Meet our Trustees

Formerly Head of Operations and Tourism for NewcastleGateshead Initiative for 11 years, Cath now spends her time running Clear the Clutter - a decluttering and personal organising business. A huge part of both roles involved creating spaces that people want to visit and live, learn and work in, so November Club's focus on place is of particular interest. Cath has been a November Club trustee since 2016 and in February 2023, following period as Vice Chair, she took over the role of Chair.

Chris Foxon is an Olivier Award-winning theatre producer. Currently Executive Director of Papatango, he has developed and produced new plays which have gone on to win The Times Breakthrough, Alfred Fagon, Critics' Circle, OffWestEnd and Olivier awards, transfer to the West End, premiere on Sky Arts and BBC radio, and be remounted worldwide. He has also pioneered free and accessible arts education programmes, supporting grassroots artists in every region of the UK. Chris co-authored the bestselling book Being A Playwright: A Career Guide For Writers and has lectured at universities including Oxford, York, Plymouth, Northampton and Gloucestershire. Having grown up in Newcastle, he now lives in North Tyneside.

Helen Fussell

Helen is a freelance arts & culture PR with a background in broadcast media and more than 15 years’ experience of working with arts organisations. She works with a number of North East theatre companies, and loves to champion regional projects and theatre makers as well as delivering national PR campaigns that help to put our region on the map. Helen grew up in a rural working class town in Cumbria, and having seen firsthand the positive impact arts and culture can have in similar communities in Northumberland, she is particularly interested in the way November Club collaborates with local people and places.

Mark Quigley

Mark is a solicitor and a Partner at Sintons who are based in Newcastle upon Tyne, (conveniently) just across the road from Saint James’ Park. Mark is the Head of Personal Injury at the firm and acts for those who have sustained significant, life-changing injuries such as brain injury, spinal cord injury and amputations due to trauma.

Mark takes pride in working with those who have sustained serious injuries and is committed to placing clients at the heart of everything he does. This involves securing funding at the earliest opportunity so that rehabilitation needs can be properly met, which ensures the best possible outcome for the injured person and their families.

Mark has a wealth of management and leadership experience as both Departmental Head and previously as the firm’s Managing Partner.

Outside of work, Mark does his best thinking whilst walking, experiences more live music than is probably wise for a man of his age and enjoys all forms of theatre. He also takes great pleasure in the fact that there are more positives to supporting NUFC nowadays than being able to park opposite the ground on match days.

Jill Read

Jill is a communications professional with over 18 years’ experience of working in the creative industries, who believes art and culture can transform the lives of individuals and lead to better connected societies. Most recently she was Head of Marketing and Communications at the Crafts Council, the national charity for craft. Prior to that she held communications and administrative roles at architectural practice Foster + Partners and auction house Sotheby’s.

Captivated by a performance of Hiawatha, during a primary school trip to Newcastle Playhouse in the 1980s led to a profound love of theatre, which remains to this day.

Lauren Regan

Lauren is the founder and creative director of MOLE, a creative communications consultancy based in Northumberland. After starting her career in the arts and culture sector, Lauren believes that the best ideas don't come from the biggest budgets. MOLE was founded to give start-ups, SMEs and non-profit organisations the same access to strategic, creative solutions as the big dogs. A passionate advocate for increasing opportunities for young people in the North East, Lauren works with clients who are raising the aspirations of the region and showcasing the best that the North East has to offer. 

Lauren has over 15 years' experience as part of in-house marketing teams in the non-profit and travel sectors and as a senior leader at an award-winning creative agency. An avid storyteller, MOLE was founded to give SMEs and non-profits the same access to creative problem-solving afforded to global brands. A believer in the power of big ideas, Lauren has crafted award-winning campaigns for household names and has worked with teams in a variety of sectors, including homes and gardens, property, family attractions, food and drink and non-profit, both in the UK and the USA.

Born and raised in the North East and now a Northumberland resident, Lauren lives near Morpeth with her partner. 

Fiona Whitehurst 

Fiona is a Senior Lecturer and Director of (Research) Impact at Newcastle University Business School. Fiona joined the Business School in 2006 having completed her PhD in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies. The vast majority of her research, from PhD onwards, has been within the North East of England, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders from large engineering firms to micro-business owners. From 2014 she has been involved with a variety of research projects, including Creative Fuse North East and Creative Spark that have engaged with creative practitioners in the region through a variety of participatory activities.

Fiona’s teaching experience is largely with the students on Newcastle University’s MA in Arts, Business and Creativity and MSc Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship programmes. They are often creative practitioners and come from very diverse cultural backgrounds.

Fiona has always loved theatre and story-telling and, having relocated to Newcastle in 1991, is passionate about ensuring the region’s history and development is accurately portrayed and celebrated.