Board of Trustees
The RPS has a Board of Trustees, also known as Council, comprising five elected Trustees (including the President) and four appointed Trustees (including the Honorary Treasurer). The Board of nine Trustees is chaired by the President and is responsible for governance and for ensuring that the RPS fulfils its charitable object of public benefit and the promotion of the highest standards of achievement in photography. On a more practical level, the Board supports the Senior Leadership Team, the staff and the volunteers, in the delivery of the RPS strategic plan.
If you are interested in finding out more about the role of a Trustee please get in touch.
For further information on RPS governance, please click here.
To find out more about our equality, diversity and inclusion work, and the RPS Critical Friends, click here.
Simon Hill HonFRPS
President and Chair of Trustees
Simon has been taking photographs since he was three years old and joined the RPS while still at school. As a schoolboy, in 1982 he gained his LRPS and the following year his ARPS. He went on to gain an HND in professional photography from Blackpool College of Art, followed by a BA from UCA (via the Open College of the Arts) and an MA from St Martins School of Art, London. In 1991, shortly after beginning in practice as a professional editorial photographer, he was awarded his FRPS in the ‘Applied' category. Exactly forty years after joining the RPS and thirty years after gaining his FRPS, Simon became the 72nd President of the RPS and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS). Simon is a Membre de l’Excellence of the Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (EFIAP).
With over 30 years experience as a professional photographer, Simon's work has been published in National Geographic Magazine, The Observer, The Sunday Times and many UK and European newspapers and journals. He is the first British winner of the Longford International Art Portrait Award, a former Kodak ‘Showcase’ Professional Photographer of the Year and, in 2019, was named BIPP Professional Photographer of the Year. In addition to his photographic work, as Managing Director and Lead Designer of VIDAR Media Group, Simon designs museum and gallery exhibitions for domestic and international clients. He has won many awards for his design projects including Best New Museum, the HLF Arts and Heritage Renaissance Award, RHS Bronze and Silver medals, European Attraction of the Year and Best Global Attraction of the Year.
Having over 25 years experience as a Charity or NFP Trustee, including three years as Trustee of the Open College of the Arts (an RPS partner organisation), Simon brings an essential and broad range of skills to the RPS Board of Trustees, not least his extensive commercial experience. Simon has held directorships on the board of over a dozen UK and European companies, including Chairman of one of Scandinavia’s leading cultural heritage design companies. In 1994 he gained the Institute of Directors Diploma in Company Direction and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. In 1996, he became a Qualified Member of the Chartered Society of Designers; in 2006, he qualified as a Chartered Marketer and was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Simon remains an active Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and of the Royal Geographical Society, through which he is developing reciprocal benefits for the RPS.
The President writes a Voicebox feature in the RPS Journal.
Charlotte Fraiberg
Honorary Treasurer
Charlotte serves as Chief Financial Officer of an international non-profit dedicated to improving health systems and advancing sustainable development. In her role, she oversees finance operations and strategy, supporting the organisation’s mission to improve healthcare access, address critical global issues, and foster fair and inclusive development.
Before transitioning to the non-profit sector, Charlotte spent over a decade in Investment Banking, where she led Structured Rates trading in London and New York. Alongside her professional career, she championed sustainability efforts through volunteering, setting up non-profit partnerships and employee engagement initiatives to drive awareness and action on sustainability issues. Her passion for environmental and social causes also led her to co-lead a sailing expedition to the Arctic, raising awareness about food waste and climate change.
An enthusiastic volunteer, Charlotte has served on the boards of various non-profits, including as Board Chair of Girl Be Heard, where she supported the amplification of young women’s voices through arts and storytelling. A passionate wildlife and documentary photographer, she has travelled across all seven continents, using her photography to raise awareness of social and environmental issues. As Treasurer of the Royal Photographic Society, Charlotte brings her financial expertise and artistic passion to support the Society’s mission, driven by a commitment to making a meaningful impact in every role she undertakes.
Carolyn Bloore ARPS
Elected Trustee
Carolyn has been involved with the RPS since 1976 - when she first volunteered with the collection and ultimately opened it to approved researchers. She joined the Museum Working Party, gained her ARPS and edited the Historical Group Newsletter from 1979 to 1982. A Museum Methods internship at George Eastman House, Rochester NY in 1977 introduced her to accessioning, cataloguing (to mainframe computer) and conservation.
