Icon is a registered charity and a charitable company limited by guarantee. Icon's trustees are therefore both charity trustees and directors of the limited company. This means that trustees are responsible for setting the strategic direction of Icon and for agreeing and reviewing annual priorities. Trustees are also responsible for the sound financial management of the charity and compliance with relevant regulations.
All Trustees are Icon Members and must abide by Icon's Values and Code of Conduct.
There are currently 15 members of the Board of Trustees: 10 trustees were elected by the membership and 5 were co-opted by the Board.
In addition to the Board of Trustees there are four main Board Committees which have resposibilty for aspects of Icon's activities:
- Finance: Receives quarterly Management Accounts and oversees the preparation of the Trustees’ Annual Report, budget setting, the appointment of the Auditors and major project expenditure
- Professional Standards and Development (PSD): Oversees, manages and advises on policy development and implementation of conservation related professional standards, training and education and research
- Conferences: Supports the organisation of large events with the intention of creating better experiences and greater positive impact for individual members, Groups and Networks, Icon's external reputation and public profile.
- Nominations: Identifies and interviews candidates for appointment as Co-opted Trustees or as Chair of the Board of Trustees and recommends to the Board which candidates should be appointed
- Remuneration: Considers proposals for cost of living adjustments and staff remuneration and make recommendation to the Board
Further details of Icon's governance structures procedures can be found in the Trustees' Annual Reports.
Emma Chaplin
Emma Chaplin is a highly experienced and respected museum and heritage professional, currently working as a consultant specialising in business planning and development, collections management and governance review.
She led the Association of Independent Museums from 2018-21 as part of a 30 year career including senior management and curatorial roles in independent and local authority museums.
She is a Fellow of the Museums Association and also acts as an assessor for the scheme.
“I am honoured and delighted to be the Chair of Icon and I am very happy to be working with Board, staff and membership to champion the expertise and knowledge of our members and to deliver on our strategic goals."
Work status: consultant
Location: Wirral
Richard Bruce
Richard graduated in Physics, before turning to a range of business activities. He is a Chartered Accountant and has worked in private companies, central government, and charities. He has a broad spectrum of experience in supporting Trustee boards in finance, governance, planning and communications.
“I’m extremely interested in museums, collections and the heritage sector, and am delighted to be part of this established, member-led organisation, with such an excellent reputation.”
Work status: Retired
Location: East Sussex
Diana Davis ACR
Diana (McCormack) Davis is an accredited large objects conservator. She trained at Durham University after a career in archaeology, and subsequently worked for English Heritage, the Science Museum, National Museums Scotland and the Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZ). She is currently Head of Conservation for the National Museum of the Royal Navy, leading the team that is responsible for the conservation and care of all NMRN's collections, including historic ships and aircraft. Diana has also been chair of PSD since December 2022.
Work status: Employed
Location: Portsmouth
Nic Boyes ACR
Nic has been a conservator since completing his Post Graduate Diploma in Architectural Stone Conservation at Weymouth College in 1991. Nic is an Accredited Consultant Conservator, having fulfilled this role since 2016. Prior to this he was Director of Nicolas Boyes Stone Conservation Ltd from 1999, leading a team of 20 staff. From 1993 to 1999, he worked as Conservator and Higher Conservator within Historic Scotland's Conservation Centre, Edinburgh, working throughout Historic Scotland's estate. From graduation in 1991 to 1993, he worked at St Blaise Ltd.
“I’m a passionate advocate of conservation in presentations to audiences outside the field of conservation. This includes my recent participation in the reading of John Ruskin’s writings, interpreting his 19th-century prose as meaningful instruction to a 21st-century audience about architectural and sculptural conservation, and the importance of maintenance and authenticity within a climate emergency context.”
Work status: Private practitioner
Location: Edinburgh
- Twitter:
- @NicBoyes
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/nic-boyes-acr-1191b426/
Claire Fry ACR
Claire is an accredited preventive conservator. After her training at Cardiff University, Claire worked for the National Trust and then English Heritage. Since setting up Spencer & Fry in 2015 Claire has worked with a range of museums, heritage organisations and historic houses in all aspects of preventive conservation, however her particular areas of interest are emergency planning and the management of film crews in historic locations. Claire is an assessor and mentor for the Institute of Conservation accreditation scheme and since 2016 has served on the Fabric Advisory Committee for Leicester Cathedral.
Work status: private practitioner
Location: St Albans
- Website:
- www.spencerandfry.co.uk/
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/clairefry1
Maria Jordan ACR
Maria Jordan ACR has specialised in textile conservation and collections care in historic houses. Following a career in finance, she gained her PGDipTexCon at the Courtauld Institute of Art, joining Historic Royal Palaces in 2000. After 16 years, she moved to the National Trust to take up the post of Studio Manager for the NT Textile Conservation Studio and subsequently was appointed the National Conservator for Textiles. She was accredited in 2007, has chaired the Icon Textile Group and is an Accreditation Assessor. She has published widely and champions training and education through advocacy, internships and accreditation.
Work status: consultant
Location: Norfolk
Charles Morse
Charles has two degrees in archaeology, both from UCL, and a Masters in Human Rights from the University of London. He worked for 11 years as an archaeologist in the UK and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and since 2012 has worked in the NGO sector on inclusive education and heritage programmes in the MENA region.
Since 2018, Charles has also worked with the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund to assess projects aiming to protect and conserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage in MENA countries. He has strong interests in the use of cultural heritage for inclusive and ethical development, and the vital role of conservation within this process.
