New chair and trustees appointed to the board of The Parks Trust in Milton Keynes

A new chair has been appointed by The Parks Trust with five new trustees also joining the board.

Nick Lloyd will be taking on the role of chair, having served as vice-chair since 2020 and on the board for five years, offering expert advice and guidance. Nick is currently chair at EMW Law in Milton Keynes, having worked in the city for more than two decades and thinks its parks are an intrinsic part of Milton Keynes.

He takes over from Zoe Raven who will be stepping down and leaving the board after 10 years' service

Mr Lloyd said: “It is somewhat daunting to take on this role over such a brilliant organisation with such a wide remit – from management of the parks to education to maintaining heritage sites to protecting wildlife and biodiversity to public art to flood defences. My job will be made much easier for all the brilliant employees, volunteers, suppliers, contractors, partner organisations, such as MK City Council, and my fellow trustees. We are all very proud of what the Trust is and does – and very determined to make it even better.”

Victoria Miles, chief executive of The Parks Trust said: “Over the last decade Zoe has helped govern and guide our work in an objective, inspiring and selfless way that’s helped the charity navigate through growth and a global pandemic. Our deepest gratitude goes to Zoe who can retire from the board of trustees knowing she’s left an incredible legacy for the people of Milton Keynes.”

The Parks Trust’s new trustees include Rupa Green, Joe Kingston, Martina Gorla, Carla Veletrop-Martin and Graham Webster.

Rupa Green is a senior marketing professional specialising in digital marketing within the financial services sector.

Joe Kingston has lived in Milton Keynes all his life and works as assistant director of Parks and Cleansing at City of London.

Martina Gorla works as woodland officer for the Forestry Commission, the government’s body responsible for the regulations of both public and private forestry in England.

Carla Veletrop-Martin has worked for English Heritage since 2019 and in May 2023 was appointed programme manager (Heritage Data) for Historic England.

Graham Webster has worked in IT development within retail banking, latterly at Santander where he was products and services director.