Governor Biographies

Amanda Montague - Chair

Amanda is a freelance consultant who uses her skills and experience to support organisations developing and implementing apprenticeships, employment and skills programmes. Amanda previously worked for the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies for 20 plus years. She has a good working knowledge of skills policy and having worked in Essex for the last 10 years has developed a good understanding of the local skills issues and challenges. Amanda lives locally and her interests include the family pets, DIY and cars!

David Warnes - Principal

David Warnes has been working in the Further Education sector for over 25 years. After qualifying as a lecturer in 1996, he started his teaching career at Richmond upon Thames College. teaching A-levels, vocational courses and assessing Apprenticeships. He progressed into various management positions, including Curriculum Director of IT, Business, Travel, Sport and Leisure. He then went on to chair the national network of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Sport, before being seconded to work on the education programme for the London 2012 Olympics.

David has been the senior strategic lead for Apprenticeships, Business Development and HE at both East Surrey College and London South East College, and was most recently Deputy Principal at West London College, before joining Chelmsford College as Principal and Chief Executive in October 2022.

David is a keen amateur gardener and walker, and particularly enjoys exploring the remote corners of the West coast of Scotland.

Sarah Atkinson

Sarah has over 30 years of experience working in further and higher education she has a BA (hons) in Fashion and Textiles, an MA in Creative Education and a PGCE. Her career has ranged from running her own fashion label to designing, delivering and managing creative arts courses at the University of the Arts London (UAL) where she was responsible for instigating strategies to improve teaching, learning and assessment both in the UK and with educational institutions worldwide, travelling extensively as part of the UAL international team.

In 2007 she was asked to contribute to the setting up of the UAL Awarding Body, and subsequently became a member of the Senior Management Team, helping to develop the suite of qualifications and leading the team of Chief Examiners as Head of Academic Standards.

She is now an academic consultant with projects ranging from developing an academy for creative education in India to advising the DFE on new qualifications, whilst continuing to support the work of UAL Awarding Body as a Senior Moderator and maintaining her own creative practice.

Trevor Bolton

Trevor started his career in the merchant shipping industry before moving into education, working mainly in universities. He ‘retired’ in 2019 as a University Pro Vice Chancellor. Since then he has developed a portfolio career, running his own growing consultancy company and serving on several boards, including the Architectural Association. Trevor holds degrees from three universities including a PhD from Lancaster.Trevor joined the Board in March 2020 and serves on the Audit Committee.

Rachael Cornwall

Rachael is a Director of Human Resources in the Higher Education sector. She is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development with a Masters degree in Strategic HR Management. She has extensive experience in the HE sector and has also worked for Professional Service firms Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouseCoopers in specialist HR roles. Prior to HR, she worked in retail which ignited a passion for good customer service. Rachael and her HR colleagues won the Universities HR ‘exceptional HR team of the year’ in 2023. She is opposed to tick box and performative approaches to people management and welcomes the opportunity to work with colleagues at the College to enhance the student and staff experience.

Jan Church

Jan is the colleges business support staff governor and is a member of the Policy, Sustainability & Resources Committee. Jan joined Chelmsford College in 2004, as part of the Learning Technologies team and quickly moved to a Lead Role in the Learning Resource Centres. In 2013 with the new Assessment Centres on the horizon, Jan was offered a Lead Role and during this period achieved the Professional Certification to CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). During 2015 Jan became the Co-ordinator for both Learning and Assessment Centres. Jan enjoys using technology and is passionate about sharing information to support learning. Jan collaborates with other colleges by being a member of JISC and has joined their Community of Practice where she takes an active role in discussions and sharing knowledge across the South East Region. Jan spends her spare time outdoors as much as possible and has a real passion for gardening.

Richard Davidson

Richard Davidson is a Director at Balfour Beatty, responsible for business development, early tendering and market engagement. A strategic thinker and believer in constant improvement, Richard is frequently engaged in local and national initiatives turning his holistic thinking and energy to whichever challenge is presented.

He is involved with construction and development schemes across England and Wales, bringing his knowledge and expertise to those looking to pursue a green growth agenda. He is a passionate believer in the power of strong networks; always taking the time to connect people, promoting collaboration as the most important factor in building successful outcomes. Away from work he is a married father of two, spends many hours cycling and running a local youth rugby club.

