44 (0)20 7824 7157Those who have served
Since the concept of INTO was launched in Washington DC in 2005 a number of individuals have served in volunteer capacities for the organization.
President / Chairman
Simon Molesworth 2007 through September 2015
Vice-President / Vice-Chairman
S.K. Misra 2007 through 2010
Bill Turner 2010 through September 2015
Secretary
Simon Murray 2007 through October 2013
Sarah Staniforth 2014 through September 2015
Executive Committee Members
Simon Molesworth (President/Chair)
After obtaining a BA majoring in Social Anthropology and a LLB in Law in the 1970s, Simon’s professional and extra-curricular careers have determinedly pursued a multi-disciplinary path leading to fellowships from five professional institutes, traversing the fields of law, environmental management, urban and regional planning, management and corporate governance. His work inexorably led him from a focus on natural resource management to the development of principles and practice of sustainability and most latterly to the area of climate change response. Since 2013 a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow of Monash University in Melbourne, Simon was previously an Adjunct Professor of the La Trobe Institute of Social & Environmental Sustainability within Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Professionally, after first practicing as a solicitor in a major national firm, in 1984 Simon became a barrister specialising in environmental, planning, heritage and natural resource law. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1995.
After founding a public environmental organisation in his teens and becoming its chairman over 42 years ago, Simon first joined his State National Trust in 1972. For 25 years from 1980 Simon was a councillor of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), becoming its honorary chairman and then president for almost 20 years in succession. For 21 years from 1988 he was also a board member of the national body, the Australian Council of National Trusts, and was its chairman 2001 to 2006. In 2009 he was appointed the ACNT International Affairs Ambassador.
Appointed to numerous State and Federal Australian Government positions, Simon was a Commissioner of the Australian Heritage Commission for 5 years from 1987. As one of seven commissioners, he was responsible for identifying and advising the Australian Government on Australia’s National Estate. For 14 years from 1996 he was also a member of the Australian Government’s National Cultural Heritage Committee, which is responsible for all statutory advisory functions under the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act.
In 1985 Simon helped found the Environment Institute of Australia, the institute of practitioners whose core professional discipline is environmental management. He guided its expansion into New Zealand in 2002 when it became the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand and was the Institute’s president for 10 years to 2005. Simon had previously founded in 1978 in Victoria and led till 1983 Australia’s first environmental law association. Then in 1983, Simon became the inaugural president of the National Environmental Law Association of Australia which he led for some years.
In 1989 Simon was awarded the Australian Environmental Law Award for being a person who has “made an outstanding contribution to the development and understanding of environmental law in Australia”. In 1994 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his “services to the community in the field of conservation and the environment in particular through the National Trust” and in 1995 he was awarded the State Environment Award by the Government of Victoria in recognition of his “significant contribution to environment protection in Victoria 1970-1995″. In 2003 the Australian Government awarded him the Centenary Medal “For service to the community through heritage and the environment” and the United Nations Association of Australia awarded him the 2003 World Environment Day Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment. In 2006 Monash University awarded Simon its Distinguished Alumni Award “for outstanding professional achievement, inspirational leadership and exceptional human qualities” essentially for his commitment to the environment. In 2012 he was elevated to that of Officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to conservation and the environment, to heritage preservation at national and international levels, to the professions and natural resource sectors, and to community health organisations”.
Simon Molesworth was inaugural chairman of the Executive Committee of the International National Trusts Organisation since 2007, previously having chaired INTO’s founding Steering Committee from early 2006.
David Brown has worked for more than three decades helping people preserve the historic places of their communities. As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Brown led the development team for – and currently oversees the implementation of – the Next Trust Strategic Plan, a blueprint of the future of the National Trust. He also leads the creation of www.PreservationNation.org, the online virtual town square where people share proven tools, make connections, and get inspired to save historic places. Brown provided direct oversight and strategic direction to Campaign for America’s Historic Places, the comprehensive campaign for the future of the National Trust which raised more than $135 million against a $125 million goal from 1998-2003.
Prior to joining the National Trust in 1996, Brown served as the founding Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance of Virginia, a consortium of 150 preservation and conservation organisations representing more than 60,000 Virginians. In eight years, he forged the Alliance’s commitment to advocacy, capacity building for local organisations, and the study and promotion of preservation’s economic benefits. Under his direction, the Alliance successfully campaigned for state rehabilitation tax credits that since 1997 have spurred investment of over $300 million in more than 250 historic buildings. Brown also served as Director of Historic Staunton Foundation in Staunton, Virginia, where the organization’s downtown revitalization has been recognized with a National Trust Honor Award and a Great American Main Street Award.
