Trustees
Rev Louise Ellis
Chair of the Trust Board
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Louise has a degree in Theology and Applied Social Sciences and an MTH in Pastoral Theology. She is currently Vicar of Lilliput and an Assistant Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Salisbury as well as being a Bishop’s Advisor on National selection panels.
Louise moved to Lilliput in 2017 having previously served as a governor for the primary school in her previous parish. On arriving in Lilliput she first became Foundation governor at Lilliput Infant School before moving on to the Trust board of one of the founding Trusts in July 2019. Louise has continued her Trustee role within Coastal Learning Partnership.
Martin Copsey
Vice Chair of the Trust Board
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Martin is now semi-retired having been a Senior Civil Servant working in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service(HMPPS).
After graduating, he completed an MA in Social Work at the University of Nottingham and qualified as a Probation Officer. After holding a range of operational and management posts he was appointed as Chief Probation Officer to the then Dorset Probation Area in 2005.
He went on to hold a variety of national posts in the Prison and Probation Service Agency, working in and leading a variety of reform and change programmes for the organisation. On retiring from HMPPS, he was appointed as a non -executive director for London and Thames Valley Community Rehabilitation Companies.
He has previously worked in a variety of related fields as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Probation and as a lecturer in Probation and Social Work at the University of Hull.
He has advised a number of other jurisdictions on establishing and running their own probation service.
He and his family now live in Poole.
Brendan McCarthy
Chair of Resources
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With expertise accumulated over a 25-year career at an international law firm in the City of London, Brendan brings to the Trust a wealth of experience in property and insurance law, risk and incident management as well as legal and contractual issues. As a partner, Brendan has fulfilled a number of management roles relating to compliance, accountability and strategy. Brendan was a Trustee from one of the original founding Trusts and will continue his role as a Trustee within Coastal Learning Partnership.
Brendan Mullany
Chair of the Achievement Committee
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Brendan is a retired business consulting professional. Brendan was Partner/Vice President in a global Professional Services Firms (1984-2006). Brendan brings 12 years’ governor experience including role as Chair. (2006-present), 9 years’ experience as Chair of Dorset Schools' Forum and member of Dorset Strategic Alliance for Children and Young people. (2009-2019). Brendan is also Member of Interim Executive Board for Sherborne Learning Centre (2018-present).
Brendan was a Trustee from one of the original founding Trusts and will continue his role as a Trustee within Coastal Learning Partnership.
Sue Bowen
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Sue worked as a journalist for 15 years, writing and editing newspapers in Warwickshire and Hampshire. Specialising in crime and court reporting, Sue was recruited by the Home Office in the 1990s to work as the Senior Information Officer inside the press office at Scotland Yard. This role involved advising senior leaders in the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office and working alongside national newspapers, radio and television news stations. Sue was involved in national anti-stalking, domestic violence and terrorism awareness campaigns.
Sue’s parents were both headteachers and in 2001 She left journalism and retrained to become a teacher, following the family tradition. Sue started her teaching career in Portsmouth and worked at various schools in the city before becoming a church school headteacher in East Hampshire. In 2016 Sue joined the Portsmouth and Winchester Diocesan Education Team as a Schools Advisor. Her role is to help support the 160 church school across both dioceses, running courses and staff training on leadership, vision, Christian ethos, worship and Religious Education. Sue also support schools with headteacher recruitment. She is a church school inspector and sits on the Isle of Wight Schools Forum, Hampshire and Portsmouth SACRE and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Learning Partnership. Sue has spent time working in Rwanda developing mutual learning opportunities for school leaders in the country and headteachers in the Winchester Diocese.
Michael Crane
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Michael has over 25 years' experience working in financial services, 15 of which have been managing large complex change and transformation initiatives crossing insurance and Healthcare industries with investment running into multi millions. A keen runner, triathlete, illustrator and cook Michael spends most of his time with his young family and volunteering with a local youth sailing group.
Kat Hearn
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Kat is a Senior Lecturer at a London based university, lecturing, and researching in Accounting and Finance. She is an active researcher in educational pedagogy, holds a PGCE teaching qualification and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. Prior to her move into Higher Education 10 years ago, Kat trained as a Chartered Accountant within the Assurance department of a Big 4 London firm. She had several large FTSE clients and specialised in accounting for the oil and gas industry. Having seconded to her firm’s technical accounting and internal training team, she discovered a passion for learning and teaching and decided to make the move into education.
Paul Howieson
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Paul is an experienced school leader with over twenty years working in senior leadership and advisory posts. Paul was Headteacher of Baden-Powell and St. Peter’s CE Junior School for five years before then becoming the CEO of one of Coastal’s original ‘founding’ trusts, Harbourside Learning Partnership. Paul become the CEO of Coastal Learning Partnership from its opening on 1st March 2020.
Les Lane
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Les is currently working in Facilities management for BCP Council, having previously been the Facilities Manager for a semi national Housing Association for 24 years. Prior to this he was in a property management for the DHSS (now DWP). Currently he is working on ensuring compliance with H&S particularly in the areas of Control of Asbestos and Water Hygiene. Whilst working as the Facilities Manager he was responsible for the setting and monitoring of annual budgets across multiple sites and cost centres. His interest in education comes from having served a Governor at 2 Poole schools and having a daughter who is a teacher. He believes that every young person deserves the best chance to become the best they can be, and that every mistake is an opportunity to learn.
Jo Levasier
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Jo is the Vicar of Swanage & Purbeck Deanery Schools Missioner (from July 2023) having moved from 20 years as a youth and children’s minister and then priest in the Diocese of Guildford. She has experience in a wide variety of schools and churches over the last 25 years and was a Chair of Governors for a preschool in her previous role. She has a degree in natural sciences, a diploma of theology and a great love of young people.
Martin Tiffin
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Martin has spent 45 years in the construction, development and infrastructure arena as a Chartered Civil Engineer and Lawyer and worked on the delivery £15 billion of projects in that time both on the UK and internationally. Martin has advised numerous public bodies both here in the UK and Australia on inward investment and regeneration. Martin's outside interests include his family and various sporting activities ranging from team sports to windsurfing, mountain biking, triathlons and sea swimming.
Rod Woodford
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After graduating, Rod worked for Rio Tinto for 7 years as a production manager before opting out and travelling with an English language teaching qualification. He loved teaching and spent many years in East Asia, mainly Japan, where he worked for ANA airlines in Tokyo. He joined the British Council and from their centre in Kyoto he managed the English teaching operations. He then moved to Milan for 3 years, and managing the examinations, English language and arts activities across the north of Italy before relocating back to the British Council’s London office. He held several senior positions, including: Director of British Council Teaching Operations for East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and finally Europe and the Americas. He had a team of over 2,000 teachers working in more than 70 teaching centres across 23 countries and was responsible for the overall management, financial performance, investment, and expansion of these operations. Rod has now retired and enjoys a variety of outdoor sports and activities when he is not struggling with DIY.