Trustees/Directors

Jacquie Heany

Trustee (Chair) & Director

Jacquie has a background in Organisational Development and Human Resources gained in the private, public and charity sectors. Now retired, her last two roles were with international aid agencies, working at CAFOD as the Director of People and Performance and subsequently at World Vision UK where she was the Director of People and Business Excellence.

As a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Jacquie has contributed to the development of human resource standards in the public and charity sectors. She has spoken at a number of conferences and contributed research to HR publications. She was previously on the Governing Board of an international charity based in Geneva.

Jacquie and her husband, Dan, fell in love with the Isle of Wight 30 years ago and, after many happy holidays, moved here in September 2021. They are now enjoying long island walks and are looking forward to developing their gardening and culinary skills.

Jacquie became a Trustee of Independent Arts in January 2022.

Jodie Jones MInstF

Trustee (Vice-Chair) & Director

Jodie has over a decade of experience as a professional fundraiser. In that time, she has raised tens of millions for charities and causes globally. Jodie is passionate about organisational and team development. Over her career she has used that energy to deliver 1-2-1 coaching programmes and group training courses as well as to set up a new charity in the USA. Most of all she enjoys working with organisations that are trying to start-up or scale-up.

She joined Independent Arts’ board of trustees in 2018 as she was impressed by the team’s focus on supporting the most vulnerable people on the Island with impactful and cost-effective programmes.

Born on the Isle of Wight, Jodie came back here in 2015 to see how she might use her skills and experience to support initiatives at home. When not working for or volunteering with local charities, Jodie can be found walking around the hills on the Island’s south coast.

Josie Pook

Trustee (Treasurer) & Director

Josie is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA). In the early days she trained in accountancy practice before moving into industry. She has over 10 years’ experience working in leisure, FMCG, & the automotive industry before her most recent role as Group Finance & IT Director of a labour and horticulture group.

Josie left the corporate world in 2021 and moved to the Isle of Wight. She is currently enjoying helping small and medium sized businesses achieve their potential providing consulting services on strategy, finance, systems & process improvements through Quantifi.

When Josie is not busy consulting, she enjoys raising her family and enjoying the island with them.

Josie became a Trustee of Independent Arts late January 2022. She has always had an interest in art and is looking forward to aiding the charity’s governance and seeing it continue to provide quality projects to the island community.

Graham Barnetson

Trustee & Director

Graham is currently Chief Financial Officer at Red Funnel. He is a Chartered Management Accountant, Fellow of the Institute of Directors and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Audit and an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute.

His non-executive roles include business director at Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and vice-chair of Maritime UK Solent.

Graham is also a governor at The Isle of Wight College. He lives in Cowes with his wife Jackie who works for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Graham joined the Independent Arts board of trustees in January 2022.

David Lindsay

Trustee & Director

David spent most of his career as an executive with an international retail company, mainly in buying and marketing functions.

For many years he was based in Brussels but has also lived in Germany and travelled extensively around the world, particularly in Asia.

He has lived on the island since 2007 and is actively involved with the local community. He is a director of Freshwater Bay golf club with special responsibility for marketing and commercial dealings. He sings with a male voice choir in the West Wight and often acts as MC at their concerts.

He became a Trustee/Director of Independent Arts in July 2020 and would like to use his knowledge and experience to help raise the profile and increase awareness of the charity within the wider community.

Brian Marriott

Trustee & Director

Since leaving art college in 1970 Brian has been a professional designer and Founder of Marriott Design, a highly respected design company based on the Isle of Wight, working for a large and diverse portfolio of local and national companies.

Since retirement in 2008, he has continued with specific design projects but has redirected his creative skills as an artist, formulating his own unique glass pictures as ‘Brian Marriott GlassArt’. He is also a tutor/mentor for design degree students at the IW College.

In the two years to 2019 Brian amalgamated his Island knowledge to design THE WIGHT BOOK. A voluntary role, with all net proceeds going to Island charities via WightAid, of which he is a founding Trustee.

Brian became a Trustee/Director of Independent Arts in July 2020.

Geoff Ruck

Trustee & Director

Geoff has worked in IT all his life, before retiring in 2015. Starting as an apprentice with British Hovercraft, he then joined IBM and Plessey before moving to a local housing association. During this time he has followed the development of computers from valve-driven monsters requiring purpose-built rooms to the micro-processors of today. Latterly his particular interest was in contingency planning and disaster recovery.

He is the Chairman of the Isle of Wight FA as well as of Brading Town FC. In his spare time he can found on his boat at Shalfleet or playing golf at Freshwater.

Geoff joined Independent Arts’ board of trustees in June 2014 and is pleased to be supporting the charity.

Carol Martys

Patron and founder

Carol was the founder of Independent Arts, which became a registered charity in 1987. She became its first director, and remains a patron.

After leaving the Isle of Wight, she spent a number of years abroad and now lives in Haslemere, Surrey. She is a published writer, and honorary Chairman of Operations for Opera South.

Read Carol’s account of the early years of Independent Arts.

Mike Christie

Ambassador

Mike started singing professionally at the age of 8 years old when he was a chorister, he then went on to study music for 4 years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he gained a scholarship and a Bachelor of Music degree with honours. In 2004 at the same time as graduating, Mike auditioned as a quarter of the vocal group G4 on the first ever series of the hit TV show The X Factor, and this was to change his life forever. Friends studying together ended up reaching the final of the live shows from 50,000 applicants. G4 subsequently released 3 albums, which sold over two million in the UK. After 3 years they disbanded, but later reunited and still tour extensively including the G4 Christmas tour in cathedrals across the UK.

In 2018 Mike founded The Wight Proms, the annual outdoor proms festival in Cowes, which celebrates comedy, musical theatre, opera and classical music, and includes free arts workshops for over 500 children. He researched and approached Independent Arts to be Wight Proms charity partner, which has blossomed into Mike becoming an ambassador for the charity in June 2022. The goal of the ambassadorship is to help raise the profile of Independent Arts, especially for the benefits of singing on both mental and physical health. Mike is a regular visitor to the Creative Hub.