Board of Trustees
The trustees are elected from the membership of the Museum and can serve for up to nine years. They meet formally together six times annually and manage the affairs and strategic direction of the Museum, working closely with outside bodies and a management team of senior volunteers who look after the day-to-day running of the building and collections.
Will Atkinson
Will joined the team in 2023. His passion for history led him to the Museum – he is a history teacher, currently working at Exeter University on its teacher training programme.
Alan Caig
Alan was a trustee from 2012-2020 and chair in 2019. A former Head of Leisure and Museums at Exeter City Council, and a volunteer former Chair of the Friends of RAMM, he is well known in Topsham as a playwright and member of Estuary Players.
Jenny Ellis (chair)
Jenny is a retired senior civil servant with extensive experience of governance and as a charity trustee. She is a room steward at the Museum and has an interest in history and the development of communities.
Rachael Green
Rachael has been a teacher and an educational psychologist. She now works at the University of Exeter as a lecturer in educational psychology. She also runs a not-for-profit company delivering educational psychology services to public sector schools
Heather Kay
Heather started her career in corporate marketing before becoming a manager at the National Trust, responsible for properties across Dartmoor including Castle Drogo. She holds degrees from the George Washington and New York universities and from Birbeck College in London. Heather has lived in Topsham since 2003.
Jan Lawson
Jan has many years’ experience in education, social work, voluntary and charitable organisations with young children and families and business administration, project management and consultancy. Her interests include textiles and crafts.
Gill McLean (secretary)
Gill has a career background in educational publishing for the developing world, and has lived in Devon since 2006. She has been a trustee of the Museum since 2018.
Jeff Nicholls
Jeff has a postgraduate degree in Heritage Theory & Practice and has a particular interest in maritime history. His postgraduate dissertation examined the learning mechanisms of heritage trails. Since 2019, Jeff has been a volunteer assistant archivist at the Museum and is a responder to maritime related queries.
Graham Norwood (vice-chair)
Graham is a journalist, formerly at the BBC and now freelance. He’s lived in Topsham since 2001 and is a director of Love Topsham community interest company. His interests include making the Museum even more central to Topsham life, publicising its events and activities, and looking at future funding.