Meet our
Governors

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.

  • 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.

  • Gill WorganPrincipal 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.

  • Guy AinsleyGovernor, appointed July 2017

    Guy’s background is in the automotive industry spanning a wide range of commercial activities from production to retail. Guy has extensive directorship experience including as an executive director with a UK plc and as a non-executive director with a US based start-up/SME. Recently, Guy has developed an HE teaching practice with roles at Loughborough University and University of Birmingham’s Business School.

  • 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.

  • Richard LewisLaura 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.  

  • Irina KendixWendy 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.

  • Irina KendixIrina KendixGovernor, appointed September 2019

    Irina has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, including a consultant, risk manager and Internal Audit Director of an international insurance division and of a global asset manager. She is particularly interested in risk management, business strategy and corporate governance.

  • Irina KendixRichard LewisGovernor, appointed October 2017

    Richard is a senior lawyer in the Government Legal Department, where he has advised on consumer law, state aid and trade union and employment law. He has also been a deputy director in the professional and technical education directorate of the Department for Education, where he worked on the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 and on the restructuring of the further education and sixth form college sectors. Before becoming a civil servant, he was a partner in one of London's leading commercial law firms.

  • Irina KendixShaun MertonStaff Governor (Teaching), elected October 2023

    Shaun has nearly two decades of experience in Further Education spread across multiple further education colleges. He has extensive experience in academic and professional development. He had also led senior management teams in strategic planning. He joined Barnfield College in 2022 as a computing tutor.

  • Irina KendixChris 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.

  • Irina KendixStuart 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.

  • Irina KendixMartin 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.

  • Irina KendixJason SmithGovernor, appointed September 2021

    Jason is local to Barnfield College and is a qualified accountant with extensive experience in a wide range of operational finance roles within the leisure and hospitality sectors both in the U.K. and internationally.

  • Irina KendixPaul ThompsonGovernor, appointed October 2019

    As the Employer and Skills Manager for SEMLEP, Paul is responsible for working with partners to develop a range of initiatives that support skills enhancement for young people and adults, including apprenticeships, with the aim of producing a skilled and adaptable workforce, supporting existing employers and future growth in the area.

  • Irina KendixDavid 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.

  • Irina KendixAnne-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.