Who are we Our Team Trustees Tim Parker - Trustee Chair Tim joined the NAS in May 2008 and enjoys the challenge of solving the puzzle of what something was, how it was used and why it was there. As a lapsed recreational diver, his focus is coastal and foreshore archaeology, such as the Forton Lake Project, which he volunteered on and also provided the material for his Part 2 Project. He is also very interested in how technology can contribute to archaeology. He has supported the NAS Education Programme as an Assistant Tutor for several years and volunteered to become a trustee to become more involved with the society and to start to give something back to an organisation that he enjoys being part of. Tim lives in Portsmouth and previously served as a Royal Naval Engineer Officer, but is now enjoying a second career as a cyber and information security consultant. Tim became chair at the 2020 AGM in November 2020, taking over from Brian Minehane. Mike Williams - Trustee Secretary Mike Williams is a Visiting Research Fellow at Plymouth University’s School of Law, Criminology and Government, a member of the University’s Marine Conservation & Policy Research Group and a former Honorary Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. He has published extensively on the law relating to the foreshore and seabed and underwater cultural heritage. He has advised government departments and agencies, both in the UK and abroad and was retained as an advisor to the Crown Estate (Marine Division) on foreshore and seabed law. Mike sits on the UK’s Joint Nautical Archaeological Policy Committee, is a member of the Ministry of Defence’s Expert Panel on HMS Victory 1744, is a Deputy Chair of the Devon & Severn Inshore Fishery and Conservation Authority and a member of the Expert Network for UNESCO’s UK National Commission. Mike is a qualified commercial and recreational diver and as a member of the South West Maritime Archaeology Group conducted archaeological operations on several protected wreck sites. David Johnston - Trustee Dave Johnston is a senior tutor for NAS, running NAS courses around the UK and the world. He is an avocational underwater archaeologist and sports diver who has learned his archaeology through the NAS training scheme (currently Part 3, working towards Part 4) and by using that training to get involved in various projects. He is a member of the Warship Hazardous Prize Designated Wreck Project Team and also volunteers with the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology. He has also run NAS projects at Stourhead Gardens. A PADI Dive Master and BSAC OWSI, he is boat officer and webmaster for the NAS's dive club (www.nasac.org.uk) and is on the committee and is webmaster for the newly founded Association of Protected Wreck Licensees (www.protectedwrecks.org.uk). In order to pay for the archaeology he occasionally he finds time for his day job, running microscopes for the Medical Faculty at Southampton University. He is now a NAS senior tutor and member of the NAS Management Committee. Dr Damian Robinson - Trustee, Chair of Publications Sub-Committee Damian is a Senior Research Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at the University of Oxford, where he is the Director of the Centre for Maritime Archaeology. He works with the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology on the research and publication of the submerged landscapes of the Canopic coast of Egypt, where he is also excavating an Egyptian river going cargo vessel known as a baris. Alison James - Trustee Alison joined the Board of Trustees in 2018 having started her career in maritime archaeology with the NAS many years ago. Alison is a Director and Project Manager at MSDS Marine with extensive experience in the management of historic shipwreck sites, volunteer involvement, community engagement and education initiatives. Previously Alison spent ten years with Historic England managing England’s protected wreck sites and working with the licensed teams and volunteers who work on the sites. Prior to this she worked for Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (now the Maritime Archaeology Trust) running their education and outreach initiatives. Alison is also a PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor and an owner of Go Dive SCUBA store. She loves talking to NAS members so if you are ever visiting Go Dive do say hello! Alex Denny - Trustee When Alex isn’t in a suit as Head of Investment Trusts at Fidelity International, he is either muddy or wet indulging his passions for diving, the sea (and great outdoors), wildlife and history. Alex is a BSAC instructor and technical diver who joined NAS in 2016 to learn more about the UK’s maritime past and to help play a part in conserving it. Alex is also a trustee of the charity MARINElife, and the FIL UK Pension Plan, specialising