Trustees and fellows

Margaret Clark CBE joined Plunkett’s Board in February 2013 and became Chair in July 2013. Margaret Clark spent her career working in national government agencies, concerned with rural development, where she was responsible for advice, research and the development of rural policy and practice and for managing a range of social and economic programmes aimed at improving the wellbeing of rural communities in England. From the early 1990s, she represented the UK on the OECD’s Rural Working Party and was its Chair from 2000 until November 2007.

Since retiring, she has continued to be involved in rural development policy and delivery. Margaret has a particular interest in the provision of rural affordable housing and for a number of years was a board member and then Chair of the Hastoe Housing Group, the leading provider of rural social housing in England. She is currently Chair of the Rural Coalition, an alliance of 12 national organisations who share a vision for a living and working countryside. She also chairs the Rural England Community Interest Company Stakeholder Group, which aims to improve the rural evidence base through sharing knowledge and undertaking research into rural issues. Margaret is also a Board member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). She is an honorary fellow of the Centre for Rural Economy at the University of Newcastle. Margaret was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s 2015 New Year’s Honours’ List for services to rural communities.

When Helen joined The Prince’s Countryside Fund in 2014 she was able to combine her experience growing up on the family farm in Shropshire with her determination to improve the livelihoods of people living and working in the countryside. While at the Fund she was responsible for overseeing its grant giving programme and as a valued strategic partner developed her understanding and appreciation of the valuable role that community businesses can play in delivering vital services and retaining key assets in rural communities and the essential role the Plunkett Foundation has in inspiring and encouraging communities into action.

Prior to joining The Prince’s Countryside Fund she led the national awareness campaign Carers Week working with a coalition of national charity partners dedicated to supporting unpaid carers to access the support and services they need as well as tackling isolation. In summer 2018, Helen and her husband, plus much loved beagle-basset cross Dexter and cat moved to Dartmoor. She now works part-time for the Soil Association running its Innovative Farmers programme and is a freelance consultant for clients including the Plunkett Foundation and The Prince’s Countryside Fund as well as being a Trustee of Age UK Devon.

Sue Boer became a Plunkett trustee in July 2014 and is the representative of the Plunkett Community Enterprise Network. Sue has been a member of the Kingsbury Community Shop management committee for 3 years. For the period of time before the shop opened, during its launch and as a manager since it opened.

During this time Sue has also represented the Plunkett Foundation by giving presentations to local and district councils and communities planning to open community shops.

Sue’s ‘day job’ has always been in Primary Education, as a teacher and then in school improvement, working in inner city schools that were failing. Her role was mainly to improve the quality of teaching and learning but also to ensure that the systems and structures were in place that would mean that the improvements could happen and be maintained. She has found that many of the leadership, people management and organisational skills needed to ensure development in these challenging circumstances, have served her well when working in the unfamiliar territory of community enterprise.

David Button has almost thirty five years’ experience in the Co-operative sector, having held key senior positions in Food from Britain, both as agricultural development director and as financial controller.

He is a past Chairman of the Plunkett Foundation holding the position for six years being instrumental in leading the organisation through an extensive strategic, financial and staffing review. This enabled the Foundation to maintain its key agricultural and rural co-operative development objectives whilst developing a leading role in the social enterprise sector.

David has considerable practical experience of all forms of cooperative development within the UK and also as a senior consultant working on international projects in Central and Eastern Europe funded by DFID and through them the World Bank He is currently a main Board member of Co-operatives uk representing its federal members and is also Chair of the UK Co-operative Forum where he also represents English Farming and Food Partnerships for whom he works as an Associate Consultant advising on all areas of agricultural collaborative development.

John Tyrrell comes from a farming background in County Dublin and is a graduate of University College Dublin with an Honours Degree in Agricultural Science, specialising in Animal Production.

Between 1975 and 1978, he worked with ADAS in the UK as a Dairy Husbandry Advisor. In 1978 he joined the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), the umbrella organisation for agricultural co-operatives in Ireland. In 1990, he was appointed Director General of ICOS. He has been deeply involved in the major structural changes which have occurred in the Irish co-operative sector since 1990 including the mergers of co-operatives. This has included chairing of merger negotiations. He has also played an active role in the development of the Irish position on the Common Agricultural Policy, and is on a number of expert groups which the Irish Government has set up to advise an food and agriculture policy.

ICOS advises co-operatives on policy issues, including sectoral policy, co-operative structures and representation of co-operatives’ interests at national and international level. It also provides a wide range of services for co-operatives and has long been involved in facilitating the re-organisation of the Irish dairy sector.

He was Vice President of COGECA, the European Association of Agricultural and Fishing Co-operatives from 1996-99. He is also a member of a number of European Advisory Committees including the Common Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee.

Born and raised in rural Worcestershire and educated at the University of London, Quintin joined the Plunkett Foundation at the beginning of 2001 and went on to become Head of Consultancy and Training. The values of Sir Horace and the work of the Foundation in promoting and supporting economic self-help in rural and agricultural communities resonates deeply with him. At the end of 2005, Quintin and his family emigrated to Canada where he became responsible for member services, education and research at the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) in Ottawa. Quintin continued to maintain links with and promote the work of the Plunkett Foundation since coming to Canada. His experience during his time at the Foundation in developing education and training programs for farmer-directors directly led to his involvement in the award-winning Leadership in Governance director and delegate training program at Gay Lea Foods Co-operative. Gay Lea Foods is one of Canada’s largest dairy co-operatives with over 30% of Ontario dairy farmers as member-owners and over $600 million in sales. In 2012 he joined Gay Lea Foods as Director of Training Development and Capacity Resourcing and is responsible for leadership and co-operative development programs for members, staff, delegates and directors. He resides with his family in beautiful Guelph, Ontario.