Trustees

Roger Lilley (Chair)

Roger has contributed to the Capturing Cambridge project and worked on other WWI related local history projects in Cambridge for several years. Currently a governor of Homerton Children’s Centre and treasurer of St John the Evangelist Hills Road, he was previously a teacher at Milton Road Primary School, a national campaigner for Friends of the Earth and an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London. Among his hobbies are early choral music, piano accompanying, travel and birdwatching.

Ruth McPhee (Vice Chair)

Ruth has worked as part of the retail team for the University of Cambridge museums and collections for 15 years. Since 2021 she has been Head of Product Development for Curating Cambridge Ltd, with additional responsibilities as the Publishing Programme Coordinator for the University of Cambridge/Nosy Crow children’s publishing partnership. She grew up in Cambridge and returned after University, with a renewed love for the city and the history and folklore of the region. She has a PhD in Film Studies and Critical Theory from King’s College London.

Adam Bastin

Adam is a qualified accountant (CIMA) and over the last 20 years has occupied a variety of M&A and Corporate Finance roles at technology companies and investment banks, including an extended period at Arm Limited in Cambridge. Adam therefore brings significant finance and investment experience to the Board. Adam currently serves as a non-executive director at investment trust which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has previously served on the boards of various early-stage technology companies, thereby bringing experience of governance in a corporate setting. Adam joined the Board of Trustees in July 2023 and lives in Cambridge with his wife and two daughters.

Dr Claire Allen-Johnstone

Claire is an Assistant Curator at V&A South Kensington in the Performance, Furniture, Textiles, and Fashion Department. In this role she has worked across areas including exhibitions, publications, gallery maintenance, and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. Claire has also carried out collections management and teaching roles and holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford on ‘Dress, Feminism, and British New Woman Novels’. She was part of the editorial team for Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion and has also published on topics including scarves and papier-mâché. Claire lives in Cambridge, where her husband works, and enjoys the area’s nature, architecture, and arts and culture. In summer 2024 she joined the Museum of Cambridge’s Board of Trustees.

Simon Halliday

Simon has worked for Cambridge University for 18 years, providing operational support to several University Departments and looking after several listed buildings in that time. He has spent the last 10 years in the collections environment, first among the community of University libraries and more recently as Head of Facilities Management of the Fitzwilliam Museum. Prior to working for the University Simon gained his early career experience in the British Army, before taking Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University.  Simon lives in Barnwell with his wife Claire and prizes his bicycle ride to work each day, greeting our signature cows.

Dr Matt Hann

Matt works in higher education fundraising for the University of Cambridge, where he is Senior Associate Director, London in the University’s development office. Prior to this he led Cambridge’s fundraising efforts in Europe and worked as Associate Director for trusts and foundations fundraising at the University. As well as major gifts fundraising, he has experience in grant writing and was Alumni Relations Officer at Homerton College. He holds a PhD in political theory from the University of Durham, where he was president of the students’ union at Ustinov College. Matt chairs the Museum Fundraising Subcommittee and leads on Fundraising Strategy. 

Al Herron

Al is a marketing and comms professional with over 20 years of experience. He has led marketing teams at global analytics and AI companies, tech start-ups, and founded a marketing agency. He moved to a small village just outside Cambridge and is passionate about local history. As a trustee, Al is committed to using marketing best practice to help the museum reach a wider audience.

Maria Antonieta Nestor

Maria Antonieta Nestor, known affectionately as “Antoinette,” has made Cambridge her home for over a decade. Originally from Santiago, Chile, she’s a mother of three and a University of Cambridge professional. Antoinette founded “A Toy’s Life and Beyond,” a local enterprise educating families on recycling and the circular economy. She has organised playground clean-ups, repair cafes, and represented climate issues at UN meetings. A legal scholar with degrees from Ireland and the USA, Antoinette leads public interest law initiatives at Lucy Cavendish College and is a member of Murray Edwards College’s net-zero committee. Recently elected as a City Councillor for Castle Ward, Antoinette’s continues her commitment to enhancing Cambridge’s community.

Dr Andreas Pantazatos

Andreas is Associate Professor in Heritage Studies at the Department of Archaeology, and member of the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. In his research and teaching Andreas explores belonging, care, materiality, memory, migration, stewardship, ethics and epistemic injustice in heritage and museum contexts focusing on the relationships people develop with the past. He moved to Cambridge in 2020 and his first visit at the Museum of Cambridge inspired his curiosity about the city of Cambridge and its people. He joined the Board to help the Museum bridge the city and the university, and contribute to the Museum’s role as a cultural and social history hub for residents, students and visitors from diverse paths of life.