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 - Arts, Heritage & Learning 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 building West Horsley Place Art, Heritage & Learning programmes. Carolyn Farrell - Operations & Events Coordinator 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. 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. Caroline Leary- Administrator Caroline joined the team in September 2021 as our Team Administrator. Caroline lives locally and has spent many of the past 15 years working in Surrey schools supporting them with finance and general administration. After a spell working in central London for an Academy Trust as their Business Accounting Partner, she is now excited to be able to use her skills and experience to support the Trust. Caroline has been a volunteer at many events including being a Gamesmaker at the London 2012 Olympics, a wonderful experience she says changed her life. You may have also seen her helping out at the Clandon Park Run. She is very much looking forward to meeting our growing team of volunteers at West Horsley Place. Matt Link- Estate Ranger & Grounds Jo Ellison- Community Engagement Projects Coordinator Jo joined the team at West Horsley Place Trust in June 2021 to deliver the National Heritage Lottery Funded project, Heritage without Barriers. She has a background in visual arts having freelanced as a Community Artist in London and loves to create opportunities for people to discover their passion and grow in confidence. Jo has BA Hons in Fine Art from London Metropolitan University and an MA in Applied Anthropology and Community Art from Goldsmiths University. Having run numerous community engagement projects in London, Jo is looking forward to putting her skills into action at West Horsley Place to bring people alongside us as we discover more about our heritage with the help of our wonderful volunteers. Robin James- House Officer