Governance

We have a Board of Directors, with twelve places on it.  Our directors have signed up to our Code of Conduct. Each member of the board has a duty and responsibility to protect the interests of the Society and ensure the organisation is well run. Members of the board are not to represent their own interests or that of any other organisation they have a role in. You can find out more about our directors here.

Sophie is a former Inspire employee - she joined as a Library Customer Service Advisor at Sutton-in-Ashfield library, and in 2021 she became Inspire’s first Volunteer and Membership Officer, launching the Community Makers volunteering programme and welcoming hundreds of volunteers to the organisation. Having discovered a passion for volunteer management, she now works in the volunteering team at England Rugby, helping to increase the number of volunteers in grassroots women and girls’ rugby, and empowering diverse leadership across the community game. 

With degrees in drama and creative writing, Sophie is passionate about arts and culture and making sure that everybody has access from a young age. She’s an avid theatre goer, and has been known to tread the boards from time to time. 

In her spare time Sophie loves to read, write, and explore the world, with 31 countries visited so far. She volunteers for the Association of Volunteer Managers, is a huge Eurovision fan, and spends a lot of time watching her family play rugby at Paviors RFC. 

Bio to follow shortly.

Mark has recently retired after almost 9 years as Associate Director and Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections, in the University of Nottingham Libraries. Prior to that he was ‘County Archivist’ for Nottinghamshire for 10 years, latterly also having responsibility for leading the county Local Studies service across Nottinghamshire Libraries.

He began his career with the West Yorkshire Archive Service, was then Archivist at York Minster, and subsequently moved to Staffordshire to run first Lichfield and then Staffordshire Record Offices, before coming to Nottinghamshire.

Mark is passionate about preserving and promoting the county’s heritage and making it accessible as part of a wider cultural and learning offer.

Vicki has lived in Nottinghamshire for most of her life. She is a solicitor and was previously a partner in a law firm and now works in-house. Vicki is also a part-time law lecturer at Nottingham Law School.

Vicki is a keen reader.  As a child, having weekly visits to the local library allowed her love of reading to flourish and instilled in her the importance of the facilities and opportunities that Inspire provides to the wider community which she is proud to support.

Peter was appointed to the role of Chief Executive of Inspire in January 2016. Before that, from June 2007, he was Group Manager of Libraries, Archives, Information and Learning at Nottinghamshire County Council.

Peter led the mutualisation of a range of cultural and learning services into Culture, Learning and Libraries (Midlands) - Inspire, as a charitable Community Benefit Society.

He is passionate about the value and enjoyment of culture and learning and is committed to ensuring the best opportunities are open and accessible for people and communities across Nottinghamshire. Before coming to Nottinghamshire he worked for the City and County of Swansea where he was Strategic Manager; Libraries and Culture covering Archives, Arts, Libraries, Literature, Museums and Theatre.

He has also worked for Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire and Gwent County Councils, Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce, GKN plc and Birmingham City Council.

Peter is Chair of Libraries and Information East Midlands (LIEM) and is a trustee of Libraries Connected, the national sector support charity. He also sits on the board of Inspire in his role as CEO. Peter was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2020 for services to libraries and culture.

Peter is married to Hilary, has four children and three grandsons.

John has been co-opted onto the board, but is no stranger to Inspire. He was first elected as a community representative in 2016 and served two three-year terms, chairing Inspire’s music and culture committee.

He is actively involved in the local music scene and was chair of Nottingham-based “Music for Everyone” for nine years.

Several years ago, John retired after 35 years with the BBC. He was the BBC’s first Political Editor for the East Midlands and was a familiar face and voice reporting from Westminster and closer to home on the big political stories affecting us. In 2015, he was appointed an Honorary Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham.

During his distinguished broadcasting career, John was nominated for three Royal Television Society awards and brought his inside knowledge of politics to the BBC News Channel, Radio 4’s Today programme and the BBC’s General Election coverage. He also made regular appearances on BBC One’s  daily regional news programme “East Midlands Today” and ”Sunday Politics.”

