Why did you want to join an HLF committee?

I had completed five years at St Ann's Allotments as a heritage officer when I saw the advert. I thought: "This is interesting - I'll apply for it!" The first time I came to a committee meeting, I thought: “I have got nothing to give here. What have I done?” but I soon realised I did have transferable skills and the passion.

What do you like about it?

I'm on my third career now - in my first career I was development director for a housing association, in my second I was working in grassroots community development. Now I'm a heritage officer. The committee role has given me some new challenges.

What have you learned from the role so far?

I'm learning a lot about the region. The scale of what HLF does in the East Midlands has surprised me - from a plaque on a Bosnian community centre to the major redevelopment of Bolsover Model Village.

What has most surprised or challenged you?

It takes up time, I do see it as a job. It’s not every week but you get the papers to read and go on visits. But the benefits are seeing the best projects and learning from them – why one works and one doesn’t, it's such a fun opportunity.

What would you say to anyone who is thinking about joining an HLF committee?

It helps to have an interest but you don't need to know everything about your area. It's important to get across the value HLF places on people and history of people - and also landscape and wildlife, it's not just buildings like Nottingham Castle! 

The information we get is very accessible, and people share their knowledge and understanding. It feels like a team who value each other.

What is your favourite HLF-supported project?

There was a First World War project called Memories of Conflict run by Leicester CND, which looked at the history of conscientious objectors. It was all about - how can you remember something from conflicting viewpoints? There was also a project which involved a young LGBT group interviewing their elders - they had a celebration event and made a film: people were in tears seeing the younger generation listening to the older generation. 

Those sorts of things I really love – if we didn’t have HLF, these stories would not be told.

Find out more

Read Mo's inspiring Changing Lives story.

Discover more about our East Midlands committee and find current vacancies on our Board & committee recruitment page.