Trustees and Patrons
WFC Trustees
Victor Keegan (Chair)
Journalist
Victor writes a weekly technology column in The Guardian Newspaper, and also contributes to Guardian Unlimited's Comment Is Free blog. He joined the paper in 1963 and since then his positions have included Business Editor, Economics Editor, Chief Leader Writer and Assistant Editor. For 11 years he was a member of the Scott Trust, owner of The Guardian Newspaper, and edited the Online section of the paper for six years.
Vic on what he knows: the app world
Caroline Diehl
Caroline set up Media Trust, the charity that works with the media and communications industries to support the communication needs of the voluntary and community sector. Out of Media Trust came the Community Channel, the UK's first television channel dedicated to the voluntary and community sector, which also has a youth arm, ChargeTV. Watch Caroline talking about the power the internet has to give a voice to disadvantaged communities here.
Ursula Owen
Ursula Owen is a key figure in the UK publishing industry and since 2004 has been project director for Free Word, a centre for literature, literacy and free expression in London.
Ursula has fulfilled several roles in publishing, most notably as co-founder and editor of Virago Press in 1974, and has published books of quality and originality written by women. While founding Vigaro Press, Ursula also acted as a Director of the socialist magazine, New Statesman. She then moved to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and was Cultural Policy Advisor to the Labour Party at the same time. From 1993 to 2006 she was the Editor and Chief Executive of the Index on Censorship form, with the primary focus to protect free expression for all.
Tamsin Rickeard
Consultant
Tamsin has her own consulting business and was originally trained by Ernst & Young in London, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1994. In her time with Ernst & Young Tamsin worked across a number of business sectors including Oil, Insurance, Defence and Telecoms and went on to work as Finance Director with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). She set up her own consultancy, which has worked specifically with SMEs in periods of change or crisis. The consultancy has worked with a wide range of businesses including advertising agencies, brand consultancies, events management companies and a small investment fund. Her business experience is an invaluable asset to the charity.
Chloe Targett-Adams
Chloe studied at Leeds University and trained in law at SJ Berwin LLP, before joining the Corporate Commercial and Charities Group at Harbottle & Lewis. She works mainly in the area of equity financing for film production companies, and has worked on financing matters for films such as 'Basic Instinct 2' and 'Love In The Time Of Cholera'. At The Charities Group she has helped to set up various charitable organisations as well as acting for more established charities such as Comic Relief.
Cate Haste
Documentary Filmmaker and Writer
Cate has worked extensively on television historical documentaries, such as 'End of Empire', 'The Churchills', 'Hitler's Brides' and 'Cold War'. Cate has also written books including, 'The Goldfish Bowl' (co-written with Cherie Booth), 'Nazi Women', 'Keep the Home Fires Burning', which concerns First World War propaganda, and 'Clarissa Eden: A Memoir'.
WFC Patrons
Mike Figgis
Film Director, Writer and Composer
Since 2008 Mike has been Professor of Film Studies at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. A prolific film maker, Mike made his feature debut with 'Stormy Monday' in 1988. His other work includes the Hollywood thriller 'Internal Affairs', the Oscar-winning 'Leaving Las Vegas' and the experimental split-screen drama 'Time Code'.
He was the founding patron of the independent filmmaker's online community Shooting People, where he championed filmmaking with a small digital camera, likening the experience more to painting or novel writing than the movie industry.
Lord Puttnam
Film Producer and Member of the House of Lords
Lord Puttnam spent thirty years as an independent film producer; his many award winning films include 'The Mission', 'The Killing Fields', 'Local Hero', 'Chariots of Fire', 'Midnight Express', 'Bugsy Malone', and 'The Memphis Belle'.
He retired from film production in 1998 and now focuses on his work in education and the environment. He founded Skillset, which trains young people to become members of the film and television industries and in 2002 he was elected UK president of Unicef. He was appointed as chancellor of the Open University in 2006 and is currently Governor and Lecturer at the LSE, board member of BECTA and The National Leadership College, Chair of NESTA and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television and a member of the Engineering Council Senate.
Baroness Kennedy QC
Broadcaster, QC and Member of the House of Lords
As a Barrister, Baroness Kennedy is a member of the Doughty Street Chambers in London. She has acted in many of the most prominent cases of the last 30 years and has spent her professional life giving a voice to those with the least power, championing civil liberties and promoting human rights.
Since being elevated to The House of Lords in 1997, Baroness Kennedy has held many key positions including Chair of The British Council from 1998-2004, and has a trust in her own name, The Helena Kennedy Foundation, which provides bursaries to help the most disadvantaged in society move into higher education.
Roger Graef OBE
Filmmaker, Criminologist and Writer
Roger Graef OBE is best known for his ground breaking documentary films that have influenced policing and criminal justice policy. They include 'Thames Valley Police', which helped change the way the police deal with rape victims and 'In Search of Law and Order', which took a unique look at changes to juvenile rehabilitation.
He was a founding board member of Channel Four and a governor of the British Film Institute and in 2004 Roger was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
Prof. Jane Plastow
Professor of African Theatre
Jane is Professor of African Theatre and Director of the Leeds University Centre for African Studies and has worked extensively in many African countries over the past 25 years. Her specialism is in African theatre and Theatre for Development and she's active as a director and project leader as well as an academic. Major publications include 'African Theatre and Politics', 'African Theatre: Women' and she co-edited with Richard Boon 'Theatre Matters' and 'Theatre and Empowerment'.
Gerald Fox
Filmmaker and Artist
Gerry Fox is an artist and filmmaker who has won major awards throughout his career for his films about the world's leading contemporary artists including Gilbert and George, Claes Oldenburg, Marc Quinn, Gerhard Richter and Bill Viola. His awards include a BAFTA for Gilbert and George, The Royal Television Society Best Arts Film and The Prix Italia. The films were made for ITV's The South Bank Show and are still shown internationally on public and cable television, and in major film festivals and cinemas. Most recently Gerry has co-written and directed the feature film 'Mother's Milk' based on a novel by Edward St Aubyn.