Brown has edited and authored numerous publications including A Future for Virginia’s Past, the report of the Governor’s Commission to Study Historic Preservation on which he served as Chairman. A native of Tennessee, Brown was one of the first graduates of the Historic Preservation Program at Middle Tennessee State University and he has a Masters in Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Bill is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Land and Culture (B.C.) Society.
Bill Turner before retiring was the Executive Director of TLC, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia. Bill came to this role from a career in commercial real estate and business. He has also served as a member of the board of the American Friends of Canadian Land Trust, the Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia, the Pacific Coast Joint Venture, the Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture and the BC Conservation Lands Forum. Bill served as a member of the Citizens Conservation Council on Climate Action (a council that advises the government of British Columbia on issues relating to Climate Change.
Bill has assisted the Federal Minister of Environment as a member of the Ministers Roundtable on Parks Canada and on the proposal to create a National Trust for Canada. Bill is a member of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour) and in 2007 was given an honorary L.L.D. by the University of Victoria. In 2012 Bill was presented with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. He is currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees of The National Trust for Land and Culture (B.C.) which is an Associate member of INTO.
Bill has been involved with INTO since 2005 when he joined the steering committee that was tasked to create INTO.
Hui-Ting (Dora) Hsu
Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) has been an INTO full member since 2008, Hui-Ting has been active in INTO since she joined TEIA in 2012. In 2014, Hui-Ting and TEIA volunteers started to help maintain the traditional Chinese version of INTO website, she also at INTO’s request established a Facebook fan page in Chinese and works to keep this Facebook page up to date and relevant. In 2015, Hui-Ting spends the summer with INTO secretariat and receives training, this has given her a great opportunity to gain knowledge and get more involved in INTO’s work.
From January 2011 Sarah Staniforth has been Museums and Collections Director at the National Trust. She is also a director of National Trust Enterprises and Historic House Hotels. She was Historic Properties Director from 2005-2010 and Head Conservator from 2002-2004. She joined the National Trust in 1985 as Adviser on Paintings Conservation and Environmental Control. She read chemistry at Oxford University, studied paintings conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art and worked in the scientific department of the National Gallery from 1980-1985.
For many years Sarah served on the Council of IIC (International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works), initially as a Council Member then as Vice-President. She was elected President of IIC in January 2013. She is currently a Trustee of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons and the Pilgrim Trust, and a member of the Westminster Abbey Fabric Commission, the Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee, the Council of AIM (Association of Independent Museums) and Arts Council England’s Museum Accreditation Committee. Sarah chaired the steering group that developed the UK National Heritage Science Strategy from 2008-2010 and is currently chairing the Board of Trustees of the UK National Heritage Science Forum. She is a Fellow of IIC, the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society of Arts.
Sarah has written and lectured extensively on preventive conservation for collections in museums and historic houses; some of this work is recorded in the National Trust Manual of Housekeeping, which was published in 2006 with a revised edition in 2011. She has just completed a book on preventive conservation for the Getty Conservation Institute Readings in Conservation series, Historical Perspectives on Preventive Conservation that was published in April 2013. Her interests include: museums and heritage management; buildings and collections conservation; and bringing historic places to life through excellent standards of access, presentation and interpretation.
John Ducie
(An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland)
John Ducie while a student became a member of An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland in 1979 due to his realisation of the ecological cost of development. He has served the Trust in numerous roles ever since, becoming Vice Chairman in 1999 -2003, Company Director 1999-2004 and a Hon. Vice President in 2003. He has served on the Council and Board of Management from 1995 – 2008, stepping down to take up the part time post of Properties & Conservation Officer and Principal Organiser of the 13th International Conference of National Trusts at short notice due to an unexpected vacancy.
He is an advocate of a further provision in law for An Taisce, serving as Chairman of its National Trust Legislation Drafting Committee for successive terms. He became President of the European Network of National Heritage Organisations in 2006 at its General Assembly held in Dublin that was attended by representatives from 35 organisations from 17 countries. Among the conservation achievements that he is proudest of is being a founder of The Tree Council of Ireland in 1983, The Irish Garden Plant Society in 1982 and proposer of the Plastic Bag Levy in 1997, an environmental tax which resulted in a 90% reduction in the consumption of plastic bags.
