil Service. She resides in Godmanchester and enjoys reading, travelling and hiking.

Jennifer was born in South Korea and raised in Massachusetts, where she attended Wellesley College, and earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Political Science. Jennifer moved to New York after she was awarded a scholarship at Brooklyn Law School, and embarked on a career in financial derivatives, working for investment banks UBS, Sumitomo Capital Markets, and Sakura Global Capital.

Following a two year stint in Hong Kong, Jennifer moved to London in 2000 with her family. Since moving to the UK, Jennifer has been involved in a range of charitable activities, in particular advising on fundraising, development, and public events for causes focused on inclusion, education, and the arts. These have included IntoUniversity, NSPCC, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and the Museum of London.

In 2014, Jennifer and her husband purchased Sawston Hall, a Tudor manor house in South Cambridgeshire, where she managed the extensive renovation of the Grade I listed house and grounds. Since moving full time to Cambridgeshire in 2016, Jennifer has been active in charitable causes in the county, and is the Honorary Patron of A M Challis Trust; a Patron of Viva Arts; a Trustee of the Cambridgeshire Police Shrievalty Trust (The Bobby Scheme); and sits on the Development Committee of Kettle’s Yard.

Jennifer is also very interested in causes relating to her native South Korea, and serves on the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council in UK, appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea to advise on reunification policy.

In 2022/23, Jennifer was High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, focusing on championing diversity and inclusivity in the county; she was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire in 2023.

Alex is a partner at Birketts LLP and has worked as a solicitor for over 20 years, advising companies and lenders on borrowing and lending for a range of purposes – everything from building school facilities to financing a vineyard harvest.

Alex is relatively ‘new’ to Cambridgeshire, having only moved to the county in 2015, but has always been interested in being involved in her community and charitable work, having spent much of her 20s doing various ‘challenges’ to raise money for different charitable organisations. One of the things that has particularly attracted Alex to Cambridgeshire Community Foundation is the opportunity to learn about, and support, a diverse range of charities that benefit different parts of the community.

Alex has sat on the Quality of Life panel for Cambridge Ahead and is Under Sheriff for Cambridgeshire.

Alex lives in Cambridge and she became a Trustee of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation in 2024.

In her misspent youth, Alex used to do skeleton bobsleigh but, nowadays, she enjoys cooking and hanging out with her two very cheeky children (and equally mischievous husband – the children get it from him!).

Phil was born and raised in Wisbech and, after having studied Geography at Oxford University, qualified as a chartered surveyor. He has spent over 30 years working in and around Cambridge, for most of that time at Cheffins, where he established the firm’s commercial property division in 1998. He is an equity director and joint managing partner of the firm and has a wide network of professional and business contacts in the city and county.

Phil was involved in setting up Cheffins Grassroots Endowed Fund with the Foundation over 15 years ago and was so impressed with the results that he became a Trustee and sat on the Board for eight years.

He is married with three grown-up sons and lives in Haddenham, enjoying most sports (mainly watching these days), as well as enduring the highs and lows of being a Norwich City supporter.

Richard grew up in Cambridge and started his banking career here with Barclays. After a spell of 26 years with the bank around Cambridgeshire and Essex, he moved on to found the first office of Swedish bank, Handelsbanken, in Cambridge, building it from a green field start up to two offices and 22 bankers in the city before retirement in 2019.

He has has always been a keen supporter of local charities during his banking career, raising money with events attended by the local professional community. Since joining the Foundation as an Ambassador in 2019, he has used that experience to support the charity with an annual golf day to raise awareness and funds at his local golf club in Girton.

Whilst working part-time as a banking consultant, his main passion is travel, badminton, golf and tennis.