Our Trustees

As a registered charity, YFA is governed by a board of trustees. Our board members have various backgrounds, in areas that include media, arts, business, and law; they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Archive.

• Colin Philpott: Chair

  Colin Philpott is Chief Executive of Bradford Breakthrough, a networking and lobbying group representing major private sector companies and public sector organisations in Bradford. The group provides information exchange and networking opportunities and undertakes lobbying and campaigning to help the development of the Bradford District.

  He combines this role with other work under his newly formed business, "Colin Philpott Media", which includes writing and broadcasting, media and management consultancy as well as chairing, facilitating and lecturing.

  Colin is also a lay member of the board of the Bradford District Clinical Commissioning Group - part of the new NHS structure - and is a member of the Bradford City of Film Board, which is leading the delivery of Bradford's vision as the world's first UNESCO City of Film. He sits on the Bradford Community Safety Partnership.

  From April 2004 to April 2012, Colin was Director of the National Media Museum – formerly the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television – in Bradford, where his achievements included redrawing the scope of the Museum to embrace a wider media remit and opening three major new galleries about television, computer games and the world's first museum gallery about the impact of the internet.

  Until 2004 Colin worked for the BBC for 24 years as a reporter, producer, documentary maker and editorial manager. His last job in the BBC was as Head of BBC Yorkshire where he led a number of strategic developments including the setting up of a new BBC regional operation in Hull. He won a number of Sony Radio and Royal Television Society Awards.

• Mike Pye

  Mike Pye was a member of Sheffield City Council for 26 years until he stood down in 2010. Most of which time he was involved in the Arts, Museums, Sport, and the Cultural Industries Sectors as the Lead Member.

  He has been involved in the theatres in Sheffield for over 20 years having been the Chair of the Crucible Theatre and Sheffield Theatres Trust in the past. He is still a Director of the Lyceum Theatre Trust. In addition, he is an independent Director of a number of other arts/museums related organisations in the local and regional area.

  He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is the Deputy Chairman and Honorary Treasurer of the Yorkshire Regional Committee.

  His interests include reading and walking. His sporting interests are definitely non-participative but he enjoys watching sporting events such as athletics and rugby football.

• Michael Harvey

  Michael Harvey is Curator of Cinematography at the National Media Museum, Bradford. He is responsible for its Cinematography collection. Michael has curated numerous exhibitions, including Magic Behind the Screen: 100 Years of British Cinema (1996) Bond, James Bond (2002), which toured to major venues in the USA and Canada, Myths and Visions: The Art of Ray Harryhausen (2006), Live by the Lens, Die by the Lens: Film Stars and Photographers (2008) and Drawings That Move: The Art of Joanna Quinn (2009), as well as the Museum’s permanent animation gallery.

  He is currently coordinating the acquisition of the celebrated special effects animator Ray Harryhausen’s collection, conducting research into early colour film and contributing to various exhibition projects.

  Prior to joining the Museum, Michael was a professional photographer, documentary film-maker and educational television programme director.

• Nigel Triffitt

  Currently employed as a Management Accountant at York St John University, Nigel’s role involves working with the senior managers and budget holders at the University to assist decision support and financial planning.  He started with York St John in 1996 and during the previous ten years gained his financial experience in two other major sectors, nationalised industry working for British Rail and in the private sector working for a financial leasing company.

  Early on in his role at the University, he started to work with the Yorkshire Film Archive providing financial advice and guidance including help with budget setting and management accounts in addition to supporting the application of funding bids.  In May 2000 he became a Trustee of the Yorkshire Film Archive.

• Terence Suthers

  Terry Suthers has followed a distinguished career in museums and the built heritage. He recently retired as Director and Chief Executive of the Harewood House Trust. Under his stewardship from 1992-2007 Harewood won several awards for tourism, the arts and education.

  Previously he was Assistant Director and Head of Public Services at the Science Museum, London and before that Director of the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens in York. Trained initially as a conservator and archaeologist in 1980 Suthers won a Churchill Fellowship to study conservation techniques in Italy and North Africa.

  From 1996 to 2001 he was a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Expert Panel for Museums, Libraries and Archives and until 2005 Vice Chair of Yorkshire Museums Council. He is currently Chair of the York Archaeological Trust and serves as a Trustee of the York Museum Trust, Thackray Medical Museum, Leeds and is a member of York Minster’s Fabric Advisory Committee.

  Terry is a Fellow of the Museums Association and in January 2005 he was made a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of West Yorkshire.

• Dr Luke McKernan

  Luke McKernan is Lead Curator, Moving Image at the British Library. He is leading the development of moving images as the resource for British Library users, and has been instrumental in producing moving image and audio-visual strategies for the Library. Previously he was Head of Information at the British Universities Film & Video Council, during which time he served as Chair of the Film Archive Forum, the representative body for the UK's public sector moving image archives. Luke is a film historian with expertise in early and non-fiction film, while having a strong interest in new media developments.

• Professor Cliff Hardcastle

  Professor Hardcastle is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Business Engagement) at Teesside University, where he is responsible for leading the development of the University’s research strategy. He also directs enterprise and knowledge transfer work using the University’s skills and expertise in support of business and industry. He leads work on DigitalCity, the major regional regeneration project, and is also responsible for the University’s strategies on higher level skills (workforce development).

• Mark Dobson

Mark Dobson has been Chief Executive of Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle since 2000 and has led the cinema through an unprecedented period of growth and regeneration, including creating the vision, raising the funds and managing the delivery of its award-winning £7m extension and restoration completed in May 2008.  

He is co-founder and current chair of Audio Visual Arts North East, the company which creates the bi-annual AV Festival, now established as one of the UK’s largest contemporary arts festivals. 

He was part of the steering group that established the Regional Screen Agency (NFM) in the North East, was founding chair of Audiences North East, the region’s audience development agency and is a founder member of the Cinema Arts Network company. He is audience development champion for Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues, the consortium of the ten major building based cultural organisations in the city and currently serves as NGCV’s vice chair.

• Don Stewart

Don spent the early years of his working life in London working for the Department of Trade on Civil Aviation regulation issues before moving on to Overseas Trade in Eastern Europe, North Africa and China. He also worked on Consumer Protection, Complaints about the Health Service and Industrial Privatisation.

Taking a rest from the front line, he trained as a lecturer and did a couple years in staff training before moving out of London to work directly with the private sector delivering business support in Leeds. From there he moved on to a spell with the Manpower Services Commission working with the Construction Industry and then on to work with services for young people.

By now in Manchester, he ran European Development Fund programmes in Lancashire and Cumbria before heading back to Leeds to run the Single Regeneration Budget in Yorkshire. He was in at the birth of Yorkshire Forward and spent ten years there as Director of Economic Inclusion and later as Director of Strategy. He ran the major events programme with highlights such as The Bollywood Awards and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and also led the work to create what became Welcome to Yorkshire.

He spent two years with Welcome to Yorkshire before leaving to form his own business. You Must Be Wondering Ltd. 

He now splits his time between You Must Be Wondering and non-executive work for Yorkshire and North East Film Archives, Yorkshire Lawn Tennis Association and Heaton Tennis and Squash Club