A professional horticulturist, garden historian and landscape designer he has a busy private practice. He is Chairman of The Heritage Gardens and Designed Landscapes Committee for Ireland since 1999 and is a member of The Steering Committee of the government funded National Inventory of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes, now on its third phase since its inception.
Diarmid Hearns the National Trust Scotland
Prof. Luciano Mule’Stagno (Din l-Art Helwa)
Prof. Luciano Mule’Stagno
Is the vice-president of Din L-Art Helwa, (The National Trust of Malta) an NGO working in both the heritage and the environmental field. He is employed by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Malta (since 2009). Prior to that he was the CEO of Heritage Malta for 3 years. Heritage Malta is the National Agency responsible for Museums, Cultural Heritage and Conservation. Between 1991 and 2006 he was studying (Ph.D, Physics, Missouri University of Science and Technology) and then working (MEMC Electronic Materials – now SunEdison, one of the world’s largest suppliers of solar and semiconductor materials) in the United States. His last post there being that of Director of Worldwide labs with responsibility for labs in Asia, Europe and the US. He has published extensively and holds 8 patents on semiconductor/solar materials. His current research interests are in photovoltaics, wave energy and other renewable energy technologies that could be applicable to Malta. He has recently participated in a Wave-energy project called Blue Ocean Energy whose main aim was to assess the wave energy potential off the Maltese islands, and is currently leading project SolAqua which aims to develop viable floating photovoltaic structures. He is also Malta’s representative on the EU’s COST (Cooperation in Science and Technology) Materials Physics and Nanoscience domain.
Martin Scicluna Martin Scicluna is the Director General of the Today Public Policy Institute. He is a member of the Council of Europa Nostra and of the Board of the International National Trusts Organisation. He is a Vice President of Din l-Art Helwa. He was the Executive President of Din l-Art Helwa from 2001 to 2005. He is also currently the Adviser to the government of Malta on illegal immigration.
He retired to Malta in 1996 at the end of a career spent first in the British Army and then for 23 years as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence in London, serving in various policy secretariat appointments before being appointed as the Assistant Under Secretary of State for Army Personnel matters.
He was subsequently Adviser to two Prime Ministers of Malta on defence policy matters until 1999 and Malta’s Ambassador to NATO in 1996. He was educated at St Edward’s College, at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, at the Army Staff College, Camberley and at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London.
Michaela has been working for the National Trust of Slovakia for the last ten years, and, since 2008, has held the position of a director of this organisation.
In 1995 she graduated from the Faculty of Nature Sciences at the Commenius University in Bratislava. Later, she did the postgraduate course on Architectural Conservation Studies at the Academia Istropolitana Nova in Svaty Jur. She worked as the Acting Secretary General of the European Network of National Heritage Organisations for many years, and during that time was involved mainly in the organisation of European Exchange Programmes for heritage practitioners in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Ireland and Northern Ireland. She was a member of the Steering Group of Interpret Europe – the European network of heritage interpreters. In Slovakia she is a deputy of heritage non-governmental organisation in the Slovak Government Council for NGOs.
Her professional interests are cultural policies of European countries, cultural landscapes, management of historical parks and gardens, environmental interpretation and education, cultural tourism and organisational development of heritage NGOs.
Dr. Cho was nominated for the INTO Executive Committee on behalf of the National Trust of Korea. I will do my best to perform my role and duty to run the INTO as an initiator of the globalization of national trust movements. In addition, I would like to concentrate part of my capacity on promoting exchange and cooperation among national trust organizations in Asia.
Robin Yarrow is a Fiji national and has a degree in veterinary science from Sydney University. A retired career civil servant, he has lived in Fiji all his life apart from undertaking degree study overseas and two Foreign Service postings.
He served as Permanent Secretary in four Ministries over a 30 year career, including Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, National Planning and Tourism, before retiring in 1999.
In addition, has served on many Boards and is currently a Board member of the Fiji Reserve Bank and the National Trust of Fiji. Is a Trustee of Fiji’s only NGO dedicated to natural heritage protection, NatureFiji. Is also involved in community activities and serves on the Fiji Red Cross National Council, Neighbourhood Watch and the Fiji SPCA.
Awarded the Fiji Civil Service Medal and also presented the Order of Agricultural Merit by the French Government.
