Our Team and Trustees

The first point of contact to anyone reaching out to Summerhill Bowling Club with an enquiry will be to Stuart who is generally on site most days of the week. If you call in you will likely see him preparing the pavilion for our weekday and weekend events, making sure everything is running smoothly. You may even also be welcomed by our CEO, his very friendly dog Bella, who will also be very pleased to see you.

Vanessa Collins is a civil engineer by training, currently works in Flood Risk Management capital project delivery. She has a background in construction and engineering management consultancy and brings commercial and contractual skills to the Trustee Board.

Nicola Maxwell is a photographic artist and arts educator based in the North East.
Currently working for Tyne and Wear Museums, Nicola moved to Summerhill Grove in 2021.
Having consistently worked with communities and groups, Nicola’s work in the creative industries has led the way on a number of engagement initiatives taken into best practice within a field of creativity and vision. Nicola has a passion for ensuring the properties and green spaces in Summerhill Square are properly maintained.

Bella spends some of her time here at Summerhill with Stuart who brings her in with him when there are things she needs to make sure are done. When she's not enjoying the sun on the terrace, she's pleased to welcome visitors to Summerhill and always enjoys the attention she receives!

Our Office Administrator is Ann who supports our Manager Stuart with day to day administration and governance of the Trust as Company Secretary.  She has lived in the North East for nearly 25 years and is happily settled living in Newcastle itself.  Until 2018 she was the Trust Director and Secretary of a charity based in Newcastle City Centre and brings plenty of experience with her to the Summerhill Trust. She has worked in middle and senior management in the Registration Service (Births Deaths and Marriages) in West Sussex, Stockton-on-Tees and North Yorkshire, has private sector experience as a Practice Manager for a local solicitor and was a company director for a family electrical contracting company. 

Tim is a retired physician, and has lived in Summerhill Square for 22 years. Tim has also been actively involved with the Summerhill project since its inception more than 10 years ago. This includes being a board member from 2015-2018, a member of a group seeking charitable funding, and most importantly, an active allotmenteer throughout the period.

Helen lives in Denton Burn and is excited to develop and extend the Bowling Club’s reach beyond Summerhill. She is a civil servant and has worked in high priority government work including Exit from Europe, Covid and Afghanistan. She currently works in Schools Division in Department for Education.
She is currently Vice Chair of Governors at Stocksfield Avenue Primary School in Fenham, and a trustee at Scotswood Gardens in Benwell. Helen has previously been a local councillor and served on the City’s Cabinet as Housing member. She was also Chair of Tyneside Mind for a number of years.

Anthony studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford then worked for 15 years in BBC Radio and TV; as Artistic Projects Director at London’s Southbank Centre; as Birmingham City Council’s Head of Arts; back at the BBC for their nationwide multi-platform Millennium Music Live; at Sage Gateshead as founding General Director, at Luminato Festival Toronto as CEO and currently Interim Director of Toronto’s Koffler Centre of the Arts.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development Ros has worked in Human Resources for over 30 years across a diverse range of companies within the private and public sectors. She brings to the trust a strong commercial business knowledge, combined with common sense, empathy and a dry sense of humour.

Emma Johnson is an active member of the Summerhill Community; she lives locally with her family; but spends her time split between Newcastle and London. Emma has worked in many different fields including the Charity Sector, Higher Education, Architecture, and the Arts. She has also lived and worked in many different countries and enjoys travelling and exploring different global cultures. During her work in Berlin, Emma developed an interest in Community Development practice.