He is also a member of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and a researcher for its heritage team organising exhibitions and talks celebrating our local cricket heritage.

He is the father of three grown children and grandfather to four, and lives in West Bridgford.

Jackie moved to Nottinghamshire in 1981 after graduating in modern languages from Southampton University. She has been married to Stephen for 38 years and lives in Ravenshead. They have two sons aged 30 and 27 who both studied Music at university and who benefitted from the Nottingham Music Education service during their school years.

Jackie has worked in the NHS for 30 years in a variety of roles relating to workforce development planning and education and training.  Her current role is in strategic workforce planning for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System covering health and social care.

Jackie has also spent several years on the Board of Trustees of Derwent Stepping Stones, a children’s nursery and learning centre in a deprived area of Derby, and three years as a public governor for Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust.

She helps to run a monthly Memory Group in Blidworth Library for people living with dementia and their carers and is a trained Dementia Champion with the Alzheimers Society.  She has also been involved in delivering Shared Reading sessions in local residential and care homes.  This project has been impacted by the pandemic and Jackie is hoping to re-establish the scheme during 2022.

Jackie is a member of two reading groups, one of which is run by Ravenshead Library, and is passionate about broadening access to libraries and cultural activities, working in partnership with schools and local community groups and musicians.

Councillor Dawn Justice was born in Nottingham and is married with one son. She has lived in the Selston area for most of her life. She was educated at Eastwood Comprehensive School and Liverpool University.  

Dawn worked in industry and as a teacher before joining her husband in their family business in 2004. She has been a Parish Councillor in Selston since 2015 and has been involved in many community groups and projects. Dawn represents the Underwood ward on Ashfield District Council and the Selston Division on Nottinghamshire County Council. Following the County Council elections in May 2025 she was appointed to the position of Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health.

In her spare time Dawn enjoys reading and knitting.

Margot’s first career choice was as a librarian, starting with Wandsworth Public Libraries, and after qualifying as a chartered librarian in 1977, she moved into academic libraries, in London and Sheffield. Changing career in 1989, she qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG Nottingham in 1992 and has worked briefly in industry, and as Finance Manager for the Amateur Swimming Association/British Swimming in Loughborough, but mainly in general practice.

She was an audit partner at UHY Hacker Young in Nottingham until April 2020 and has extensive business experience but her particular interest has always been in the third sector. At UHY she was a national specialist for charities and not-for-profit/membership organisations. She has acted as independent examiner and auditor for a wide range of local and national charities over the past twenty-five years, and helped to set up the Nottingham Charities Forum.

Margot has also been a trustee of a number of charities, including the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the national charity Home-Start UK, Groundwork Five Counties and The Federation of Groundwork Trusts, and is a member of the Strategic Board of Nottingham Playhouse. She has spoken at seminars and written articles and blogs advising trustees and directors in the third sector on a wide range of issues.

Margot is an avid reader and active member of her local library, and is keen to ensure that libraries continue to be available to all. She is immensely proud of the wide range of arts, culture and heritage activities and events offered by Inspire throughout the county.

Diana worked and trained as an economist taking positions in private sector consultancy, a university, a trade union and local government.  Her last full time paid job was as Director of Regeneration at the East Midlands Development Agency.

Subsequently she was elected as a Nottinghamshire County Councillor for 8 years, representing the Division she lives in in Mansfield.

Over the years she has undertaken several voluntary positions and currently is a Trustee of the New Perspectives Theatre company, The Nottinghamshire Community Foundation, the Mansfield Building Society Charitable Trust, and the Nottingham Women’s History Group.

Diana is a passionate supporter of the wider roles that  INSPIRE has undertaken for its communities, expanding the ways in which Members can learn, have fun and stretch their creativity.  She supports widening INSPIRE’s network of organisations that work with and through libraries.

Emma has worked in Adult Education for the past 15 years, working at Inspire for the last 7 years.  She is passionate about adult education being inclusive and accessible to all, to enable adults who have barriers to learning to be supported to reach their potential.

Emma has lived in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire all her life, a true Nottinghamian!