Matt Dearsley

Matt is an experienced leader in Technology. He has held a number of engineering, programme and architecture roles. He has extensive experience of commercial negotiation, project delivery, design and operations. He is part of the Technology Leadership team at a major retailer, currently responsible for the specification, design and development of Infrastructure technologies. Matt has lived in Chelmsford for over twenty years and is married with two children.

Ra Hamilton-Burns - Director of Governance

Ra has been a Governance Professional and Clerk in Further Education for over 20 years. She has worked in various sixth form and General Further Education Colleges and enjoys working with Boards to ensure that they support their colleges and learners to grow and thrive. She is an associate of the AoC, ETF and Institute of Directors, working to co-design, deliver and moderate training for Governance Professionals and Governors alike. Her previous roles as a Public Relations specialist and journalist in Information Technology have fed her interest in how technologies can be harnessed to deliver education that enables and appeals to learners. When not working, Ra is a devoted beekeeper, has a wonderful family and enjoys swimming in the sea.

Daniel Holland - Student Governor

Daniel Holland, a Level 2 Cybersecurity student, Student Governor, and representative of his peers at Chelmsford College, is known as a highly resourceful individual capable of adapting various skills to any given situation. He demonstrates strong initiative and quick-thinking abilities, and he is characterised by his commitment to morality and equality.

He has participated in numerous engaging experiences that have significantly contributed to his leadership qualities, including the AOC Student Governor Summit 2024 and various Unloc events.

Daniel’s primary aim during his tenure as Student Governor is to enhance student wellbeing, increase opportunities for all learners by improving attendance, and, ultimately, help shape the future of the college.

David Holmes

Senior leadership roles in the education, social housing, engineering and urban regeneration sectors including, until the end of February 2024, Chief Financial Officer at Writtle University College. (I was Director of Finance and Corporate Affairs at Havering College of Further and Higher Education from December 2002 to July 2019).

Governance experience in the social housing, pensions and medical charity sectors, including chairing the Audit, Investment and Risk Committee of Estuary Housing Association from September 2012 to September 2021.

My current governance roles are: Board member and member of Group Resources Committee, Coin Street Secondary Housing Co-Operative; member of the Advisory Board and Audit and Risk Committee of the Housing Ombudsman Service; independent member of the Risk and Assurance Committee of Stonewater Housing; and member of the Social Housing Pension Committee.

Christian Norman

Christian is a highly experienced leader and manager in the education sector having had a long career with Colchester Institute and previously with North Lindsey College. He has held a range of senior cross-college and departmental positions, including Curriculum Manager, Head of Centre, and Director of Faculty where he focused on strategic and operational curriculum management. He has a broad knowledge of the post 16 education sector, quality improvement and general project management. He is a qualified teacher and has developed a large range of business courses from pre-GCSE to postgraduate level. Christian formerly chaired the Colchester Aimhigher Partnership and is particularly keen that all students are inspired and have the opportunity to progress to achieve their goals. In addition, having established the Career Ready Business programme at Colchester Institute, he remains on their ‘Business and IT Local Advisory Board’ and also volunteers as a Speaker for Guide Dogs.

Jaya Patten

Jaya comes from a Corporate and Investment Banking background. He held senior leadership and transactor roles in Fixed Income Capital markets at leading American and European financial institutions in Europe and Asia for over twenty-five years. He set up his own financial markets consultancy in 2011, advising financial institutions in Europe and emerging markets in areas around capacity building and technical assistance. He is also a member of the subject matter expert panel of a couple of global consultancies in US (Gerson Lehrman Group) and Singapore (Asean Advisory). More recently Jaya has been involved in Expert Witness assignments in financial litigation and regulatory investigations in Europe. These carry important lessons learnt applications to improve Governance, Risk and Compliance frameworks. He is a founding member of the International RegTech association (Zurich, Switzerland).

