Meet the Team

CHAIR

Patrick lives in Hackney and was an architect and a consultant for urban regeneration. Until retiring, he was Divisional Director for Urban Regeneration at architects Levitt Bernstein. Over many years he has developed considerable experience of managing charities serving communities in London. Previously as Chair of the Hackney Society he helped found the HHBT, and has also been a board member of other environmental charities in Hackney and London.

TREASURER

Originally from Edinburgh, Derrick Turner has lived in North East London (London Fields, Bethnal Green, Clerkenwell, Bow) since 2013, and has served as Treasurer of HHBT since the start of 2015. He is a Chartered Management Accountant with over 18 years experience in the Real Estate sector, currently with the Relentless Group in Manchester. He also serves as Treasurer of Co-op Homes, based in Teddington, and sits on the Audit and Investment Committees of Richmond Housing Partnership.

Sue moved to London in 1975, has been a Hackney resident since 1985 and a trustee since 2000. Coming from Leicester, she loves living in an ethnically diverse community. She has arranged exhibitions and set up data management structures at the British Museum, has lectured at City and Islington College and the University of Westminster and is currently working with new legislation at the Houses of Parliament.

Sue is involved with several Hackney charities and is currently a board member of the Workers Equality Network for staff with disability at the Palace of Westminster.

Born in Germany, Thorsten has lived in North East London since 2004. He became a trustee in 2022. Thorsten is a local government strategy and improvement professional with a background in culture and arts. He has managed heritage regeneration projects, developed strategies for cultural services, and commissioned cultural programmes. He has a particular interest in cultural planning and the contribution of culture to place-making, local economies, and community development.

Prior to joining local government, he worked as a fundraiser for English National Opera and Trinity Laban. At City University he led projects to widen access to the creative industries through partnerships with cultural organisations.

Thorsten is a competitive equality ballroom dancer and a member of the executive of the United Kingdom Equality Dance Council. He also serves as an executive member of the Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers Association.

Hannah Parham is a project manager who specialises in the regeneration of historic buildings. She works for the Churches Conservation Trust where she manages projects to revitalise and sustain redundant historic church buildings at risk, including major projects funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in the Midlands and by the Architectural Heritage Fund in the North of England. 

Before joining CCT in 2020, Hannah led the Historic Buildings Consultancy team at Donald Insall Associates, an architectural practice which specialises in the conservation and renewal of historic buildings and places. Here she worked with owners and managers of listed buildings – including the Parliamentary Estate, the Crown Estate, private developers, universities and cultural and heritage organisations – to develop sensitive proposals for change. Hannah’s career began at English Heritage (now Historic England) where she was an advisor to the Government on the listing of buildings in London and the South East.

Hannah is on the National Trust's Historic Environment Advisory Group and the Southern Buildings Committee of the Victorian Society. She has degrees in history and architectural history, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Robert moved to East London in 2013 and has been a resident of Hackney since 2020. An experienced property management professional, mobilising and managing prestigious mixed-use estates and trophy commercial buildings in central London. He is passionate about sustainable developments and studies History and American Studies at university.