The Board has an extensive range of responsibilities, including determining the educational character and mission of the College – something that’s reflected in the members’ wide-ranging backgrounds, interests and areas of expertise.
West Herts College is part of the WHC Group of colleges which includes Barnfield College. West Herts has campuses in Watford and Hemel Hempstead while Barnfield is based in Luton. These three towns sit close to the M1 motorway, in a local economy which is significant for its concentration of employment, diverse communities and connectivity to Central England and London.
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Dr Tony BreslinChair of Corporation, appointed August 2024
Tony is a teacher by profession and a researcher, author and trainer specialising in governance, qualifications reform, the social curriculum and the educational impact of lockdown. He has served as a DFE National Leader of Governance, as a Trustee at Adoption UK, as a Trustee at Anthem Schools Trust, as Chair at Bushey Primary Education Federation, as CEO at the participation charity, Young Citizens, as a Local Authority adviser on 14-19 education and lifelong learning, as a Chief Examiner, and as a Director of Sixth Form Studies. In addition to his role at West Herts, he is a Trustee of the Agora Learning Partnership, a Hertfordshire-based multi-academy trust.
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Gill Worgan CBEPrincipal West Herts College, member of Search and Governance Committee & Capital Projects Steering Group, appointed January 2011
Gill joined the senior management team at West Herts College in 2002, directing a range of curriculum and business functions before being appointed Deputy Principal in 2008. Gill’s focus at this time was quality and curriculum development – work which culminated in 2010 with the College’s Ofsted rating of Outstanding. In January 2011 she was appointed West Herts College Principal and Chief Executive.
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Phil BerryGovernor, appointed September 2018
Phil Berry is Director of Academic Quality at Middlesex University. He has held a number of director level roles within universities, in posts ranging from large-scale operational management in the student-facing environment to the development of strategy in relation to academic partnerships, trans-national education, government policy and the changing higher education environment.
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Charles ChidomStaff Governor, elected December 2024
Before joining the FE, Charles has over a decade experience in multiple business functions in sales, marketing, and construction project management. He designed and implemented a course in sustainability (Zero Energy Building) in construction and environmental engineering department and as well as created communication strategy for an organization in Finland.
Charles is passionate about multiculturalism, intercultural engagement, and organizational culture.
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Laura DawsonGovernor, appointed January 2023
Laura is a trustee for a technology charity and a board member for an educational institute in LSE. She has over 30 years of experience in leadership and technology in not-for-profit and public sector roles, latterly she was Global CIO for the British Council and CIO for the London School of Economics. She is particularly interested in a student centric approach to education, quality, governance, and risk.
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Wendy DonovanGovernor, appointed May 2024
Wendy has 5 years Board Experience and more than 15 years’ experience in Senior Finance positions in both Multinational and National Utility organisations across multiple industries including regulated and non-regulated sectors with a focus on Strategy and its successful execution, Compliance, Business partnering and Process Improvement. Wendy is a particular advocate of lifelong learning.
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Rachel FoxGovernor, appointed October 2025
Rachel has 25 years of teaching and leadership experience in the University sector. She has also worked both operationally as an improvement lead, and strategically at Board level, as a chairman and non-executive director in a number of NHS organisations. Rachel is a trustee of the national charity Facial Palsy UK. She is passionate about the benefits of work experience and the development of interpersonal skills.
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Chris GentleGovernor, appointed October 2025
Chris is an international strategy consultant with over 30 years’ experience at board level in over 40 countries around the world. His current portfolio of activities includes MD, Torridon; Chair, Boli, the advisory board at Poly AI, one of the world’s leading voice AI companies; LBS teaching on strategy; NED/Vice Chair at Reach South an education organisation, and he is senior advisor to the CEO at the World Energy Council working on the energy transition agenda.
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Chris NichollsGovernor, appointed September 2019
Chris has a wide range of professional experience in Education. His roles in the sector include extensive work across school-improvement in Bedford. Chris retired as Principal of Luton Sixth Form College in 2018 and maintains his extensive voluntary work in the town and local area.
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Stuart OrdGovernor, appointed January 2023
Stuart has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector. He works as an investment banker in the City with a specialism in advising companies on mergers and acquisitions. He is a chartered accountant having started his career working as an auditor with Deloitte.
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Gary PhillipsGovernor, appointed October 2025
Gary is a CIPD qualified organisational development specialist and has recently worked in charities and healthcare supporting work on equity, diversity and inclusion, change and learning & development. Prior to this he spent 17 years working in further education, including as a teacher, curriculum manager and latterly as senior leader overseeing curriculum, quality and organisational development. Gary has also worked for the Education & Training Foundation - leading work on professional development for teachers and leaders. He has a particular interest in professional development, culture and inclusion.
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Chris RoweGovernor, appointed October 2025
Chris has worked in the Further Education sector for over 27 years, initially as a teacher, manager and consultant in colleges, and more recently as the co-founder and Managing Director of Navigate, a software company that creates platforms for the post-16 sector.
He passionately believes in the transformative power of FE and is particularly interested in the role that employers should play in ensuring all young people have a wide range of work-related activities.
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Martin SiddersGovernor, appointed May 2024
Martin is a Chartered Accountant and retired Finance Director. He has expertise in many aspects of finance gained in the retail and property industries. As a Board member he has significant experience in corporate strategy and governance. He has been a Governor/Trustee of Hertfordshire schools for nearly twenty years and was recently Chair of a large Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire Multi-Academy Trust.
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David YorkStaff Governor (Business Support), re-elected January 2024
David is a senior technician and manages the Technical Services team at Barnfield. David holds vast knowledge of college systems and is honoured to be elected for a third time as a staff governor.
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Anne-Marie KinsellaClerk to the Corporation, appointed September 2021
Anne-Marie, the Clerk to the Corporation, joined us in August 2021 and has 16 years’ experience in clerking for schools and academies. Alongside her clerking role she has worked within education in a variety of roles including, Ofsted inspector and City & Guilds Verifier for post-16 qualifications in Hospitality and Catering. Her career started as the Training, Development and Quality Manager for the catering department at Shell UK Ltd.