Matt has over twenty years' experience in the education sector across primary, middle and secondary schools. He has been a headteacher of two primary schools, taking one from an Ofsted judgement of ‘special measures’ to 'good' and one from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’. More recently, Matt held the position of director of education in a large multi-academy trust in the West Midlands, overseeing significant improvements in educational outcomes.

Matt was previously one of His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI), leading over seventy school inspections and multi-academy trust summary evaluations. During his time as an HMI, Matt was appointed by Ofsted as their national lead for physical education.

Matt joined The Rivers CofE Academy Trust as CEO in September 2023. As one of the largest primary-specialist trusts in the West Midlands, the trust currently has sixteen good and outstanding primary, first and pre-schools and a thriving teaching alliance. The trust is a collaborative community sharing the same mission and values and a focus on providing an extraordinary education for every pupil.

Matt is also a member of the steering group for the Worcestershire CEO network and a board member for the University of Worcester's ITT Strategic Governance Board.

Mike has spent the past twelve years working in the IT industry in a variety of roles after graduating with a BSc in computing and has a wealth of experience working in both the private and education sector. Mike has been involved with The Rivers MAT since its inception as well as helping with the tender process for the NWPA build. In recent years, Mike has been responsible for a number of high value projects including a multi-million pound data centre build in the heart of Birmingham and has been responsible for leading operational transformation. Mike is looking forward to working with The Rivers MAT again and is hoping to use his experience and expertise to help benefit all the staff and pupils within the trust.

Vanessa joined West Midlands Police Force in 1993. She has delivered on a wide range of roles and specialisms across the organisation and region. Vanessa worked as a senior investigating officer within the force’s CID department before moving to the Public Protection Unit overseeing complex child abuse cases across the Black Country area.

Throughout her career, Vanessa has been passionate about the prevention of crime. This was in roles such as offender management and neighbourhood policing, where she was the cybercrime lead for a quarter of Birmingham, and then, more recently, as director of the West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre.

As a detective superintendent within the regional organised crime unit for the West Midlands, Vanessa aims to reach as many businesses as possible to help them become cyber safer. This is through an innovative partnership of business, academia and policing and is part of a national strategy to help businesses get safer on line.

Anna Gilbert practices in the role of Counsel at the international law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP.  Anna has a particular interest in complex cross-border financial disputes and has practised as a lawyer in the United Kingdom, the Cayman Islands and Australia. In addition to her commercial litigation practice, Anna is a member of Hausfeld's environmental and human rights law team, advising non-profit organisations and public interest bodies on disputes involving environmental issues, often on a pro bono basis. Anna is a Worcester resident and is passionate about local educational issues.

Currently, Linda works at BDMAT as Director of People and Communication. Prior to this, Linda held a similar role for E-ACT Multi Academy Trust. With over thirty years’ experience in the education sector, Linda is passionate about supporting schools and being part of a sector that makes a difference to the lives of children. Previously, Linda has been the chief executive of a national charity and a governor at two secondary schools as well as a trustee of a charity.

Simon joins us with over twenty-five years of extensive experience in cross-domain strategy, planning, operations, security, and delivery. He currently serves as the founding director of a consultancy firm specialising in cyber resilience, governance, and leadership. Simon's career as a senior army officer has honed his leadership and operational skills and fostered diverse expertise through global operations and UK-based roles. His areas of proficiency include multi-agency and multi-national collaboration, strategic communication, cyber resilience, physical security, and business continuity.

Following his service in the army, Simon was a director of operations within the education and charity sectors. This transition further refined his skills, particularly in risk management and the facilitation of transformative change. Simon is highly motivated and deeply committed with a track record that demonstrates resilience and adaptability and an expert capability in navigating complex challenges in the ever-evolving landscape of governance and leadership.

Andy joined the trust in February 2018 following a move to the area from Norfolk.  After a 40-year career in the manufacturing sector, first qualifying as a chartered management accountant, and then moving into senior general management roles with GKN and FKI, Andy moved to the United States to lead the Taylor Made Group as their president and chief operating officer. After five years he made the decision to retire and move home in late 2015. Shortly after returning to the UK, Andy joined The Evolution Academy Trust in Norwich and became their chair of trustees and is very much looking forward to bringing this experience to the board.

