Trustees appointed to the National Museums Liverpool Board
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has appointed Oliver Enwonwu and Katie Wray; and reappointed Dinah Birch, John Belchem, Lynn Collins and Anna Farthing to the National Museums Liverpool Board.
Oliver Enwonwu
Appointed from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2030
Oliver is a cultural leader, artist, curator and publisher whose career spans museums, heritage, the visual arts, publishing and public engagement. He has held senior leadership and governance roles across cultural and civic organisations in the United Kingdom and internationally, including serving as President of the Society of Nigerian Artists and on the Board of the National Gallery of Art, Nigeria. He is Executive Director of the Ben Enwonwu Foundation and Founder and Publisher of Omenka, through which he has advanced research, dialogue and public understanding of modern and contemporary art.
Alongside his governance and cultural leadership work, Oliver maintains an active artistic practice exploring memory, identity, spirituality and cultural inheritance. He has lectured at Stanford University, Florida International University and Christie’s Education, and participated in public conversations at Tate Modern. His wider interests encompass collections, cultural heritage, public engagement, placemaking and the role of museums in creating inclusive and culturally confident communities.
Katie Wray
Appointed from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2030
Katie Wray is a Director in Deloitte’s Real Estate team, where she advises on complex regeneration and placemaking projects across the UK and leads the firm’s national heritage team. Her expertise spans planning, architectural conservation, heritage and property development.
Katie previously held roles at Arup and The Co-operative Group before joining Deloitte, where she has worked on major long-term regeneration schemes including Mayfield and NOMA in Manchester. She previously served on Historic England’s Places Panel, advising on the management of historic environments. With an academic background in history, planning and architectural conservation, her work focuses on integrating heritage and conservation with the practical requirements of regeneration and development. She regularly contributes to industry discussions and events on planning, heritage and the built environment.
Dinah Birch
Reappointed from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2031
Dinah is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is a specialist in Victorian literature and the work of artist and critic John Ruskin, and continues to write and contribute to literary publications and broadcasting.
Dinah previously served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Cultural Engagement at the University of Liverpool, where she was responsible for a wide-ranging programme of cultural activity linked to the University’s first Heritage Strategy. She has published extensively on Victorian fiction and poetry and is General Editor of The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Her work includes editions of novels by Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope. She has written for the Times Literary Supplement and London Review of Books, contributed to In Our Time and Sky Arts documentaries, and served as a Booker Prize judge.
John Belchem
Reappointed from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2031
John is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Liverpool. He is Vice-President of the Society for the Study of Labour History and the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, a Trustee of the Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust and a Council member of the Merseyside Civic Society.
John joined the University of Liverpool in 1980 following an earlier academic post in New Zealand and remained there for 33 years, serving as Head of History, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. His academic work has focused extensively on Liverpool’s history, including its Irish community, race relations and cultural identity. Alongside his academic career, he has worked across public history, heritage and conservation, including involvement in securing Liverpool’s former World Heritage Site status and supporting conservation and repurposing projects. His recent work has examined the conservation and cultural regeneration of the Bluecoat.
Lynn Collins
Reappointed from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2031
Lynn is Director of Representation and Organising at the Royal College of Midwives, a position she has held since March 2022. She is also a trustee of the Working-Class Movement Library in Salford and has longstanding involvement in trade unionism, equality and social justice.
Lynn previously served for nine years as TUC Regional Secretary for the North West, where she established a North West Labour History group and organised events commemorating 150 years of the TUC. In 2017, she was appointed by the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region as Mayoral Advisor on Equalities and Chair of the Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board, serving until 2021. She has also held public roles including School Governor, Employment Tribunal member and Chair of Healthwatch Liverpool until 2023. Her work has included initiatives recognising women’s contribution to Liverpool’s labour history and she is a member of Show Racism the Red Card’s Hall of Fame.
Dr Anna Farthing
Reappointed from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2031
Anna is a creative producer and cultural consultant working across cultural programming, strategy, public engagement and regeneration. Her work focuses particularly on creative approaches to challenging subjects, including histories of conflict and slavery, climate change, public health and placemaking.
Anna’s recent strategic roles include Interim Head of Place for Bristol BID, CEO of New Theatre Royal Portsmouth and Director of Civic and Cultural Engagement at Arts University Bournemouth. She previously served as Arts Programme Director for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, where she established an arts and culture programme across ten hospitals. Earlier in her career, she worked as a theatre and opera director and has since led major cultural projects including programmes for Hull UK City of Culture and the International Agatha Christie Festival. She has worked with a range of museums and heritage organisations and currently serves as a trustee of St George’s Music Trust and The Deansacre Charity.
Remuneration and Governance Code
The Trustees of National Museums Liverpool are not remunerated.
These appointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. None of the appointeess have declared any significant political activity in the last five years.
Notes to Editors
DCMS has around 400 regulated Public Appointment roles across 44 Public Bodies including Arts Council England, Theatres Trust, the National Gallery, UK Sport and the Gambling Commission. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. To find out more about Public Appointments or to apply visit the HM Government Public Appointments Website.