Board of Directors 2026
Secretary: Dr Miriam Gill
Miriam Gill has taught art history and history to mature students over a period of 20 years in a wide variety of institutions including Morley College, London, and for the universities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford and Cambridge.
She has worked for the Vaughan Centre and at the former Vaughan College since 1998. She was the course director for the Certificates in Art History and Architectural History and has been a tutor for the part-time Certificate and BA in Humanities and Arts. She also teaches at the Richard Attenborough Centre.
Chair: Dr Lucy Faire
Lucy Faire is a founder member of Leicester Vaughan College and has sat on its board since the College was re-established in 2017. Lucy has a background in teaching mature students at university level which she has done since 2002. She taught at the former Vaughan College and in the Vaughan Centre of Lifelong Learning. She is also an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. Between 2015 and 2020, she was an external examiner for the University of York’s Centre for Lifelong Learning.
You can read more about Lucy here.
Treasurer: Blase Lambert
Blase Lambert has been a leading player in the UK co-operative and community led housing sector for the last twenty-four years. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Confederation of Co-operative Housing, is a founder member of Community Led Homes and is the Treasurer of Co-operative Housing International. His areas of expertise are corporate governance, risk management and financial control and he has numerous publications to his name.
Directors
Dr Jane Watts
Jane Watts has a long experience of the co-operative movement, having been a member / worker in a range of co-ops and on co-operative boards, most recently the board of The Phone Co-op. She worked at one time at the Co-operative College. Her background is in community education practice and adult education policy; she has a long commitment to developing access to education for all and at all levels. She is retired from working at the Learning and Work Institute (formerly NIACE).
Jane’s working and activist life includes a commitment to pro-active equality and diversity inclusion. She maintains a research interest in older people’s learning.
Dr Bradley Phipps
Bradley is a Researcher at Learning and Work Institute (the successor to NIACE), where he works on a range of projects related to learning, skills, and employment. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Leicester, and prior to his current role, worked at the University, where he focused on delivering a research-inspired education strategy. In 2019, he was Curator and Project Lead of the Journey to Justice Leicester exhibition and events, which showcased histories of local activism. He is passionate about the power of education to open opportunities for people of all backgrounds.
Dr Ellie Pridgeon
Ellie has been teaching history of art and architecture to mature students since 2002. She has worked for several universities, including Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, and Sarum College (University of Winchester). She is co-founder and director of Pro Artium in conjunction with Dr Conny Bailey and Dr Miriam Gill. Ellie has also worked for the University of Leicester Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning and at the former Vaughan College since 2002, on the Certificates in Art History, Architecture, and Humanities and Arts and the BA in Humanities and Arts. She is a professional archivist and her archivist work has included time at St Paul’s Cathedral (London) and for the Science Museum. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Dr Emma Astra
Dr Emma Astra (PhD) is a Leicester-based Lived Experience Expert. Her academic journey began at Vaughan College, where she studied university-accredited courses through part-time lifelong learning. Emma is particularly interested in widening participation in lifelong learning. She seeks to understand what would encourage individuals not currently engaging with institutions like Vaughan College to do so, and how provision can work practically for them. She values listening to community voices across Leicester and beyond, especially those facing barriers to educational or workplace progression.
Portfolio: www.linktr.ee/emmaastra
Board reflection: https://open.substack.com/pub/emmaastra/p/im-honoured-to-be-elected-to-the
text
text