Trustees

Nigel Purse, Chair, Phoenix Infraworks

Following a career of over thirty years in banking in the City of London Nigel is currently Managing Director of Sanlam InfraWorks, an investor in and developer of infrastructure projects around the world. He has several charitable interests, primarily in the cultural and historical sectors. His interests include history, literature and the theatre and he is a published author.

Rachel Maguire, Arko Iris

Rachel is an independent trustee. She is a seasoned professional who brings with her over 35 years’ experience in the financial services sector and The City. She is an entrepreneur who is founder and CEO of Arko Iris, a business consultancy advising organisations on best practice in stakeholder engagement, corporate governance and corporate responsibility.  Rachel is involved in the sports sector through serving as a member of the Audit & Risk Committee at Royal Yachting Association, the UK’s national governing body for all forms of boating.

Nick Webborn CBE, British Paralympic Association

Nick is Chair of the British Paralympic Association and Clinical Professor at the University of Brighton and Honorary Clinical Professor at Loughborough University.  Nick is a world leading expert in the area of Paralympic sports medicine. He played wheelchair tennis for Great Britain in the World Team Cup in 2005. He has attended 12 Paralympic Games and was chief medical officer for ParalympicsGB at London 2012.

Anna Scott-Marshall, British Paralympic Association

Anna is Director of Communications at the British Paralympic Association and is responsible for the organisation’s communications and domestic and international relations and social impact strategy. Anna has been at the BPA since October 2015 and was Deputy Secretary General at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

Prior to joining the BPA she was responsible for communications at RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) for seven years as well as various roles in communications within healthcare.

Cllr Clive Harriss, Buckinghamshire Council

Clive is the cabinet member responsible for sport and leisure which includes country parks, urban parks and playgrounds, leisure centres, sport grounds, golf courses etc. During the pandemic, Clive has been instrumental in ensuring that the governments active travel schemes have been trialled throughout the county. He has overseen the improvement of leisure centre facilities and the building of a new leisure centre in Amersham. New studies on leisure and sports ground provision in the county are being carried out under his guidance to ensure that in the future all residents will have access to sport locally. Married with three daughters, he is a keen cyclist and former rugby player. Clive enjoys all forms of sport and regularly attends and watches sport.

Sophie Payne, Buckinghamshire Council

Sophie is Director of Culture, Sport and Leisure for Buckinghamshire Council. Sophie has 25 years’ experience in communications and stakeholder engagement, organisational change, customer experience and digital transformation. Prior to joining local government, Sophie held senior roles within the Government Communication Service, working across diverse issues including public health campaigns, NHS reform, pensions and benefits, consumer protection and crisis communications. She has also worked at an international PR agency, an internet start-up and the European Commission.

Gaele Lalahy, Chief Operating Officer health start-up balance

Following a successful career at Panasonic, a global Olympic and Paralympic partner as Marketing, Communications & Digital Innovations Director, Gaele is now the COO of a progressive health start-up balance. Gaele brings strong commercial acumen, extensive knowledge of the corporate world and expertise on how to build and engage digital audiences, influence decision makers and co-create value between brands and right holders. Speaking Japanese, French and English, and a former National champion in Rhythmic Gymnastics, Gaele led the London 2012 Digital campaign for Panasonic globally.

Dr Jess Macbeth, University of Central Lancashire

Jess is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, with over 20 years’ experience in Higher Education. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been recognised for her use of digital technology in teaching and learning. She gained a PhD from the University of Stirling and has a particular research interest in the sporting experiences of marginalised groups. Recent research with visually impaired athletes has contributed to debates on classification in disability sport.

Helen Adams, University of Oxford Museums

Helen is Digital Engagement Lead for the six Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) at the University of Oxford. She previously worked as a curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum and in audience research at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and has extensive experience of leading gallery improvement, interpretation, digital and community engagement projects, as well as freelance evaluation. Growing up in Aylesbury Vale, Helen has represented Buckinghamshire in tennis for 25 years.

Martin McElhatton OBE, CEO WheelPower

A Paralympian in wheelchair basketball, Martin competed at the 1984 Paralympics at Stoke Mandeville. Martin is Chief Executive of WheelPower, the British Wheelchair Sports charity and owners of Stoke Mandeville Stadium. A Torch Bearer in the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay, Martin champions the heritage of the Paralympic movement.

Sue Wolstenholme OBE, Trustee WheelPower

Sue Wolstenholme is a former Executive Director of The Tennis Foundation, Board Member of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA).

Sue is a Vice-President of the LTA and the BPA and is currently a Trustee of WheelPower – British Wheelchair Sport and Chair of the Governance Committee.   Sue was awarded the OBE for services to disability sport in 2007.