Richard has worked in education in Worcestershire for over thirty years. He has previously been headteacher at Grimley and Holt Primary School in West Worcestershire and is now in his fourteenth year as headteacher at Woodrow First School in Redditch. Richard has worked throughout the UK, the Middle East and Europe supporting pedagogy and curriculum development.

Richard brings a broad range of experience to the trust having led in first, primary and middle settings as well as faith and community schools.

Jane was headteacher of Red Hill CofE Primary School and Fort Royal Community Primary School in Worcester. She retired in 2016 after a career of more than twenty-five years in the education sector. During her career, Jane worked in both mainstream and special schools in several counties, including Worcestershire.

Jane has been part of the trust’s governance team for a number of years, recently as a headteacher advocate and previously as a governor/school improvement board member at two trust schools. Jane was also a member of the governance working party that designed and implemented the trust’s new governance structure and she has had a pivotal role during its first year of implementation.

Jane is also a trustee of Onside Advocacy, a Worcester-based charity, and volunteers at Citizens' Advice.

Viv trained as a modern language’s teacher, taught for six years and then worked as an operations manager for a travel company before spending nine years (2006 – 2015) as Assistant Director of Education for the York Diocese, with particular responsibility for governance, admissions, headteacher recruitment and training. Since relocating to Worcester, Viv has taken on a variety of roles including voluntary work with children, freelance education workshops for the Anne Frank Trust and tutoring.

Sally is the founder and head of Kimichi School in Birmingham, a secondary school specialising in music. Sally is an avid musician and an active member of Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of St. John, Sinfonia of Birmingham and both the Worcester and Chandos Symphony Orchestras. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Society for Education and Training and the Chartered College of Teaching and founded the Kimichi Symphony Orchestra in 2017. She currently holds the position of vice-chair of governors with Waverley School and has just completed her MBA. Sally was awarded an MBE for her services to education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2021

Andy joined the trust in February 2018 following a move to the area from Norfolk.  After a 40-year career in the manufacturing sector, first qualifying as a chartered management accountant, and then moving into senior general management roles with GKN and FKI, Andy moved to the United States to lead the Taylor Made Group as their president and chief operating officer. After five years he made the decision to retire and move home in late 2015. Shortly after returning to the UK, Andy joined The Evolution Academy Trust in Norwich and became their chair of trustees and is very much looking forward to bringing this experience to the board.

Paul West joined the board in September 2016 as a diocesan representative. He has thirty-two years of policing experience, including thirteen years as a chief officer and eight years as the chief constable of West Mercia Police. In 2011, he was joint director of the Indian Police Service Mid-Career Training Programme in Hyderabad, India. He has been the Bishop of Worcester's advisor on criminal justice affairs since 2012. He maintains an active involvement in criminal justice matters through being an independent member of both the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Parole Board. He was also a member of the Prison Service Pay Review Body between 2016 and 2023. Paul is an honorary Fellow of the University of Worcester, where he was previously a governor, and is a trustee of Hartlebury Castle. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Worcestershire in 2019.

Professor Mick Waters works with the schools in the West Midlands in raising standards. This work began as part of the Black Country Challenge and has continued through the University of Wolverhampton’s involvement with the development of Academies and Teaching Schools. He works with schools in other parts of the country on innovative approaches to learning and on several other initiatives to push the boundaries for making learning better.

Currently, Mick is working with the Welsh Government developing professional standards for teachers and school leaders as well as supporting two governments abroad in developing national curriculum proposals.

Mick is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers and supports several educational causes. He is a patron of the Children’s University which offers a range of learning opportunities beyond the school environment and of SAPERE which promotes Philosophy for Children as a route to learning. Mick is also a patron of the Curriculum Foundation, which seeks to promote a voice for the power and potential of the whole curriculum. Mick supports the National Association for Environmental Education as a vice president and is also chair of CoEd which promotes compassionate education.

During his career, Mick has been a teacher and head teacher before working at senior levels in Birmingham and Manchester Local Authorities. He worked at a national level with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority where he was Director of Curriculum.

Mick believes that learning should be treasured and valued and that it needs to be shaped to fit with children’s lives. People in schools need to set understandings of their children alongside the learning they should meet to create learning that is irresistible.

Mick believes in being close to teachers, children and schools, and is often to be found in the classroom working with children. He has written books on the curriculum, teaching and learning, and leadership, as well as making presentations at numerous national and international conferences. He is passionate about the role of education in improving life chances for pupils. He enjoys asking adults to look at learning through the eyes of a pupil.