Terry Levinthal
Terry Levinthal is the Director of Conservation for the National Trust for Scotland. He is a member of the Trust’s Senior Management Team with responsibility for multi-disciplinary professional teams in an environment spanning cultural, natural and material culture conservation.
He has worked in the heritage and environmental sector for over 28 years, including NGOs and National Park Authorities.
Terry is a strategic thinker with experience of change management in heritage organisations. He has experience in forming and influencing policy on a national level. As a Conservation professional, he has a strong commitment to environmental quality and sustainable development.
Simone Mizzi
Simone Mizzi has worked as a volunteer in the field of heritage and environmental conservation from an early age, and in particular with Din l-Art Helwa (The National Trust of Malta) which was founded by her father in 1965. Simone also worked in business, first in the hotel and tourism sector in Malta and Italy, and then to establish two British franchises for The Body Shop and Monsoon Accessorize brands in the same two countries. During this period she was personally involved in the restoration and conversion for retail of many listed buildings in historic town centres working within the strict confines of conservation legislation. In 2000 she became Communication Officer for Din l-Art Helwa helping to raise awareness through the media whilst calling on experience gained during many public campaigns carried out with The Body Shop to establish sustainability in business, the reduction of energy and waste, and the promotion and protection of natural spaces and their biodiversity.
During the years spent in Italy, Simone was heavily involved supporting two of the most economically depressed and socially emarginated Italian communities in Reggio Calabria and Naples’ Cilento regions to revitalise the trade of two of their specialised regional products for The Body Shop, namely that of bergamot essential oil and of organic olive oil, two regeneration programmes that brought sustainability to many farming families in the areas.
Between August 2002 and July 2008 Simone served as Deputy Chairperson of Heritage Malta, tasked with evolving Malta’s old Museums Department into the new State Agency responsible for the modern management of Malta’s national heritage sites, its World Heritage monuments and their museums as well as the assimilation of their curatorial and restoration personnel within the new entity.
Simone was elected Executive President of Din l-Art Helwa, Malta’s National Trust in 2011 heading its Executive team as well as the organisation’s force of some 150 volunteers. This voluntary organisation continues to spearhead the conservation of Malta’s built and natural heritage saving 40 national monuments and holding 17 of them in trust from the State or Church. During her role in office Simone was responsible for lobbying with government for the renewal of the organisation’s Guardianship Deeds and for the acquisition in trust of two additional important heritage sites, that of the prestigious first Church of Valletta, Our Lady of Victory, and of the Wied iz- Zurrieq coastal watch tower, both of which necessitated the sourcing of huge independent funds from the private sector for their restoration. Currently the organisation is heavily involved in lobbying for the preservation of Malta’s dwindling natural spaces and the scheduling of the island’s cultural landscapes.
Since 2011, Simone is a member of Malta’s Committee of Guarantee, the national cultural heritage watchdog advising the Ministry of Culture and since 2012 she has sat on the boards of the HSBC Malta Foundation, and the Malta International Airport Foundation, two companies with corporate social responsibility programmes in the environmental and cultural fields.
In 2012 Simone was elected to serve on the Council of Europa Nostra and since 2013 has been a member of the Jury for the Europa Nostra/European Union Award for Dedicated Service to Cultural Heritage.
In September 2015 Simone was elected to serve on the Executive Board of the International National Trusts Organisation.
Bishnu Tulsie, Saint Lucia National Trust
Bishnu Tulsie
A Guyanese by birth, Mr. Bishnu Tulsie started his professional career as a Mathematics and Science teacher in his home country, moved to Saint Lucia in 1980 to teach at the Castries Comprehensive School, which he left as the school’s vice principal in 1990 to join the public service as an Energy, Science and Technology Officer. From 1997 he headed the Government of Saint Lucia’s Environment and Sustainable Development portfolio. He joined the Saint Lucia National Trust as Director in 2004.
In addition to his substantive posts, he has worked as a consultant for the United Nations bodies, the Government of Canada, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, to which he is an Associate and the European Commission on sustainable development and environmental projects, mainly in CARICOM Member States. He represented Saint Lucia as head of delegation to a number of Multilateral Environmental Conventions and Agreements. He was a lead author to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change in producing the Special Report on Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System. Mr. Tulsie served on a number of national and international commissions and bodies with mandates covering international donor financing, promotion of Science and Technology, sustainable development and heritage conservation.