About Us Meet the Team Meet the Team Ben Pearce- Director Ben joined the West Horsley Place Trust in September 2020. He has a background in visual arts, heritage and development. He was previously Director of Paintings in Hospitals, a national arts-in-health charity, and Project Director at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), where he led the 'Reveal, Celebrate, Explore' programme and oversaw the start of the RA250 redevelopments. Prior to this, Ben led a ‘London 2012’ Olympics host-boroughs project which led to the conservation of over 100 historic commercial buildings. Ben has a BA Hons in English Literature & Film from the University of Warwick and an MSc in Housing & Regeneration from the LSE. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; a Trustee of GEM (Group for Education in Museums) and the BGI, and a Non-Executive Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance. He also serves on the Advocacy Committee for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). Clare Clinton - Operations Manager Clare studied History and History of Art at the University of St. Andrews before going to work in the art world at Christie’s auction house and various art dealers in London, including CCA Galleries. She is a freelance writer and joined the West Horsley Place Trust in 2017 as Operations Manager. Clare has overseen numerous filming projects, building works and community events and now looks forward to opening the doors of West Horsley Place to the public in 2020 with an exciting artistic and cultural programme. Catherine Day - Head of Development Catherine has been a professional fundraiser for over 14 years. She has worked for a wide range of charities, including Surrey Wildlife Trust, English Heritage, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Butterfly Conservation and Compton Fundraising Consultants. Catherine has been involved in a number of successful capital fundraising campaigns, most recently the National Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning at RHS Garden Wisley and the spectacular new RHS Garden Bridgewater. She has a BSc Animal Science and an MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy from Imperial College, London and is currently undertaking an MSc in Charity Marketing and Fundraising at Cass Business School. Nicky Webber - Head Gardener Having graduated from Surrey University with a degree in Russian and Soviet Studies in 1988, Nicky worked as a Russian interpreter for Allied Lyons for a number of years, working within a small team establishing joint ventures in Eastern Europe. Leaving to have three children, she established a property development company with her husband. Seeing a gap in the market with so many new housing developments having uninspiring gardens, she returned to Merrist Wood College in Guildford to re-train as a garden designer and qualified with distinction in 2007. Nicky set up her own private design practice, designing and building a wide range of gardens in Surrey. In addition, she worked part-time, re-planting and maintaining the former Jekyll-designed gardens at Barrow Hills School, Witley for 10 years. She has a keen interest in garden history and architecture…..West Horsley Place is an ideal challenge! Carolyn Farrell - Operations and Events Assistant Over the years, Carolyn has worked in interior design, graphic design and her early working life was spent as a Court Stenographer which was an education in itself! For the past 10 years, she has worked in the events industry mainly focusing on weddings and other celebrations. She has seen more than 500 weddings now and marvels at how each one is unique. She loves the excitement during the planning process and the sense of exhilaration in the air on the Big Day. Karina Watson-Hill - Development Assistant Karina joined the team in August 2018. She has previously worked at The Lightbox, WWF UK, RHS Wisley and Brooklands Museum and has a wide range of experience in project and event management, fundraising and administration. Having grown up in East Horsley, just minutes from West Horsley Place, Karina is passionate about heritage and the role West Horsley Place can play in our local community. Suzie Winters - Executive Assistant Suzie joined the West Horsley Place Trust in August 2019. Prior to joining the team, she was PA to the CEO of a Country House Hotel and private members club. Before taking a career break to bring up her two children, she worked in London at The Art Fund and Sotheby's. Returning to the world of arts and heritage, close to her home in Surrey, is a wonderful opportunity and she is excited to be part of the evolving future of West Horsley Place.