Our Board

If you’re interested in supporting our work as a trustee, please email Peggy Hughes, Chief Executive, at [email protected].

Alan Waters (Chair)

Alan Waters served as Leader of Norwich City Council between 2015 and 2023. He was first elected to the council in May 1988 and served as council leader 1993–1998. Other positions held have included portfolio holder for finance & deputy leader. By profession, Alan’s background is in education having worked as a teacher at comprehensive schools in London, Australia, and Norfolk. Between 2004-2017 Alan worked at the Local Government Information Unit as a policy officer and latterly as Learning & Development Manager. Currently, he is a member of the South East Board of the Arts Council; a board member of the New Anglia LEP; an executive member of the Key Cities Group where he holds the culture portfolio and represented Key Cities on the ‘Creative Cities Commission’ (2018-19). Since 2018 he has been a Visiting Fellow at South Bank University and a Board member of the Journal ‘Local Economy’ (2013 -). Alan became Chair of the National Centre for Writing in 2021, following several years as a trustee.

Kim Clayden

Kim Clayden qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989, and spent more than 30 years working with owner-managed businesses, charities and social enterprises before retiring in 2021. More recently she has been Treasurer of a charity in Cambridge for arts and mental health. Outside of work, Kim achieved an MA in Creative Writing from the UEA, and has previously been shortlisted for a Comedy Women in Print award. Kim was born in rural Norfolk and, although now based in Cambridgeshire, she has family and friends in the area. At weekends she can often be found at Carrow Road cheering on her favourite football team.

Anni Domingo

Anni Domingo is an actress, director and writer. She is currently a lecturer in Drama and Directing at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham and Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. Anni’s poems and short stories have been published in various anthologies and an extract from Breaking the Maafa Chain won the Myriad Editions First Novel competition and was featured in the New Daughters of Africa anthology edited by Margaret Busby.

Ioannis Kalkounos

Ioannis Kalkounos has over a decade’s experience in arts strategy and creative programming. He is the Programme Manager at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, leading the strategic planning, development, and delivery of comprehensive event programmes that include panel discussions, commissioned performances, and workshops, featuring speakers and artists from around the world. Previously, he worked at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and served as Vice Chair of the Craigmillar Literacy Trust.

Catherine Little

Catherine Little is Executive Housing Director at Broadland Housing Association. She has worked in the social housing sector since 2006, developing a strong culture of involving residents and providing high-quality services. She has supported a number of tenant-led national initiatives, including See the Person which aims to tackle negative stereotypes all too often seen about people who live in social housing. Previously, Cath worked in the non-profit sector in school and adult education, urban design and community safety. She was a founding Board member of Oxford Credit Union and a former Board member of Oxfordshire Community Land Trust.

Caroline McCormick

Caroline is the Director of cultural strategy consultancy company, Achates, which supports the sector in strategy development, organisational change, income generation and recruitment. In 2005 having completed the £70m campaign to create the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum, Caroline became the first Director of PEN International heading up 145 Centres in 105 countries and acting as the Literature Representative at UNESCO whilst also advising her first consultancy client, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai. Caroline is the Chair of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, the founder of the Achates Philanthropy Prize and the co-founder of The London Ticket Bank. In 2023, she was included in The Stage’s list of the 100 most influential people in theatre.

Jarred McGinnis

Jarred McGinnis was chosen by the Guardian as one of the UK’s ten best emerging writers. His debut novel The Coward was selected for BBC 2’s Between the Covers, BBC Radio 2’s Book Club and listed for the Barbellion Prize.

He is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, which was chosen for the British Council’s International Literature Showcase. He was the creative director for Moby-Dick Unabridged, a four-day immersive multimedia reading of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick at the Southbank Centre, involving hundreds of participants.

His short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in respected journals in the UK, Canada, USA and Ireland. He is or has been an Associate Writer for Spread the Word, a mentor for the Word Factory, a fellow of the London Library’s T S Eliot Emerging Writer Programme and a Writer-in-Residence for First Story. He also has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence.

Jeremy McNulty

Jeremy McNulty has been deeply involved with the National Centre for Writing since 2012, initially supporting Writers’ Centre Norwich in realising their vision for a permanent venue. With over 40 years of expertise in construction, property, and project management, Jeremy has successfully directed significant development projects across the UK for both private and public sectors, particularly in Norwich, London, and surrounding regions. Known for his dual roles as both a discerning client and trusted advisor, he led the professional team responsible for extending Dragon Hall and has provided strategic guidance on asset management and heritage conservation. Beyond his professional achievements, Jeremy is a dedicated community leader, serving as chair of his parish council and spearheading numerous local initiatives.

Nina Nannar

Nina Nannar is a British Asian journalist. Raised in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, she worked on Midlands Today, Children in Need and the BBC News’s 2000 Today. She joined ITV News as its media and arts correspondent for ITV News, and now acts as a News Correspondent for the service.

James Slinger

James Slinger lives in Norwich and is a Partner in the law firm MishCon de Reya, where he specialises in the acquisition, sale and development of commercial property. James completed an LLB (Hons) degree at King’s College University of London and is also an Associate of King’s College. He trained to be a solicitor in the Midlands and then worked for a number of years at law firm Slaughter and May in London before moving to East Anglia. James is an avid reader (when time allows) and collector of post-1960s’ crime and thriller novels.

Helen Wilson

Helen Wilson has a background in broadcasting having been a producer and editor on the Today programme, the World at One and PM. After a stint in New York and Washington for the BBC she became Managing Editor Radio 4 and then Controller Radio 4. After leaving the BBC she ran an independent production company and then became Chair of Southern Norfolk Primary Care Trust for the NHS. She is currently Chair of the Norfolk Cultural Forum, and the New Anglia Cultural Board (Norfolk and Suffolk) working with the Local Enterprise Partnership. Helen is a member of the Heart Board and Chair of the Norfolk 2012 Steering Group. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Prof Catherine Richardson

Prof Catherine Richardson began her post as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Arts and Humanities in September 2024, joining UEA from the University of Kent where she was Professor of Early Modern Studies, and Director of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries. Prof Richardson joined the University of Kent in 2007 from The Shakespeare Institute and during her time there, she took on a range of leadership roles including Director of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and Deputy Head and Director of Research for the School of English. From 2017 to 2020, she was Associate Dean for Research and Innovation (Humanities), with responsibility for the REF submission and establishment of Kent’s Signature Research Themes. Her final role as Director of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries, which she held from 2019, included setting up the Institute and developing its strategic vision.

Catherine is also Professor of Early Modern Studies, her research focusing on material culture and the history of the creative industries. She works closely with museums and archives on creative heritage projects, recently running a large Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) project, ‘The Cultural Lives of the Middling Sort, writing and material culture 1560-1660’, with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Folger Shakespeare Library, Weald and Downland Museum and Portable Antiquities Scheme as partners.

A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Catherine sits on the Council of the Malone Society and, in 2021, took on the role of Governor of the Pasold Research Fund, which promotes and supports research on textile history.