Our Team

President
The President is elected by Council. The role of the President is to represent the Society externally and to guide and support the Council and Chair.

President: Elizabeth Millar is a retired solicitor who has lived in Highgate since 1986. She has been a member of the Highgate Society since arriving in Highgate and was first involved in the Society’s 1980s rescue by the Planning Committee of 17th Century Cromwell House which had been neglected and was very dilapidated. It is now the Ghana High Commission. A keen volunteer, Elizabeth has worked on Hampstead Heath and helped set up Camden Garden Centre in 1982 – one of the first social enterprises – still going strong and offering training and employment opportunities to people finding it difficult to fit in regular commercial environments.
Officers
The Society’s Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are elected by members of Council.

Chair: Andrew Sulston has been involved with the Highgate Society since 2014, when he helped establish the Society’s Community Projects group. He has lived in Highgate since 1999, is a solicitor by training, and now works as a legal adviser at a think tank and is a departmental fellow in the Department of Land Economy in the University of Cambridge.

Vice Chair: Sarah Thomas has been on the Council of the Highgate Society since 2023 having been Chair of Highgate’s Fair in the Square for several years. She helps Jan Morgan and others welcome new members to the Society and runs the annual Volunteer Fair. Sarah had a career in publishing and is Co Chair of Governors at a primary school in Tottenham.

Secretary: Francis Wilkinson has been the Secretary of Highgate Society since 2021, having lived in Highgate since 2001. He had careers as a police officer and as a barrister, from which he has now retired. He is interested among other things in air quality and licensing and provides occasional legal advice to the Society.

Treasurer: William Britain was the Highgate Society’s Chair for three years until June 2024. He also chairs the Travel and Transport group. He is a Chartered Accountant and until retirement in 2020 was an international tax director at Deloitte. He has lived in Highgate since 1987.
Vice-Presidents
Vice-Presidents are elected by Council from members who have given exceptional time and support to the Society, and are available to give advice when requested based on their experience. Vice-Presidents typically continue to undertake important volunteer roles.

Vice President: Catherine Budgett-Meakin grew up in Highgate then, after a career in secondary teaching in comprehensives and then in international development, living in south London for 33 years, she returned to Highgate with her husband in 2007. In 2008 Catherine was elected to the Highgate Society Council and became Chair from 2009-2012. In 2014 she was elected to the Presidency of the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution. Catherine’s principal concerns are the environment and the threat that climate change presents to the natural world and to future generations. She is involved with the University of the Third Age, is chair of St Michael’s Green Committee, one of the lead editors (with Tessa Henghes) of buzz, and sings with the Highgate Choral Society.

Vice President: Elspeth Clements is the organiser of the Education Event talks, current co chair of the Planning Group, and between 2021 and 2024 the chair of Highgate Society. Elspeth runs an architectural practice based in Shoreditch and is an RIBA Accredited Conservation Architect. After extensive committee and education work with her professional bodies, she is currently a Trustee of Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust and chair of their Plans Committee. She has lived in Highgate for 30 years.

Vice President: Michael Hammerson has been a member of of Highgate Society since 1982, Chair of Planning Committee for over 20 years, and is now a Vice-President. Michael is a Chartered Surveyor, qualified archaeologist and a former Planning Policy Officer for the Civic Trust. He also has an interest in local and wider history and ecology, with a number of publications to his name, and is in the 38th year of an ecological survey of Highgate Wood.

Vice President: Jan Morgan has been Chair of Highgate Society twice and was introduced to the Society in the mid-1980s when she relocated from Montreal in Canada to Highgate as a Director in a large consumer medical company. She started helping with the membership records, then a card based system, and still keeps a watching eye on new joiners and existing members. Jan enjoys ballet, music, travelling, gardens, and rugby with a Welsh bias.

Vice President: Christina Nolan was born and raised in America. She met and married her British husband, Brendan, in Chicago in 1967, and they moved to Highgate at the end of that year. She has been a member of the Highgate Society since 1968, having served as chair in the 1970’s. She now divides her time between Highgate and Los Angeles.
Elected Council Members
Members of Council are elected by the Society’s members at the Annual General Meeting and have voting rights within Council. Members of Council serve for three years. As well as being responsible for the governance of the Society, they also undertake volunteer roles.

Madeleine Cosgrave, elected 2023

Tessa Henghes, elected 2023

Jeska Harrington-Gould, elected 2023

Stephanie Lavy, elected 2023

Carolyn Purves, elected 2023

Sarah Thomas, elected 2023

Liz Morris, elected 2024

Patricia Prichard, elected 2024

Laura de Benedetto, elected 2025

William Britain, elected 2025

Don Grubin, elected 2025
Coopted Council Members

As we have no paid staff around 170 volunteers undertake important but focused roles within particular areas of activity.

Membership records	Joe McDermott
Members and volunteers	Sarah Thomas Jan Morgan
Hall Hire	Liz Thompson
Hall management	Helen Rapley Sarita Singh
Finance	William Britain
Legal	Francis Wilkinson
IT	Ian Henghes Wally Kumar
Buzz magazine – editorial	Catherine Budgett-Meakin Tessa Henghes
Buzz – advertising	Tessa Henghes
Buzz – distribution	Wally Kumar Janet Kumar
Newsletter	Wally Kumar
Noticeboards	Louise Sibley
Press	Andrew Sulston
Contact Us administration	Tessa Henghes Jan Morgan
Social media	Tessa Henghes Chris Riley Rosalind Stewart Siri Zanelli
Planning	Liz Morris Elspeth Clements
Travel and Transport	William Britain Francis Wilkinson
Sustainable Living	Catherine Budgett-Meakin
Pollution	Francis Wilkinson
Biodiversity	Jeska Harrington-Gould
Licensing	Francis Wilkinson
Guerrilla Gardening	Louise Sibley
Tidy Up	Celia Davies Andrew Sulston
Defibrillators	Carolyn Purves
50 :50 club	Betty Pires
High Street	Madeleine Cosgrave
Educational events	Elspeth Clements
Social events	Joanna Kennard
Coffee and Computers	Wally Kumar
Carols in Pond Square	Joanna Kennard
Sunday Lunchtime Concerts	Michelle Berriedale-Johnson
Music in Highgate Homes	Venetia Lascelles
Halloween Walk	Charlotte Bourne James Wilkinson

How to contact us and get involved

If you wish to contact anyone please use the contact form stating who your message is for and it will be forwarded. We welcome those interested in volunteering and there are more details on Volunteering For an informal discussion about volunteering or any other topic, just call in and see us on any Saturday at 10A South Grove, between 10.30am and 12.00pm when we are open for Coffee.