Earth Trust appoints new co-chairs to lead board into ambitious next phase
Today, Earth Trust announced the appointment of Sarah Hendry and Frank Nigriello as Co-Chairs of its Board of Trustees, marking a new era for the leading Oxfordshire environmental charity.
The co-chair model brings an expanded leadership structure that will steer Earth Trust into its next ambitious chapter and help achieve its vision for more communities connected to nature.
“We’re delighted to welcome Sarah and Frank as Co-Chairs at this important strategic moment for Earth Trust,” said Jayne Manley, CEO of Earth Trust. “Their combined expertise and oversight will be pivotal as we scale our impact and deliver against our purpose of engaging diverse communities with natural green spaces.”
Sarah Hendry brings over 25 years of experience spearheading national environmental and land-use policy in the UK civil service. As Director General of the Country Land and Business Association, she has provided strategic direction in a period of fundamental change to environmental and farming policies, as society seeks nature-based solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss and addresses the vital need to put people back in touch with nature. Sarah is looking forward to bringing that experience to support Earth Trust’s advocacy for better green space access and its work to influence policy.
“I’m honoured to help guide Earth Trust’s mission at this critical juncture. Together, I believe that we can have a real impact influencing policies and putting into practice approaches that truly enable communities to connect with nature.”
Sarah.
Frank is an experienced non-executive director, passionate about promoting responsible business behaviours. He served as HRH the Prince of Wales’s Responsible Business Ambassador for the Southeast for four years, and has worked with blue chip companies in the I.T., financial services, logistics and manufacturing sectors. He is currently chair of the B4 business network and is working with several startup companies. His strategic economic and business leadership will enable us to scale up the delivery of our mission.
“Earth Trust has an important role engaging people to take greater ownership of environmental issues and the sustainable future of our planet. I’m pleased to help Earth Trust support greener economies in Oxfordshire and beyond and demonstrate how people and nature can thrive in balance.”
Frank.
The new Co-Chair appointments come as Earth Trust aims to increase its influence and impact during a period of ambitious growth and transition. With a 5-year strategy in place, Earth Trust is focused on demonstrating nature based solutions that deliver for people, biodiversity and climate; building communities to enable change; addressing infrastructure challenges at its most visited natural green space, Wittenham Clumps; and launching new volunteering and membership engagement models. The Co-Chairs’ leadership will be pivotal in driving forward these strategic goals to expand Earth Trust’s reach, deliver its mission, and ensure financial sustainability.
“With Sarah and Frank at the helm, I’m confident Earth Trust will achieve its ambitions to champion natural green spaces that bring nature and people closer together,” said Manley.
More about our new co-chairs
Sarah Hendry
A seasoned expert in national environmental policy, Sarah is Chair of the UK Water Partnership, and has been championing the rural economy and sustainability as Director General of Country Land and Business Association (CLA) since 2018.
Before joining the CLA, Sarah spent nearly 30 years as a UK government official working across national, EU and international policy including 12 years as a director in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Her experience includes farming, environment, rural development, climate change, forestry, water and floods.
Frank Nigriello
Frank has been well-known in Oxfordshire for representing Unipart Group in many local organisations and networks. He was chair of Oxfordshire Business First and was responsible for merging Oxfordshire Business First and the B4 business network to connect around 2,400 local businesspeople. He is a founder and non-executive director of the Ideas Network 2030, which examines long-term trends and their effects on our economy, politics, and society, and has been a visiting industrial fellow at Oxford Brookes University