"As a mum coming to Life, my kids have had birthday parties here, been ice skating, attended school workshops and been wowed by countless exhibitions. In a business capacity, I’ve come to Life to attend and host meetings; to network at special events, such as a live broadcast of Radio 4's Any Questions?; and I've helped to train scientists who’ve gone on to work at Life. As Chair, it is an enormous privilege to help steer Life for the years ahead."

“I look forward to contributing my skills and working with Life to inspire children and young adults to choose a career in STEM.”

“Life creatively combines world-leading science with education in a way that is fun and relevant for people of all ages and background. It shows what we can achieve when we work together.”

​“Life is a fabulous asset for the region and, speaking as a non-scientist, I appreciate that its exhibitions and events make me look at the world differently.”

“Science is the story of our world and our Universe; Life tells us that story brilliantly, every day.”

"As a local councillor, I want to contribute to the work and development of Life and help promote the centre within the local community. I am thrilled to serve on a Board that has a variety of skills and experience to offer."

"It's a privilege to join the Board and I'm excited to get involved in how Life can impact even more on developing young people's STEM skills to inspire everyone to explore science."

“After a lifetime’s work in scientific research and medicine (much of it based at Life) I am delighted to join the charity as a Trustee and work towards the goal of access to science for all.” 

"We’re fortunate to have, in Life, a place where children and adults can learn about the science that impacts all of our lives and which challenges us to question the world around us."
 

Alastair Balls was a major driving force behind the founding of Life and served as its Chief Executive for the organisation's first seven years, and then as Chair for 13 years, stepping down in June 2020.

Prior to this, Alastair was Chief Executive of the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation following a career in Whitehall, where, among his many appointments, he served as Senior Economic Advisor to HM Treasury and Undersecretary at the UK’s Department of Environment.

Matt Ridley is a distinguished author and science journalist. His books, including The Rational Optimist and The Evolution of Everything, have sold over a million copies, been translated into 31 languages and won several awards. His TED talk When Ideas Have Sex has been viewed more than two million times. He writes a weekly column in The Times (London) and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal.

Professor Fells is Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at Newcastle University and former Chairman of New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in Blyth, UK. He has published over 200 papers on a varied range of topics including rocket combustion and energy economics.

Linda is one of the original team who helped transform a once derelict area of Newcastle into the vibrant science village of Life. She’s now one of the most respected figures in the international  science centre community, travelling all over the world to give lectures and advise other bodies on setting up science centres. She has contributed to many boards and external organisations, one of the most significant being the Association of Science and Technology Centres (ASTC) – the US-based professional body that represents more than 600 science centres from over 50 countries. That’s quite an accolade for a Newcastle-based business leader with no science background! In 2016, Linda was awarded an MBE for her outstanding service to science and science education in North East England.

With a legal career in the public and private sector – latterly specialising in commercial land matters and regeneration – Claire is the director responsible for the Centre’s diverse property portfolio, its income generation and its upkeep (no mean task!) and for keeping our tenants happy.  Property provides vital income for the Centre, as it receives no funding from local or central government – we follow the motto ‘there’s no mission without the margin’.  Claire’s responsibilities also include corporate governance matters and human resources.  In effect, Claire is the person who does the regulatory stuff as well as the hiring and (hopefully not very often) the firing, too.

Natalie is responsible for leading the Public Engagement and Education teams, creating exciting, engaging and inspiring science experiences for our visitors and school groups. She is passionate about nurturing brilliant communicators and the power of science engagement to enable people to unlock their potential. Natalie also oversees Life’s community work, with partners including the North East Autism Society, West End Schools' Trust and African Community Action North East. Natalie has more than 15 years' experience of working in science museums, festivals and cultural venues across the UK – a career that started right here at Life as a recent biomedical science graduate of Newcastle University!

Being in charge of trading and operations means that every day is different. Trading covers all commercial activities, including the ice rink, concerts in Times Square and weddings. Commercial activities provide further income for the Centre to help achieve its charitable mission.  Operations covers the day-to-day running of the Centre, ensuring we're open on time, everything is working, toilets are clean, staff are ready to rock. Liz is also in charge of health and safety site-wide. Because of the nature of the role, with many fingers in lots of different pies, Liz works closely with her fellow Directors.

Whether it's marketing dinosaurs, exhibitions of dead bodies or robots, or organising visits by astronauts, Nobel Prize-winning scientists or prime ministers, Julia has the T-shirt(s).  She's responsible for all areas of marketing and communications for Life including the Science Centre, the wider public engagement and schools programmes, plus the promotion of commercial activities including Life Meetings and Events. She’s also tasked with raising awareness of the wider on-site activities and, given the range and breadth of activities, that’s a challenge. Julia has extensive marketing experience in education, industry and tourism and spent 14 years with the BBC as a radio presenter.

Kate looks after all aspects of the financial health of the Trust and its subsidiary commercial company. From overseeing the day-to-day finances, to planning investment strategy, meeting statutory reporting and filing obligations, ensuring adequate insurance cover, tax planning and cash flow – there’s not much that Kate can’t achieve when armed with a calculator and a spreadsheet! Kate spent many years in practice (as a partner in two local practices, Rainbow Gillespie and Haines Watts North East) before moving into the not-for-profit sector in 2010. Kate has a degree in biotechnology, making her career move to Life a "coming-full-circle" story.