Back in Britain between 1978 and 1986 she curated Hugh Welch Diamond: Doctor, Antiquarian and Photographer, worked on notable travelling exhibitions Photography 1900-1920, Hayward Gallery and other UK galleries, The Golden Age of British Photography 1839-1900, V&A, Philadelphia Museum of Art and other US locations and curated A Vision Exchanged with Grace Seiberling, GEH, V&A and NMFPT and wrote for the accompanying publications. Useful material relating to the early years of the RPS was published in Seibering with Bloore: Amateurs, Photography and the Mid-Victorian Imagination, 1986 and in her PhD thesis: Photography and Printmaking 1840-1860.
Mid-career, a need for different working hours led to part-time lecturing, education in inner city schools and, ultimately a senior teaching and management role as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator. Moving on to a local museum, Carolyn gained useful experience in funding programmes and curating a series of exhibitions on a small budget, notably From Canvas to Camera: George Hilditch 1803-1857 and Britflicks on Thames.
Carolyn returned to the V&A to manage a formal learning programme with a wide remit - from international, graduate and undergraduate courses to an award-winning schools programme, developing and funding ten year programmes for SEND and Hospital Schools, building a learning collection and continuing to curate exhibitions - one of which was Julia Margaret Cameron: Photographs of Children. She maintained photographically related interests, especially a University of Texas (Austin) post-doctoral fellowship researching in the Gernsheim Collection (concurrently with the V&A) and writing biographies for the updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the Nineteenth Century Encyclopaedia of British Photography. At the RPS she had begun working on The PhotoHistorian, becoming Editor in 2002, a role she was to continue for 12 years, she was also Chair of the group for 3 years from 2007.
Moving into retirement, Carolyn continues to interact with the photographic community and speak to museum audiences.
Sebah Chaudhry
Elected Trustee
Sebah is a freelance creative producer and curator, experienced in working on international festivals, projects and events. She is co-founder and co-director of ReFramed, a photographic based visual arts network based in the Midlands, supporting the community and artists who are Black, Asian, or from other ethnic minorities. She is Director at BCVA, where her focus is to work with the South Asian Community. She is currently Project Coordinator of ‘Picturing England’s High Streets’, a Historic England funded project managed by Photoworks. She is also Creative Producer on ‘Peer To Peer UK/HK’, a digital exchange programme managed by Open Eye Gallery and the University of Salford.
Sebah was Creative Producer on the international British Council funded project with Ffotogallery, ‘The Place I Call Home’, connecting the UK to the Gulf region, culminating in 10 exhibitions in seven countries.
From 2013-2017, Sebah was Coordinator at FORMAT, the UK’s largest contemporary photography festival. She continues as a freelancer for FORMAT, organising the UK’s largest annual portfolio review. She also manages the Belfast Photo Festival Portfolio Review.
Sebah reviews portfolios internationally and mentors artists. She was on the selection panel for the RPS IPE 163 Open Call and the BJP Portrait of Britain 2021. She is also the Curator for AIS Open 2022, an online exhibition and exhibition as part of Beta X in Leicester. Currently UK editor for thephotoexhibitionarchive.com (Berlin), Steering Group member for FORMAT Festival (Derby) and a Board Member of Redeye Photography Network (Manchester).
Andrew Clifforth
Appointed Trustee
Andrew has over three decades of experience as an engineer through to director, CEO, non-executive director and now investor in the consumer products and services sector. His career has been defined by innovation, proven marketing and sales, strategic leadership, business growth and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
Throughout his professional journey, Andrew has been deeply involved in the consumer electronics industry, spanning telecommunications, automotive, computer products, IPTV, digital audio, imaging and more.
Andrew’s entrepreneurial spirit has driven him to establish and grow multiple international businesses in the high-tech consumer electronics field since 2003.
As a non-executive board director, Andrew has contributed his expertise to support the growth of companies pioneering cutting-edge technologies, including 360-degree imaging and date collection, applicable in system such as Google Streetview.
A passion for photography has been a constant background force for Andrew from his childhood film cameras to his current endeavours in digitising analogue images in the modern era. Combined with a love for travel, Andrew can often be found in far-away countries, equally comfortable with either a Nikon or a Holga in his hand.
Andrew’s lockdown project has been the creation of the "Essential Film Holder" business which continues to grow rapidly even in mature, long-established markets. With around 50,000 packs shipped, to date, since Feb-2022 to some 95 countries, the Essential Film Holder has become the ‘defacto’ product in its category of home digitisation and achieved the coveted 5-star rating from Amateur Photographer and is an established fixture the “Best Buy” listings or many magazines on- and off-line.
Sophie Collins LRPS
Appointed Trustee
Sophie is an experienced marketer with international experience spanning over two decades; working agency-side across Global clients including IBM, Cisco, Apple, GSK, Unilever, American Express, Sony, and British Airways. She has led integrated global marketing strategies, managing large teams and significant budgets, and specialises in digital marketing transformation, and combining brand awareness and performance activity to meet ambitious business growth.
