Staff

Melissa Appleton - Co-Director (Strategy & Programme) melissa@peak.cymru

Louise Hobson - Co-Director (Operations & Programme) louise@peak.cymru

Board

As a charitable company limited by guarantee, Peak is governed by a Board of unpaid Trustee Directors.

Stephanie Allen is an arts management professional, currently in the role of Executive Director for Arts&Heritage, an ACE NPO, and a Board member for Courtyard Theatre, Hereford. She has worked at a large number of cultural organisations including the Southbank Centre, Artsadmin, Sidney Nolan Trust and Creative United and is a former Arts Council England Relationship Manager. Steph worked with Peak as a Nesta-appointed business adviser and then as Interim Creative Director during Rebecca Spooner’s Clore secondment in 2018. Roles: Chair, Member of Resources sub-group \ Expertise: Arts and Business Management, Arts Culture Policy, Fundraising and Development

Catrin Ellis-Jones works in sustainable energy and management, as Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Communicator, Facilitator for Vattenfall (European Energy Company). She grew up in rural Snowdonia in a multi-lingual household (Welsh father, German mother) and began her career as a professional geologist in South America, moving into stakeholder and community engagement. She has worked with NRW, Welsh Government, Natural England, DEFRA, DECC, several National Parks, as well as for third sector organisations. enabling communities to appropriately influence projects and programmes that affect them. Catrin lives in the Black Mountains and as a parent has direct experience of Peak’s work with young people. Role: Member of Pegwn \ Expertise: Participatory processes, governance, strategy, communications, Cymraeg 

Melissa Hinkin is the Curator at Artes Mundi, in Cardiff and a freelance producer and curator. She grew up in Powys and has a personal connection to rural mid-Wales. 
Roles: Equalities Champion and Member of the Resources sub-group \ Expertise: Art, Curating, Arts Management 

Joss Allen can be found in the garden, amongst the weeds and compost heaps. He is an artworker and amateur gardener interested in how art influences ecological ways of being and practices of care towards the more-than-human world. Joss's work has been influenced by his time as a support worker for adults with autism, a labourer on an organic farm and a refuse collector, among others. Between 2017 and 2020, they were the project coordinator for the Town is the Garden, a three-year creative community food-growing project run by Deveron Projects. Recently, he was co-artistic director (maternity cover) of ATLAS Arts with Yvonne Billimore. They are currently a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick's Institute for Global Sustainable Development.

Marva Jackson Lord is a writer and artist who has lived in the Brecon Beacons for almost twenty years. Marva’s work in the arts began with DJ’ing and programming in Canada for community radio station ckln-fm, and she was one of the architects of Canadian Artists Network: Black Artists In Action (CANBAIA). Since moving to Wales, Marva has produced a range of community events in Powys including 2 editions of Black Cultural Fest, poetry readings, music events and theatre productions. Marva’s artist practice encompasses poetry, sound and digital media to explore place, community, autobiography and fantastical narratives. She recently participated in the VAGW Interlude arts mentorship project and Casgleb, the collaborative project hosted by Peak and Transport for Wales.

Lucy Shipp is a creative engagement professional with experience in a range of arts and cultural organisations. Lucy recently began working as Head of Informal Learning and Public Programmes at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, following four years as Education Manager at Wysing Arts Centre. She has also previously held positions at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, Tate and the V&A. She is an imaginative, strategic and collaborative leader. At the core of her practice is a passion for supporting young people and artists, celebrating the power of creativity to bring positive change.

Abby Poulson is a photographic artist and young curator born and raised in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Employing cameraless techniques, alternative processes, sculpture and installation, her practice often explores the local landscape of her homeland, whilst also responding to environmental concerns, ruralism, heritage, memory and place. Abby is also a recent graduate from Swansea College of Art, where she studied Photography in the Arts. Whilst studying Abby also delivered various curatorial projects which focused on developing networks for emerging artists, both local to Wales and internationally. Since graduating, Abby had a studio in Elysium Gallery, and has just moved to Corris to work for Stiwdio Maelor, whilst growing and navigating her own career. Roles: Member of Speak & Pegwn \ Expertise: Young Artists, Cymraeg, Photography

Liz Buckler is a co-opted advisor and our charity’s founder. A qualified teacher, trainer and writer, she continues to support Peak and promote an ethos that prioritises process and reflective thinking.