The Happy Museum is managed by a small team of freelancers – contact us.

Hilary Jennings (Associate) works freelance across the arts and cultural sectors.  In a varied career she has worked with greengrocers, lawyers, pharmacists, teachers, engineers, artists, writers, and (quite literally) butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. She worked for several years as an Associate of the Cultural Leadership Programme and has worked extensively in the craft sector including managing the inaugural Craft Skills Award and serving as Interim Chair of the Craft Industry Board. She was co-author of MMM’s Sustainable Ability (www.sustainableability.com) which mapped approaches to climate change across the cultural sector and is also a co-founder of the Case For Optimism (www.caseforoptimism.org.uk) a network which creates space for practitioners in the arts and cultural community to maximise their creative response to global challenges. She was founder co-chair of Transition Town Tooting and is a Trustee of the Transition Network.  Her interests include local drama and outdoor swimming.

Gaby Porter (Associate) is an independent consultant, working with people in a wide range of cultural organisations, enterprises, partnerships and teams. In her work, she uses the Thinking Environment (developed by Nancy Kline) to enable people to think afresh, focus on what matters most, and generate powerful actions by which they increase their impact, extend their reach and realise their aspirations. Gaby has worked with Anne Murch for many years and on many projects, including developing Inspiring Learning for All, the national best practice framework to put users and learning at the forefront of planning and services in museums, libraries and archives, launched by MLA in 2004. They also developed leadership programmes for the British Museum and its UK Partners; and for the Women Leaders in Museums Network. Gaby was Co-Director of the Museum Leaders Programme at the University of East Anglia from 2003 to 2012. Gaby is a partner with Battersea Arts Centre in Creative Museums, a programme of experimentation for six smaller museums to build lively programmes and animate venues, directly and creatively involve their audiences, tackle challenges and generate new business opportunities. Gaby is a Fellow, Fellowship Appraiser and mentor for the Museums Association. She has a doctorate in Museum Studies (University of Leicester). She teaches and practices yoga and somatic movement, and loves gardening and walking.

Mandy Barnett , MBA FRSA (Associate) A consultant, her company, MB Associates, is at the forefront of understanding new ways to measure social impact so we can make a difference to people’s lives.  Mandy is part of national steering groups for the DfE, DCMS and Social Return On Investment network.  Mandy was formerly head of exhibitions at the Commonwealth Institute and Director of Bankside Arts Training Trust, which helped Tate Modern and others with socially responsible recruitment.  She has an MBA from London Business School.

Lucy Neal OBE (Associate)  Co-founding director of the LIFT Festival, she is interested in social sculpture and how celebratory events act as a catalyst for change. Co-author of MMM’s Sustainable Ability (www.sustainableability.com), and co-founder of Case For Optimism (www.Caseforoptimism.co.uk),  recent projects Emergence The Summit at the Centre for Alternative Technology and the Tooting Transition Shop explore the role of the arts in the shift to a more sustainable future.  Active in the Transition Town movement since 2008, she has recently published Playing for Time, the Transition Book on the Arts.  She was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to drama.