Press Releases

Mrs Elisabeth Elias, President of Amgueddfa Cymru, said:

‘’I very much welcome these appointments and greatly look forward to working with Professor Robert Pickard and Dr Glenda Jones when they take up their positions as Trustees next June. Professor Pickard and Dr Jones will bring new and wide-ranging experience with them.’’

Professor Robert Pickard is Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Cardiff, Visiting Professor at the Royal Agricultural College and a Fellow of the Society of Biology and the Royal Society of Medicine. Formerly, he was Chairman of the NGO Forum for the Royal Society for Public Health and the UK Department of Health, Chairman of the UK Consumers' Association, Which?, Director-General of the British Nutrition Foundation and Chairman of the UK Government’s Foresight Task Force, Food's Contribution to Health in the Future. He has also served on the Welsh Ministerial Task Group, Food and Fitness for Children and Young People, the Expert Panel for School Meal Guidelines at the Caroline Walker Trust and the EuroFIR Council. Professor Pickard provides scientific advice for the communications media and a wide range of institutions, reports to the UK Minister for Energy in Westminster and the Ministers for the Environment in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and is an Independent Adviser to the Welsh Assembly Commission. He is also an international authority on the biology of honeybees and President of the Cardiff Beekeepers’ Association and the Central Association of Beekeepers.

Dr Glenda Jones is a graduate of Welsh literature from UCW Aberystwyth. She went on to study Medieval Welsh at Aberystwyth and for a period at St John’s College Cambridge gaining her PhD in 1991. Having worked in broadcasting for over 20 years she spent 15 years working for the BBC in Cardiff in their Television Production Department, starting as a television researcher, and then 10 years as Executive Producer for the Corporation, being responsible for its flagship daily drama series Pobol y Cwm. In 2000 she ventured into the freelance media and communications market and worked on a variety of production projects within the independent sector supplying material for S4C. Over the past 8 years she has spent an increasing amount of her time working in the field of training and facilitation for both public and private sector clients. Dr Jones is an Estyn lay inspector and was appointed member of the S4C Authority in April 2010.

Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales. These are National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, the National Roman Legionary Museum, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum and the National Waterfront Museum. Entry to each Museum is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Government.

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For more information, please contact Catrin Mears, Corporate Communications Officer on 029 2057 3185 / 07920 027067 or email catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk.

Notes to editors

Appointment process

Members of the Board are not paid, but are reimbursed for reasonable travel and subsistence costs. Four Board meetings are held annually and Trustees are also expected to serve on sub committees.

The National Museum of Wales was established by Royal Charter in 1907, and continues to be registered as a legal entity and charity under this name. As an independent registered charity, core funding is received through grant-in-aid from the Welsh Government as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body.

The Museum’s core objective is ‘the advancement of the education of the public’ by developing, caring for, studying and sustaining access to the collections for the benefit of society in perpetuity. The Charter states that this is to be achieved ‘primarily by the complete illustration of the geology, mineralogy, zoology, botany, ethnography, archaeology, art, history and special industries of Wales by the collection, conservation, elucidation, presentation and publication of all such objects and things’.

Under the 2006 supplementary Charter, the Museum has 16 Trustees. The Welsh Ministers appoint nine Trustees, including the President and the Vice President. The Museum’s Board of Trustees appoint seven Trustees including the Treasurer. The Welsh Government and Museum work in consultation with each other when making all appointments.

The appointment made by the Minister of the Vice President has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published.