in Governance, and has degrees in Chemistry and Law. Geoff Downer - Trustee, Vice Chair, Chair of Strategy Sub-Committee Geoff has been diving since he was 15, and an avocational maritime archaeologist since his university days. His experience ranges from 30 m (metres) visibility diving on roman shipwrecks in South Eastern Sicily to 30 mm (millimetres, that is not a typo!) visibility diving inside Poole Harbour. Geoff spent 3 seasons diving in Sicily with NAS past President, A J (Toby) Parker, and has worked in UK waters at Yarmouth Roads and extensively on the Studland Bay wreck project over 28 years! Recent volunteering with the NAS has included the Chesil Beach and Hazardous Prize projects. Geoff has been topping up his studies as well, now holding the NAS Certificate in Maritime Archaeology, and is an NAS Tutor. Geoff has been volunteering with the NAS for the last year and is currently deeply involved in the Save the London publicity team. He brings to the Executive Committee his business management skills and career experience in marketing, having run marketing services businesses and a consultancy which specialised in marketing strategy, data driven communications and customer management. Claire Hallybone - Trustee Claire has been a member of the NAS since 2005 and during this time has been involved in a number of projects including the excavation of Oakbank Crannog in Loch Tay, Bouldnor Cliff Mesolithic site near the Isle of Wight, the Colossus protected shipwreck in the Scilly Isles and the survey and recording of the John Preston slate wreck in the Sound of Mull. Claire joined the Board of Trustees in 2016 and helps co-ordinate member led projects. Claire is a BSAC Instructor and Director of Wreckspeditions Dive Charters where she plans expedition trips for divers to explore remote locations in the south west of Scotland. Previously Claire spent ten years with Thames Water managing the company’s impact on archaeology and heritage and working on many projects on the foreshore of the River Thames. Cat Holt - Trustee, Chair of Education Sub-Committee Cat is a museum professional who specialises in maritime collections. She has a degree in Marine Archaeology from Bournemouth University, and a Master’s in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester. Cat has worked on several significant maritime collections including the Invincible Collection at Chatham Historic Dockyard and acts as a consultant for The Shipwreck Museum in Hastings. Passionate about preserving maritime heritage both above and below the water Cat completed an apprenticeship in Historic Ship Conservation with National Historic Ships UK and now acts as a mentor for other students undertaking the course. Cat initially joined the NAS in 2008 and has now achieved her Certificate in Maritime Archaeology finding the NAS training courses a valuable source for continued professional development as well providing her the opportunity to get involved with some great projects and trips. Michael Curtis - Trustee Michael Curtis is a Honorary Fellow in the School of Archaeology & Ancient History at the University of Leicester, studying the Imperial Ports and Harbours of Crete and the development of the Provincial coastal infrastructure. He is a professional landscape and coastal archaeologist, having been active in British archaeology for over 50 years and in Greek archaeology since the mid-1990s, and is an Adult Learning tutor in Archaeology & Ancient History for Northamptonshire Adult Learning Services. He has been the founder of the Colloquiums on Post-Minoan Crete and Roman Crete and has published one volume of co-edited papers from these and a second volume is expected to be published at the beginning of 2022. Michael recently launched a new Study Group on Ancient Ports and Harbours of the Greek World, a collaborative initiative aimed at facilitating dialogue on the evolution and development of Greek ports and harbours from the Bronze Age to the Venetian period. He is also a leading member of an international project studying the Greek and Roman harbours at Ierapetra, in Eastern Crete. In addition to his work in archaeology, Michael has worked in both the public and private sectors specialising in marketing, communications, and engagement, and assisting in the development and delivery of several Government Public Service Campaigns. Michael Painter - Trustee Treasurer During his 12 years in the military Mike developed a love for diving, particularly on wrecks, and became a dive leader and open water instructor with a passion for helping others to experience the underwater world. Now settled in a second career in business finance and operations Mike became a Trustee and our Treasurer in 2022, wanting to use his skills and experience to support the Society’s vision and reconnect with the sea. Manage Cookie Preferences