David Peace

David qualified as a chartered accountant with a medium sized firm before undertaking a number of roles in Finance/Accounting departments within the financial services industry. These roles have provided him with extensive knowledge of Financial and Regulatory reporting, technical accounting and stakeholder management. In addition, he has significant experience of leading teams and development of people. David has served as a director on a number of corporate boards in addition to being responsible for the presentation of financial information to senior business management and directors. David’s interests include sport, theatre, gym and crime thriller novels

Paddy Reilly

Paddy is Chief Executive of University of East London Students' Union. He has worked in five universities and students' unions, including being Director of student life in the University of Essex and Chief Executive of Durham Students' Union and University of Suffolk Students' Union. He has been a governor in two universities and two primary schools. Paddy is a member of the Quality and Learners' Committee, is the Safeguarding Governor and is one of the governor Champions for Maths, English and Extended Learning. His wider interests include rugby (Connacht abú!) and walking.

Helen Russell

Helen has worked in the education and public sector for over 25 years across various disciplines, including business development, strategic planning, research and development, policy formation and implementation, organisational and operational leadership.

Most of her work has focused on skills and economic growth and she has held several senior roles within central and local government and further and higher education.

Now working freelance, Helen continues to work closely with local government, the skills sector and corporations to advance skills development and increase capabilities within the public sector.

She is passionate about partnership development and creating successful collaborations between public, private and third sector organisations, and driving social mobility through the power of high-quality relevant education and training.

Helen lives in rural Chelmsford and her favourite pastimes include walking with her two spaniels, cooking and travelling.

Anabella Russell - Student Governor

Anabella Russell is a level 3 photography student with a prior 2 years’ experience in public service. She has joined the quality and learners committee and is dedicated to learning so she can provide her skills and talents effectively. Anabella is known for her brilliant time management for tasks both inside and outside of college and it is because of this vast experience that she can deliver many different perspectives on situations, this allows for her to successfully communicate different challenges and ideas to students and the board with evidence allowing for more understanding and learning situations.

Anabella looks after a variety of different people within a range of ages, this allows her to think on her feet to find good solutions without delay or worry, she shows great initiative within tasks by attending meetings and completing tasks set.

Her plans for student governor are to improve the college experience by providing a college that she feels she needed when she started off, a college full of transparency and trust, knowledge and a support network for both inside and outside of the college, allowing for a thriving college constantly improving with new Innovative ideas.

Rak Rehal

Rak is an experienced business executive with extensive marketing and business strategy expertise, complemented by international experience in both the USA and Japan. Initially began a career in retail and now serves a large multinational corporation based in Essex. Resident of the Chelmsford area for the past 23 years. Actively engaged in the community as a School Governor and in various pro bono positions, including a business mentor for Essex County Council. Family-oriented, married with three boys who were all raised in Essex. Enjoys a variety of sports outside of work, including squash and padel tennis.

Professor Sheila Salmon - Chair

Sheila chaired Mid Essex Hospitals NHS Trust (2010-2017) and was also the founding chair of the Joint Working Board (2016-2017) forged through the collaboration of Mid Essex Hospitals with Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital FT and Southend University Hospital University FT within the Mid and South Essex Strategic Transformation Partnership (STP).

Nadia Themis - Staff Governor

Nadia Themis is a seasoned entrepreneur and advocate with a rich career spanning finance, education, and international representation. As a former entrepreneur in financial services, she successfully managed her own wealth management firm and was a member of the Stock Exchange. Nadia has represented Cyprus as an advocate in Washington, D.C., Brussels, and at the High Commission in the UK. She also served as Secretary of the Business Professional Women (BPW) organization. A Master Coach, First Aid Instructor, and Yoga Teacher with her own online platform, Nadia blends professional growth with personal well-being. She is the author of "A Different Breed: Rewire Your Brain", a book that reflects her commitment to empowerment and transformation. Nadia’s dedication to fostering leadership and inspiring growth makes her an invaluable asset to Chelmsford College and its mission to shape future leaders.

Doug Zeeman - Co-opted Governor

Doug is a highly experienced contracts officer with a long career with BAE Systems (formerly GEC Marconi), focusing on defence engineering and electronics. He has a wide knowledge of commercial contracts and general project management. He is a professionally qualified manager and had a vast technical exposure to negotiating techniques, contract law, exporting, research & development, as well as employment law and practice. In his work, he has had to deal on complex and commercially sensitive contracts with various Governments, European Space Agency, and the European Union. Doug is a co-opted member of the Quality & Learners Committee.