Northern Nature, Culture & Place Forum

Tony Juniper is Chair of Natural England. Before taking up this role in April 2019 he was Executive Director for Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF-UK, a Fellow with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and President of the Wildlife Trusts. Until January 2018 he was an independent sustainability and environment advisor, including as Special Advisor with The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit.

He speaks and writes widely on conservation and sustainability themes. He’s the author of many books, including the multi-award winning bestseller ‘What has nature ever done for us?’ published in 2013. The Ladybird guide to climate change, co-authored with HRH The Prince of Wales and Emily Shuckburgh, was published in January 2017. His latest book, ‘Rainforest‘, was published in April 2018.

Tony began his career as an ornithologist, working with Birdlife International. From 1990 he worked at Friends of the Earth, initially leading the campaign for tropical rainforests, and from 2003 to 2008 was the organisation’s Executive Director. From 2000 to 2008 he was Vice Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

He was the first recipient of the Charles and Miriam Rothschild medal (2009) and was awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the Universities of Bristol and Plymouth (2013). In 2017 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Throughout her 25-year career in arts and heritage, Helen has championed and advocated access to heritage, arts and culture for all.

An inclusive and dynamic leader with a people-centred approach she is passionate about the role that heritage plays in helping us make sense of the world around us.

Prior to joining the Heritage Fund in 2023, she was Deputy Director and part of the Executive Team at Yorkshire Sculpture Park where she was responsible for business planning and overseeing estates, finance, development, marketing, trading, visitor experience, administration and HR.

Helen was also CEO of Sheffield Industrial Museums, where she worked with the local community and developers to win the Academy of Urbanism Best British Neighbourhood Award for a heritage-led regeneration approach.

Helen has a MA in Cultural Policy and Management and a BA in History of Art and Design. She has also worked at Arts Council England and had several culture focused roles in local government where she was responsible for audience development, wellbeing and working with a range of diverse communities.

Helen also has extensive experience of trustee positions, most recently Chair of Greentop Circus in Sheffield, and up until joining the Heritage Fund was a Private Sector Board member of West Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership. She worked with Mayor Tracy Brabin as Vice Chair to establish an Arts, Heritage and Sport Committee to demonstrate the importance of culture in West Yorkshire.

Duncan Wilson joined Historic England as the organisation’s first Chief Executive on 1 April 2015.

Historic England is a public body which improves people’s lives by protecting and championing the historic environment.

Previously, Duncan was Chief Executive of the Alexandra Park and Palace Trust, developing a major regeneration and conservation scheme to restore the Victorian theatre and television studios. He has also been Chief Executive at the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, maintaining one of Europe’s finest groups of baroque buildings, and the Somerset House Trust, opening the site to the public.

Duncan’s first job as a chartered accountant in 1987 was as Senior Management Accountant

at English Heritage. Before accountancy he worked as a professional archaeologist in Oxford and Herefordshire, following post graduate research in European Archaeology.

He is a Trustee of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and the Greenwich Foundation.

He was awarded the CBE for services to heritage in 2023

Shanaz is known for her skillset as an artist and producer, and for her creative vision. With a commitment to the arts and to creating work that pushes the boundaries of cultural expression, Shanaz has emerged as a prominent leader in the UK cultural sector.

Her career spans film, visual arts, theatre, public art and media, and she has delivered ground-breaking projects nationally and internationally, most recently as a producer at Manchester International Festival.

Shanaz has several TV credits, most notably working with the BBC to present the documentary film ‘Hidden Histories: The Lost Portraits of Bradford’ and bringing a contemporary artist’s perspective to the Yorkshire landscape in ‘Yorkshire Walks’.

In her capacity as Creative Director at Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture, Shanaz is co-leading a transformative cultural renaissance, with initiatives that celebrate diversity, artistic innovation, and community engagement. Shanaz oversees the leadership and direction of Bradford 2025 alongside Executive Director, Dan Bates.

Angela is the Director of Thriving Places at Westmorland & Furness Council , a new unitary Council which was formed on 1st April 2023. Angela has over 25 years experience in Local Government, working in a mixture of unitary and county councils, across the North West and Wales and has senior leadership experience across place-based services including Economic Development, Highways and Transport, Climate and Nature, Flood Risk Management, Planning, Waste and Community Services. Angela is 1^st Vice President of ADEPT and Chair of ADEPT North Board.

Mike Innerdale has worked for the National Trust for over 15 years. In his current role as Regional Director, he has overall responsibility for the operation, care and management of the trust’s places across the North of England, including over 1500 staff and 5000 volunteers, 96,000 hectares of countryside and 51 miles of coastline. Mike has a personal passion for the natural environment and engaging people with our amazing landscapes of the North. His career has focused on land and visitor management in National Parks, with extensive experience of developing and working in partnerships to delivery bigger and better outcomes for people and nature. He started as a volunteer and then a series of Ranger and Woodland Management roles before becoming Northern Reserves Manager for the RSPB and then joining NT as General Manager for the Peaks and then in the Lake District. 

David was previously Director, North at National Lottery Heritage Fund. David is a trained ecologist with a BSc in Environmental Management and MScs in Restoration Ecology and Public Management. His previous roles include Director of Conservation at the North York Moors National Park ,Biodiversity Officer and Sustainable Development Manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, where he helped set up the Biodiversity Partnership and manage the funding and delivery of a complete ecological survey of the area. David previously sat on the UK Biodiversity Strategy Programme Board. More locally he also sat on the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership’s European Funding Committee.