Work status: Employed
Location: London
James Murphy
James Murphy is a Chartered Marketer with 20 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector. As Head of Digital and then Director of Global Communications at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), James led major transformation and content programmes that helped to reach new audiences and attract new members, whilst elevating digital competence across the organisation. In 2018, James set up Chalcroft Digital which advises charities and membership organisations on developing organisational and communications strategies, adopting good digital governance, digital community developments and culture change initiatives. He holds a Master’s degree in History of Art from UCL.
Work status: consultant
Location: London
- Twitter:
- @fastedit
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/jamesmurphylondon/
David Orr ACR
David Orr ACR is Castle and Collections Manager at Hillsborough Castle for Historic Royal Palaces.
As an accredited conservator he has overseen the collections at the castle for over 8 years with building up experience that ranges from collections management, salvage to supervising on site treatment projects. David graduated from West Dean College, setting up a business in metalwork conservation in Northern Ireland, he gained his experience from restoring, maintaining, and operating steam locomotives from a young age.
David is a keen advocate for conservation, being engaged and challenged on completing projects that will help to protect collections but also highlight conservation as a discipline.
Work status: Employed
Location: Northern Ireland
Anita Quye
Anita is Professor of Heritage Science in History of Art and the Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research at the University of Glasgow. Previously she worked for National Museums Scotland in the Department of Conservation and Analytical Research where her interests grew in dyes and synthetic plastics and fibres and connections between their material history and ageing behaviour. Anita has served as a committee member for the Scotland Group and the Heritage Science Group and has been an Icon Mentor.
Work status: Employed
Location: Glasgow
Michelle Rheeston
Michelle is a paintings conservator who graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2019. Before this, she was a professional artist and lecturer in Fine Art for 10 years. Michelle works predominantly with private studios, working on a range of projects within the private and heritage sector. In 2020 she set up her own studio, Rheeston Paintings Conservation, which is based in Cornwall and has undertaken a range of projects including for the National Trust, Westminster Palace and the Church of England.
Work status: Private practitioner
Location: Southwest England
- Website:
- www.rheestonconservation.com/
Mark Ross
Mark is Managing Director at a strategic communications and public affairs consultancy for companies in the built environment sector. He has 20 years’ experience of the UK political and media environment, delivering campaigns, stakeholder engagement strategies and community consultation programmes. Before moving into consultancy, Mark worked in local government and on political campaigns, and led the public affairs team at the retail sector’s main trade association.
Work status: Employed
Location: Reigate
Michelle Stoddart
Michelle Stoddart brings 15 years of experience in leadership, conservation, collection care, policy development and stakeholder management. She has worked in conservation and collection care teams in the private and public sector, nationally and internationally. Michelle was Chair of the Icon Book and Paper Group between 2016-2018 and has been a guest lecturer at West Dean since 2019, lecturing on conservation legislation, ethics, and communication. She has a Masters in Museum Studies and a Masters in the Conservation of Cultural Materials. Michelle is currently Head of Conservation and Collections Care for the Science Museum Group.
Work status: Employed
Location: London
Matthew Read
Matthew is a third-generation clockmaker who began his working life in his family retail business. Following formalised training in horology at West Dean College, University of Sussex, he transferred to the museums and heritage sector, primarily as a conservator, with curatorial and public engagement interests. During the past 25 years he has worked across a range of environments including international, national, regional and local museums and heritage organisations, teaching, self-employment, and the creation of freely accessible digital content. In 2022, his ‘Open Clock Club’ YouTube livestreams and Facebook group were shortlisted for an International Institute of Conservation ‘Keck Award’.
"It is a great honour to be an elected Trustee of Icon. I have benefitted from my own membership of the Institute in many ways, including the opportunity to offer free-to-attend ‘public understanding of conservation’ events with the Icon Dynamic Objects Group. As a Trustee, I aim to support the continuing development of Icon’s teaching and learning responsibilities, both for earlier career conservators and for the general public. My experiences of, and enthusiasm for, public engagement, advocacy and sharing, particularly through digital media, will, I hope, be a useful contribution to this development."
Philippa Räder ACR
Philippa Räder ACR is a book conservator at Dragon Press Bindery Ltd near Carmarthen. She is also a director of Cyswllt-Cadwraeth Cymru CIC. After graduating in English from Cambridge University, Philippa was bench-trained in the book and paper conservation department of the Getty Research Institute in California. She subsequently held positions at the Huntington Library in California, The National Archives in Kew, and the Royal Collection Trust, based in Windsor Castle, where she was head of library and archives conservation until leaving to work privately in late 2019. She is particularly interested in teaching and mentoring students and emerging professionals.
"I came into conservation by an unorthodox route without a specialist degree and Icon made it possible to establish my professional status through the PACR process. As a Trustee, I hope to give back for the career-building support I have received and play a role in shaping the future success of our field."
Work Status: Employed
Emma Callaghan
Emma is an emerging professional, due to complete the Cultural Heritage Conservator Apprenticeship programme in 2025. First graduating from Durham University with a BA in History in 2016, Emma found conservation by happenstance soon after. She is an MA student with the University of Lincoln and is employed as an Apprentice Conservator and Conservation Technician at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool. She is also undertaking the Associateship of the Museums Association, with a particular interest in conservation within a museum context. Emma is passionate about developing additional and varied pathways into the conservation profession.
"Becoming an Icon Trustee means a chance to represent current and future emerging professionals, and an opportunity to ensure their priorities are recognised and experiences enriched."
Work Status: Employed
Trustees' Annual Reports