Governance

Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice* is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1191955). Our aim is to advance the education of the public in, and to promote good citizenship and a wider public appreciation of policing and the criminal justice system through an understanding of the history and development of policing and the administration of criminal justice in London.

Board of Trustees

Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice is governed by a board of Trustees who are responsible for the overall strategic direction, key polices, major decisions and financial management of the Museum.

Leonora Baird-Smith

Leonora has extensive experience of working in the museum and heritage sector, in a range of organisations including the British Museum and the Zaha Hadid Foundation; she was also the inaugural Head of Museums at the Metropolitan Police Service, and has a strong interest in the history of crime and justice.

Her specialisms include collections management, conservation, and exhibition programming. In her current position as Planning & Resources Manager at the British Museum she is responsible for the planning and delivery of key aspects of a large and diverse exhibitions and temporary display programme. 

Nikki Elvin

Nikki is Assistant Director: Audiences and Engagement at the National Army Museum, where she leads on audience development, communications, public programmes and community engagement. A senior cultural communications professional, Nikki has also held roles at the British Museum and National Trust, with extensive experience in brand strategy, marketing, PR and reputation management across national and international activity.

She is also a trustee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Nikki brings particular expertise in external communications, social media, PR, audience development and partnership-led growth

Chris Gilbert

Chris is a qualified accountant with experience in the public, cultural and charity sectors. As Director of Finance and Resources at The London Library,  Chris leads the support services team delivering finance, facilities, IT and HR functions. He previously worked at the Home Office and spent many years at London Transport Museum where he was Assistant Director: Business and Performance and a Board member of London Transport Museum (Trading) Ltd.

Chris has a keen interest in charity governance and is also a Trustee of the Cartoon Museum and Deputy Chair of the St James’s Square Trust.

Philip Gough

Philip joined the Metropolitan Police Force in May 1968. In 1989 he was posted to Bow Street as an Inspector, where he remained until its closure in 1992. While at Bow Street Philip was one of the Duty Officers in charge of “C” Relief. He was then the Operations Inspector responsible for organising the police response for special events such as film premieres, demonstrations, visits by royalty, heads of state etc. to venues on Bow Street Division. Philip was also Secretary of the Bow Street Social Club and the Bow Street Inspectors representative of the Metropolitan Police Federation. Retiring from the Met in March 2001 Philip then worked for the Westminster City Council as head of their enforcement teams until 2003 and then as a consultant advising on crime, disorder, and anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Louise Hyams

Louise has had the honour and privilege of representing St. James’s Ward in which Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice is situated, since her election to the Council in 1998. She is totally committed to improving the quality of life for all the residents of this diverse ward in the centre of London. Having been involved in most areas of the Council’s work, Louise is currently a member of the Licensing Committee and the Standards Committee of the council. Louise was Lord Mayor in 2008/9.

Jenny Ruddock

Jenny has a background in audience insights and evaluation and has worked in the museum and heritage sector for over 10 years. Her current role is as the Audience Development and Insights Manager in the Chamber and Participation Team at UK Parliament, which involves looking at audience data, insights and targeting across Participation’s apolitical role in encouraging UK-wide democratic engagement through school visits, community outreach, public tours and events.  

She has worked in a similar audience insights position at St Paul’s Cathedral, alongside carrying out freelance evaluation work. Prior to this, she spent several years as a Grants Manager working on London-based projects at the National Lottery Heritage Fund and has an MA Museum Studies from Leicester.  

Caan Jefferson Walls

Caan is a fundraising professional who has been working in the arts, museum and heritage sector for over 15 years. His roles have included growing the individual giving programme at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, launching a successful regular giving membership programme at the British Library and leading on membership strategy and growth at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

He chairs the Membership Management Forum, a national network of fundraisers in the cultural sector and is a board member of the International Museum Membership Committee.

Teresa White

Teresa is a retail consultant and brand strategist working with heritage brands, museums, visitor attractions and charities on the development and implementation of their commercial strategy. Teresa also mentors managers to help them innovate and implement change, and runs specialist training programmes for their teams.

She has previously worked as a Brand and Marketing Director in the fashion and lifestyle sectors as well as advising organisations in education, travel and leisure who operate ancillary retail operations.

Advisory Board

We are currently developing plans for an Advisory Board, whose members will provide guidance and support to the Museum in carrying out its charitable objectives.

Details of how to apply for an Advisory Board role will appear here soon.