Trustees

Richard served 36 years as a Royal Navy Officer, leaving in May 2018 as a Rear Admiral. A submarine weapon engineer by background, his recent responsibilities have included running the UK’s three operational Naval Bases, managing the future nuclear submarine programme, and directing the Navy’s Logistics, Infrastructure, and Engineering Support.

He has experienced first-hand the transformational effect of spending time at sea, in warships, submarines, and through sailing. Richard is a keen recreational skier and sailor, and a previous Chair of the UK Armed Forces Winter Sports Charity. He was honoured with the award of a CBE in the 2018 New Years Honours. Richard lives in Havant, Hants with his wife Claire and they regularly sail their yacht ‘Skybird’ around the South Coast. Richard was appointed to Chair of Trustees in August 2022.

Debra Price is Head of Philanthropy at RSAcademics where she helps schools all over the UK develop multi-million pound fundraising programmes.  Previously she was Benenden School’s Development Director for over 20 years before becoming Deputy Head. She is also a director of an educational publishing company, Education Consultant to Harrow International and its portfolio of schools in China, Hong Kong and Thailand. She is also a member of the governing body of each of the four Harrow International Schools.

Debra is deeply committed to helping young people.  She has written a parent’s guide to critical thinking and regularly visits schools to speak to teachers, parents and pupils about the power of critical thinking.  She lives on the Island with her husband, and has two children.

David is the nephew of UKSA founder, Noel Lister. A husband and father of three, David is a former Olympic rowing coach and was chief coach to the National Women’s Light Weight Rowing Squad in 1990. He has also been a trustee of the Whirlwind Trust for over 10 years. David runs various businesses including management of rental properties, property development, and private yacht charter boats on the Thames. He is the Rear Commodore of the Thames Vintage Boat Club and was awarded the MBE in 2010.

Claire Locke’s background is in business and enterprise and in 2016 she was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion. A former High Sheriff, she is now a Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight.

She is Vice Chair of the Prince’s Trust Enterprise Fellowship and serves as a Trustee of various foundations and has a particular interest in youth opportunities.

Marc’s business background started in property. As European CFO for a US Real Estate firm, Marc travelled extensively working across Europe, the USA and Russia. He then founded a financial services support business with offices in London, Jersey, Guernsey and Hong Kong. As an accountant with an MBA from London Business School, Marc now works with new and established management teams to maximise their success.

He lives on the Island with his family and enjoys cruiser sailing and racing on the water.

Marc sees the life changing transformational impact that sailing has on individuals. He is passionate about providing access to this opportunity to as many people as possible. This is exactly what UKSA does and does so well.

Sam works as a coach to support leaders and managers to unlock their potential. She gathered experience over twenty-five years leading businesses and working in teams in the corporate and social impact sectors including family-owned businesses, partnerships, entrepreneurial ventures and education. She has been a Governor of the Skinners’ Kent Academy.

Sam is a keen sailor. She learned to sail on the Island and regularly races from Cowes. Sam became a Trustee of UKSA because she saw first-hand, when training as a Day Skipper at UKSA, the positive impact that sailing and experiencing the maritime world can have on young people. She wanted to get more involved by helping to shape the environment that supports the growth and emotional wellbeing of the young people who come to UKSA.

Shonagh has built and led a number of high-performing teams in both small, entrepreneurial businesses and established organisations in the consumer sector.

Shonagh has always loved the water and enjoys a range of water sports. Always up for a challenge, in 2004 she competed in the Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race, the world’s toughest amateur yacht race.

Shonagh became a Trustee of UKSA because she wanted to support and play an active role in an organisation that has such a positive impact on the lives of young people, especially those that have not had the opportunity to spend time on the water before.

Cath is a leadership coach working with senior leaders, teams and groups across the charity, public and small business sectors. She has more than 20 years’ experience as CEO for EBP South, a charity whose mission is to inspire and prepare young people for the world of work, working closely with schools and businesses across Hampshire. In 2022 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Portsmouth for her work across the community.

Cath has a professional background in working with young people and has seen first-hand the positive impact of sailing and outdoor education, particularly for young people living with disadvantage. She is a keen sailor herself, having raced a dinghy with her partner for many years and been Commodore at Locks SC. She and her partner now enjoy cruising their yacht in the Solent.

Claire Sunderland Hay is Head of Corporate Risk at Visa Europe, a regulated payments company with operations across 38 countries in Europe. Prior to this she was Chief of Staff at Visa Europe and spent 9 and a half years at the Bank of England in a variety of roles spanning policy making, firm oversight, FinTech and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Governor. Claire is also a governor at a primary school where she chairs the Pay and Admissions Committees. She is also a qualified accountant.

Claire and her family are frequent visitors to the Island, and she is passionate about the impact that UKSA has, especially those from less advantaged backgrounds. She is keen to support UKSA in its work to expand access to these opportunities and widen the population able to benefit.

Michael spent most of his career with Tesco, where his final role as a board director gave him responsibility for all UK store operations. He went on to become Chair of House of Fraser and also joined the Boards of Inchcape, Howdens Joinery, Money Supermarket.com and a variety of companies in Australia, Dubai and Romania as a non-executive director.

Latterly, Michael was Chair of E-ACT, one of the largest Multi Academy Trusts. He has a particular interest in literacy and is currently Chair of Shannon Trust.

Michael lives in Christchurch with uninterrupted views of The Needles. He is a lifelong windsurfing addict and a recent convert to wingfoiling and paddle boarding.