Curious Minds

Robert Wand
Chair of the board of trustees – appointed 17 December 2008

Robert was until December 2005 the Director of Lifelong Learning and Cultural Services for Lancashire County Council, having previously worked in Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. That remit covered not just the Cultural Services block but included the Youth Service, Adult Education, the development of Early Years Education and Childrens' Centres. Whilst working for Lancashire and Cambridgeshire he chaired a number of regional and national committees, particularly relating to public libraries, and served on several panels for the Arts Council both in East Anglia and the North West. Until the recent abolition of the Regional Agencies of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) Robert was Chair of MLA North West and remains a national Board Member. He is a Trustee of the Storey Gallery, Lancaster and a member of the Lancashire Local Strategic Partnership.

Mebz Bobat
Trustee – appointed 20 February 2009

Mebz Bobat works for Blackburn with Darwen Children’s Services as a Head of Service within the School and Learning Development Division. He has overall responsibility for many areas of provision including school sports, music and arts, healthy schools, extending schools, citizenship and anti bullying. He is also a member of the executive group of the North West arts learning consortium and until recently was a member of the Lancashire Sports Partnership Board.

He states that one of his aims is to provide as varied a menu of opportunities as possible for the children and young people in the borough and culture is one area that he is keen to support through direct delivery to children and young people and through providing support and encouragement to schools to continue to offer these experiences. One of the memories of primary school that stand out for Mebz is playing the part of “Happy” in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This and other similar experiences have contributed to his development and he wants the children and young people to be able to feel the same way.

Katy McCormick
Trustee – appointed 20 February 2009

Katy McCormick is Communications Director for Elevate East Lancashire where she is responsible for all corporate communications, media relations and community engagement. She also leads on the brand promotion and marketing for the Pennine Lancashire area, on behalf of the seven Pennine Lancashire local authorities.

An American, Katy came to the UK from New York in 1990 and worked in marketing and communication for arts organisations, local authorities and housing associations before moving to Elevate in 2003. Katy's first job was writing an advice column for her local newspaper at the age of 10. After university, she worked as a journalist for a group of weekly newspapers and then with a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. She went on to make a career in New York in film and TV production before moving to the UK.

In England, she managed the marketing for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and the Boddington’s Manchester Festival before moving over to local authority leisure marketing. While working for Oldham and Sefton MBCs she developed an interest in housing, which led to a job as Group Marketing Manager for Progress Housing Group prior to joining Elevate.

Katy is a member of the Institute of Public Relations, a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University, and a keen follower of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. She has a son, Bill, who is 13.

Peter Garden
Trustee – appointed 25 September 2009

Peter is the Executive Director (Learning & Engagement) for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Peter joined the organisation in January 2008, having been the Regional Adviser: Culture, Children & Young People for MLA North West and Arts Council England, North West since March 2006.

Prior to working for MLA North West, Peter worked as both Music Programme Manager and subsequently Head of Programmes for children’s charity, 4Children. There, he was responsible for developing and leading national and regional projects to increase access to creative and cultural activities for children and families across England, with various partners including BBC Worldwide, Youth Music, Sport England and the Children’s Fund.
He has also worked for the music examination board, Rockschool Ltd, developing music and social inclusion programmes in schools and communities across London. As a freelance musician, Peter has performed and toured with bands (rock, pop, ska) and musical theatre in the UK and abroad.

Elaine Roberts
Trustee – appointed 25 September 2009

Elaine Roberts is Head of Arts Development at Lancashire County Council, where she leads a small specialist team which develops and invests in a range of countywide strategic initiatives. The Arts Development Service works with a wide range of creative and cultural organisations, as well as corporately and with other local authorities in order to

develop a strategic approach to the support for cultural and creative activity
collaborate with partners to support the development of a wide range of high quality creative activities
ensure that the role of, and potential for contribution by, creative activities is included within wider planning processes
strengthen the infrastructure for arts and cultural development through support for creative organisations and initiatives across Lancashire
embed creative thinking and practice within core services.

Current initiatives include the development of a youth culture offer and 'New Cultural Journeys' a youth led creative programme linked to London 2012.

Elaine graduated with a degree in Fine Art and has a Diploma in Management. She joined Lancashire County Council in 1990, expecting to stay for about three years and has been there ever since. In that time the County Council's role within arts and cultural development has changed and expanded giving Elaine experience of a wide variety of creative practice and partnership working. Prior to joining LCC she worked for North West Arts Association, one of the predecessor organisations of Arts Council England NW.

Doug Garrett
Trustee – appointed 28 September 2010

Currently Chief Executive of Marketing Blackpool Doug is responsible for the promotion and destination management of Britain’s most popular resort.

Previous extensive experience in regeneration in Blackpool and Belfast saw Doug lead teams delivering over £1.5 billion of investment and 25,000 jobs. Regeneration roles included

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ReBlackpool 2005 – 2010

(Blackpool’s Urban Regeneration Company)

Deputy CEO of Laganside Corporation 2002 – 2005.
Earlier Laganside regeneration posts included Director of Operations, Marketing Director, and Business Development Manager.

Before specialising in regeneration, Doug worked in operations management, marketing and advertising in London and Stuttgart.

In addition to his work at Marketing Blackpool Doug is also