Sophie has been Chief Marketing Officer at MPB for the past 4 years as part of the exec team driving 5x business growth in that time. The marketing challenge at MPB has been through the funnel, from raising brand awareness in international markets, to improving customer loyalty and lifetime value in the UK, to establishing and communicating the sustainability strategy.
Prior to MPB, Sophie was VP of Performance Marketing at DAZN - a global leader in sport streaming - responsible for driving subscriber growth and loyalty. Sophie was a founder member of the marketing team, and developed and delivered the global marketing strategy from launch through to over 1.2 million subscribers in the first 3 years.
As Managing Director, North America at Ogilvy, Sophie was seconded to IBM to lead the digital marketing transformation team within IBM Studio. This encompassed designing and delivering the tech and data infrastructure for CRM and media delivery, along with the people strategy and governance to deliver against IBM’s $200M+ marketing budget effectively and efficiently.
Sophie has been a keen photographer since the age of 13, studying in the UK and in New York, at the International Centre for Photography. She joined the RPS in 2020 and gained her LRPS distinction in 2021. Sophie is passionate about supporting diverse representation in photography and videography, often speaking on the topic and supporting numerous projects to improve access to visual storytelling for everyone.
Victoria Forrest
Elected Trustee
Victoria Forrest is a graphic designer known for her refined approach to publishing, combining traditional book arts with contemporary technology. She has worked with renowned photographers, artists, and cultural institutions on a range of distinguished projects, from photographic monographs to immersive publications.
A graduate of the Royal College of Art with a specialization in large-format photography, Victoria’s early experience in the darkroom inspired her commitment to sustainable lithographic techniques and high-quality print. Her research, supported by UKRI, explores how digital enhancements can enhance the tactility of print, including wider audiences in visual storytelling.
As the founder of VIKA Books, Victoria blends fine art production with interactive media. Her patented Connected Books combine sign language and multimedia with traditional print, showcasing her commitment to inclusive design. Her work has received recognition from InnovateUK, CreativeUK, and D&AD, earning awards such as Women in Innovation, TechWomen100, and Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for Creative Industries.
Featured by the BBC, The Bookseller, and the BJP, Victoria is driven by a belief in the power of design to connect people and open up new ways for everyone to enjoy the visual arts.
Melissa Magnuson ARPS
Appointed Trustee
Melissa Magnuson is an accomplished entrepreneur and creative leader who has significantly impacted the hospitality industry and the arts. As the founder and chairperson of Magnuson Hotels, she redefined traditional hotel chains by focusing on quality and customer service across a diverse array of independently owned lodging properties. Under her guidance, Magnuson Hotels evolved into a leading international brand with hundreds of hotels, offering travellers unique lodging experiences while prioritising sustainability and community engagement. In addition to building the non-traditional hotel chain, Melissa attained an MFA in photography with distinction from the Royal College of Art. This academic journey inspired her to establish SW Darkroom in London, a vibrant creative space for analogue photography enthusiasts. The darkroom provides facilities for film development, scanning, printing, workshops and a supportive community catering to beginners as well as seasoned photographers with high service standards.
Melissa's dual pursuits reflect her commitment to enriching the business world and the arts. Her personal photography practice explores the identities and cultures shaped by specific landscapes, fostering collaborative relationships with communities over extended periods of me. Through her endeavours, Melissa continues to bridge the gap between business and artistic exploration, enriching both fields with her vision and dedication.
James Weeks LRPS
Elected Trustee
James's career has provided him with a wide range of experience. Graduating in Computer Science, he worked as a broadcast journalist for 15 years, running the digital outlets for a UK-based rolling news channel and creating a highly successful news consumption app which won awards from the Royal Television Society and Apple. James then moved to a newspaper to take a leadership role on the editorial team.
His path then took him into advisory work, in the Media and Entertainment practice of a large global consultancy. There, his projects included optimisation of consumer experiences, design and build of websites and more general organisational optimisation and redesign.
Returning to broadcasting, he acted as Head of Product for a large UK-based video streaming service - managing a complex roadmap for a product that covered multiple European markets and a wide variety of digital outlets, apps, websites and smart TVs. He now works as a consultant in the Software and Media industries - advising organisations on improving efficiency and increasing revenue.
James's love of photography began with an impulse purchase of a second hand SLR in Freshers' Week. He shot thousands of rolls of film - mostly landscape and travel - before migrating to digital and creating an enormous mound of full hard discs. He achieved his LRPS early on in his RPS membership over a decade ago and has had a number of half-completed ARPS projects pending ever since.
For staff contact details please click here.