Heather Hilburn

Heather has many years experience in the design, delivery and financing of cultural places and healthy spaces for local communities. Heather previously served as Design Advisor for the Queen Elizabeth Park in East London, including the transition of Olympic Games venues into public/private local enterprises. Following the economic crisis of 2008 and subsequent decommissioning of UK development agencies in 2010, Heather worked within a consortium of executives alongside the DCMS, DCLG and CABE to help grant funded regional charities move to social enterprise and CIC business models.  As Strategic Project Director for the Tower of London from 2013 to 2019, Heather shaped a long term plan to make this World Heritage site more accessible to diverse audiences through public engagement. Heather currently serves as CEO for the Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP), hosted by University College London. TEP is a consortium of public and private agencies that operate on the river Thames and UK coast line, working on a long term programme to address climate change and improve the standard of living for coastal communities. Heather also serves as a non executive director and independent advisor focussing on preserving heritage skills, data technology and project finance. 

Heather is a member of the Access Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, the Covid-19 Emergency Lending Investment Committee, the Flexible FInance for Covid-19 Recovery Investment Committee and the Access Legacy Group.