Judges - Museums + Heritage Awards

Our Judges

Our independent panel of judges are selected for their extensive experience. As individuals, they have devoted enormous amounts of energy and dedication to the sector and provide expert scrutiny to ensure our winners are deserving of their accolade. They sit on the judging panel in their own right, not on behalf of their respective organisations, and give their time and commitment freely. As leading lights in the museums world, their combined knowledge makes these awards the very best they can be.

Maggie Appleton MBE

Maggie is CEO at the Royal Air Force Museum and a director of the National Museums Directors Council.

Bernard Donoghue OBE

Bernard is the CEO of Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and Chair of the Board of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre.

Stephen Duncan

Stephen is Director of Marketing and Engagement at Historic Environment Scotland.

Caro Howell MBE

Caro is Director General of Imperial War Museums and holds extensive experience as an independent museum education consultant in the UK and abroad.

Keith Merrin

Keith is the Director of North East Museums overseeing the twelve museums which include most visited free attractions in the North East.

Arike Oke

Arike leads the screen heritage and education missions of the British Film Institute, and the BFI National Archive, in the role of Executive Director of Knowledge, Learning and Collections.

John Orna-Ornstein

John is director of access and conservation and part of the executive team at the National Trust and a vice chair of the International National Trusts Organisation.

Sally Shaw MBE

Sally has been the Director of Firstsite, Colchester since 2016. With her team, she has delivered a successful turn-around programme realigning Firstsite with a focused, relevant purpose.

Deborah Smith

Deborah is a curator and previous director of the Arts Council Collection, the most widely circulated national collection of modern and contemporary British art.