Our Trustees
Chair of KBACT – Adrian Leather is the CEO of Active Lancashire, a charity that works in partnership to enable physical activity and sporting lifestyles, particularly in underrepresented communities. He has served in various leadership roles within the Charity, Health and Non-Profit sectors and until recently was a member of the Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust Board. Adrian is passionate about culture, heritage and the arts, as well as the transformational impact of cultural activities on health and wellbeing. (KBACT Board)
Abbie Lawson is a historical costumier and actor who has come up through the Brewery’s Youth Arts program. She lives in Tebay and is passionate about inspiring and supporting young and emerging artists in the South Lakes and Cumbria. She is involved in the Folded Zine network and is studying for a DipHE in Arts and Cultural Leadership with the University of Cumbria. (KBACTL Board)
David Stevens is an experienced chartered accountant. Having spent most of his career in start-up businesses and digital technology, Dave moved into the charity sector in 2014 and ended his career as Chief Executive of a dementia care charity. He retired and relocated back to Kendal in 2017. Dave has been a supporter of The Brewery for over 30 years and his interests cover most of the activities of the centre, particularly cinema, music, theatre, and visual arts. Dave is also a trustee of South Lakeland Hydrotherapy in Kendal and a governor of The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster. (KBACT Board, KCC Board, Finance Sub Committee (Chair), Audit & Risk Committee, Remuneration Committee)
Sam Hunt lives in Kendal and is the Co-Director of ‘Everyone Here’ (The Creative People & Places Project for West Cumbria) and Chief Creative Officer for new Immersive Tech venture AIX Live. He previously worked as Programme Director for UNBOXED, a UK-wide festival project celebrating cross-sector creativity. Prior to that he was Creative Director of London’s first ‘Borough of Culture’ Waltham Forest 2019, a flagship cultural initiative from The Mayor of London, and Executive Producer at Hull 2017 UK City of Culture. In his spare time, he founded Aerial, a new festival of sounds and words that takes place in the South Lakes. (KBACT Board)
Annie Emery is the CEO of Manchester Action on Street Health, which supports women who are sex working and facing multiple disadvantage. Annie has had senior roles in the voluntary sector for 15+ years, including 11 years at The LGBT Foundation in Manchester, where she pioneered new services and support for lesbian, bisexual and trans women. Prior to this, Annie worked in Theatre, including production roles at Birmingham Rep and Theatre by the Lake. In her spare time Annie and her partner Rachel get out and about in the Lakes and are attempting to conquer the Wainwrights with their two young children. (KBACT Board)
Charlie Pattinson is a multi-award winning Producer and Executive Producer and Co-Founder / Non-Executive Chair of New Pictures. Prior to this, he co-founded Company Pictures, one of the UK’s largest Independent TV and Film Drama production companies. Charlie’s Producer and Exec Producer credits include Skins, Shameless, Our Friends in the North, The Missing, Wild at Heart, Elizabeth 1, The Lakes and numerous other BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe winning productions. (KBACT Board)
Gareth Bullock is a professional musician who has toured internationally with a number of bands and is the bass player in the band Clean Cut Kid. He graduated from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts with a BA in Music in 2009 and studied at Kendal College before that. Gareth is also Senior Project Manager for an international digital experience and technology agency and has supported organisational transformation for high profile brands. (KBACT Board)
John Hyland has spent 30+ years as a multimedia Journalist and Manager at Sky News, Sky Entertainment, News Corporation and the BBC. In 2017 he joined Reuters, and is currently Global Editor for digital video, with responsibility for production and distribution to Reuters’ own platforms, and to its many agency clients. Prior to his career in journalism, John volunteered on music shows on BBC radio and toured with a student theatre company. He is passionate about the arts as well as supporting emerging talent, and splits his time between Kendal and London. (KBACT Board)
Kerrie Walsh is the Founder & Creative Director of Altitude Creative, a Kendal based creative and brand business working with companies such as Ultra Events, The Climbing Hangar, Retrospect Energy and Kendal Mountain Festival. Kerrie is also the Founder of Wheel + Rock. She volunteers for several social impact charities and is interested in the benefits of the outdoors on mental health. Kerrie relocated to Kendal with her family in 2018. (KBACT Board, and KCC Board from September 2024)
Paul Dale is Executive Board Member / Chief Technology and Product Officer of the British Board of Film Classification. He is a Creative, Media and Marketing Technologist with 20+ years management and executive board experience at some of the world’s largest creative arts, public service and media organisations, including ITV, Sky and BBC. Paul originates from Workington and returned to live in Cumbria in 2024. (KBACT Board, and KCC Board Chair from September 2024)
