Our People

Jackie has more than 20 years’ experience in heritage interpretation through her business, Artemis Scotland, which specialises in costumed interpretation. Jackie has been increasingly drawn to helping communities discover new stories on their doorstep and learn how to interpret them – particularly given the positive impacts of heritage involvement on health and well-being.

Jackie has found being part of The Awards Group team a very fulfilling experience. She looks forward to her continued involvement as Chair.

After 15 years guiding Barker Langham to become a world-leading interpretive practice, Eric is now looking forward to playing a role in shaping the future of our profession.

Eric has a wealth of experience, including the interpretive direction and curation of ground-breaking cultural projects across the globe, such as the National Museum of Qatar and the House of European History in Brussels. In the UK, he has led projects for the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation and the Natural History Museum in London.

Eric is at the forefront of innovative thinking in the heritage industry. He is an advisor for The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage and a Fellow of the Museums Association and the University of Exeter. In October 2020, Eric was honoured to have been included in the inaugural blooloop 50 Museum Influencer List, recognised for his leadership in the heritage industry.

Eric’s approach to interpretation explores the interfaces between narratives, space, scale and time. 

Michael helped to set up AHI (as The Society for the Interpretation of Britain’s Heritage) in 1975. He has served as its journal editor, chair and administrator at various times. He’s now serving as Trustee, Treasurer, and AHI Honorary Fellow.

Michael’s association with interpretation dates back to 1969 when he joined the first UK course for trainers in interpretation. Later, he ran Touchstone Heritage Management Consultants with Michael Quinion, working as an interpretive planner and writer. He also worked, latterly, at QuiteWrite. As a wordsmith, Michael has prepared creative prose and poetry for people at places. 

He was instrumental in founding Interpret Europe in 2010 and has been a member of the National Association for Interpretation in the US for more than 30 years. In 2019, he also co-founded the Global Association for Heritage Interpretation.

Barbara is a passionate champion for inclusion in the built environment professions. Her MA thesis explored both the fissure and hybridisation of cultural representations in architecture. Since 2015, Barbara has been a mentor for Kingston University’s Beyond Barriers scheme.

As a mentor, Barbara helps students from underrepresented groups develop career skills and confidence in STEM-based industries. Currently, Barbara supports a creative team in winning inspiring heritage projects that help clients deliver positive impact. Having trained in architecture, Barbara hopes to combine her passion for design with her experience as a bid manager to continue advocacy in the cultural landscape.

Sindi Breshani is the co-founder and CEO of Episod Studio, a game development startup pioneering the integration of true stories into commercial games. Their first game has been co-created with climate scientists and indigenous peoples in the Arctic. 

Sindi’s vision is to transform the gaming landscape into a force for positive change. As part of their Play Lab, Episod experiments at the intersection of games with culture and education, involving collaborations with prominent institutions.

Sindi’s projects have been showcased at Tate Britain, Somerset House, Young V&A, and her paper, Inside a Game, [KB14] was published by SERRC in 2020

Becky is a creative designer with nearly 30 years of experience in the heritage design industry, having qualified as a Museum & Exhibition Designer in 1996. She has delivered a wide range of heritage projects across the UK, of varying scale and complexity, including major award-winning projects for the Museum of Liverpool, Bletchley Park, and Dunfermline Museum.

Becky’s experience spans both private design consultancies and in-house design teams, including her recent role at the Science Museum as Senior Spatial & Exhibition Design Manager. This blend of external and internal experience has given her valuable insight into the full interpretation design process from multiple perspectives.

Mhairi is a senior interpretation designer at Bright White Ltd. She has come to interpretation through her design background, with more than a decade of experience in creating award-winning designs for exhibitions, galleries, heritage sites and brand homes. 

Mhairi has worked with clients such as the National Museum of Ireland, the Horniman Museum and Gardens, The British Museum, The Auckland Project, Titanic Belfast, the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, and The Royal Yorkshire Regiment.

Mhairi’s work foregrounds interpretation design that is good for the planet and good for people. In her role as a Trustee of the AHI, Mhairi champions this approach. Based in Dunbar, Scotland, she loves exploring the UK’s wild places on foot, on wheels or in the water.

Philip’s experience in the field of interpretation is based on his academic teaching and research activities within the Business School at Bournemouth University, as well as his personal interests and pursuits. 

Philip has recently retired from full-time teaching in wildlife and nature-based tourism at the university, where he taught for many years. As a former associate dean at the university, he also led educational provision within his academic school. Philip, therefore, brings a wealth of knowledge from the academic sector to the AHI Committee.

In terms of research, Philip’s PhD focused on the on-site visitor experience at the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site in Dorset. Earlier research focused on a study of ‘earth education’ and interpretation in public and private gardens – one of Philip’s particular interests. 

Philip also has extensive experience in leading guided wildlife walks, something he hopes to spend more time on following his retirement. He also plans to spend more time travelling and visiting exciting natural and cultural locations, both in the UK and overseas.

Ollie has more than 15 years’ experience in heritage interpretation, from managing grassroots projects to exhibition design, delivery, and programming. His career has included senior roles at Bath Abbey, Winchester Cathedral, and SS Great Britain, as well as work for The National Archives, Gloucestershire Archives, and Everyman Theatre Company.

Ollie specialises in devising original exhibitions, audience development, family programming, the interpretation of church buildings and English church monuments (occasionally at the same time!) He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. 

Ollie loves the ocean, bellyboarding, poetry, and a good sea shanty! 

He looks forward to serving the AHI, helping it grow, and promoting its work in the cathedrals sector and beyond.

Bill worked as a tour guide at Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage in Grasmere during the 1980s. He developed his interest in heritage interpretation as an archaeologist, driven by his belief that we all have a right to learn about our past. For Bill, interpretation helps us to understand something about the differing ways people at different times perceived and inhabited their worlds.

Bill set up inHeritage[KB18]  in 2005. He later served as interpretation project officer for the Peak District National Park Authority between 2006 and 2010. Much of Bill’s current interpretation work involves helping community groups realise their ambitions while ensuring interpretive best practice.

Bill is a writer and photographer. He has also been a terrible footballer, live movie sound-tracker and DJ – playing as far afield as Australia, Greece, Portugal, Zambia and Zanzibar, as well as the UK.

Bill has served as AHI Chair (for three years) and Chair of The Awards Group (for eight years). He led the relaunch of the Awards, bringing a more inclusive focus on engagement and the visitor experience.

Michele is a multi-award-winning artist and most popularly known for her creative and digital placemaking project, ‘The Seven Saints of St. Pauls®’.

Michele has been working within the art, culture and heritage sectors for several years. When she began her journey in 2014, she aspired to create a platform to share and celebrate the achievements of the African Caribbean community in Bristol, by highlighting their positive contributions to the city.

As a child growing up in 1980s Britain, Michele saw little positive representation of the African Caribbean diaspora in popular culture or education. Living in a country that failed to acknowledge the history, contributions and accomplishments of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour caused Michele to struggle with feelings of belonging. This lack of affirming portrayals of Black people continued into adulthood.

Michele’s desire to break the cycle of silence and praise the countless achievements of Black British people led to the creation of the ‘Iconic Black Bristolians/Britons®’ project. To date, her work has focused on art, education and representation. Michele’s work is a combination of intangible cultural heritage and archival research, exploring how the African Caribbean diaspora’s presence has influenced British culture, heritage and identity post Empire Windrush. Michele is excited to be a Critical Friend for the AHI and add another dimension to the community’s fantastic work.