The committee is elected by the members each year at our Annual General Meeting.
Current Trustees are:
Ruth Burdett (Chair)
Ray Wright (Vice-chair)
Jean Hindmarch (Secretary)
Cathy Knowles (Treasurer)
Kim de Keijzer (Membership)
Rumi Ringshall (Communications)
Topsy Murray (Lectures)
Steve Rogers (Visits)
Sue Hine (Study days)
A little more about us:
Ruth Burdett (Chair)
Born and brought up in Edinburgh, I have lived in Wheatley for more than 40 years. With a background in physics, I worked for a number of years as an editor on science research journals before moving into a career in educational publishing mainly with Heinemann where I worked for more than 15 years, latterly as Publishing Director for Secondary Schools. Away from work, I was for many years a school governor and, on the arts side, have been involved in and produced many plays and musicals in the village. Most recently I was Chair of Trustees of Oxfordshire Contemporary Opera – a small charity, based in the community and aiming to provide opportunities for new music and young singers working alongside community volunteers. I joined the Trustees of the Arts Society Oxford as Secretary three years ago, and am delighted now to become Chair with all the opportunities and challenges that brings.
Ray Wright (Vice-chair)
I moved to Oxford from London in 1995 with my young family after an international business career as an economist and financier working
in the computer industry, including time based in Boston and Geneva as well, of course, in ‘The City’. I already knew Oxford quite well as I was brought up in Newbury and visited Oxford often for the music and the museums. On my business travels I regularly took the option of visiting museums, art galleries and concert halls rather than just the bars and restaurants. Or, if mountains were anywhere near I’d head there, as hill walking and bird watching, are my other main leisure pursuits. I’m delighted to join the Trustees of TASO to look after the Membership admin and records, and to support Members’ interests in general. The Society offers members a comprehensive range of events, lectures visits and Study days and is open to all in and around Oxford who would like to know more about the history and background of the vast world-class collection of art, artefacts, houses, and gardens to be found locally and in the UK generally.
Cathy Knowles (Treasurer)
I returned to Oxford 24 years ago, having lived here as a student. After a commercial career as an accountant with Unilever, M&S and H.J. Heinz, I have been lecturing in accounting and finance at Oxford Brookes University. I have a doctorate in charity accounting and I have been the Treasurer of the Prison Reform Trust and lay member on the Finance committee of the Faculty of Public Health, amongst other voluntary roles.
My love for the arts was nurtured by my mother – a long-standing member of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies – and my first degree in History.
Jean Hindmarch (Secretary)
I’ve lived in Oxford for many years but maintain strong connections with the North-east, where I was born and brought up, and still miss its expansive, windswept beaches. 
My interest in art and architecture developed during a gap year when I worked in Florence and during a term in Venice while at Warwick University.
After teaching English as a foreign language, I worked in the English Language Teaching Division of Oxford University Press, at the Publishing Training Centre, and most recently at Hospice UK, the national charity for hospices and hospice care. I’m a trustee of Low Carbon West Oxford and an enthusiastic member of a community choir, The Jericho Singers.
Kim de Keijzer (Membership)
The arts have always been a part of my life. In the eight countries I’ve lived I have always volunteered and enjoyed the local cultures. Studying the arts (graphic design and art history) in Rotterdam and Amsterdam gave me a great foundation and knowledge base to the art world. My hobbies include a wide range of activities from drawing at the RA and ceramics to travel and hiking. I hope to see you around for a chat.
Rumi Ringshall (Communications)
I moved to Oxford in 2015 and immediately joined TASO. I was born and brought up in Tokyo, 
have lived in California and Singapore as well as five counties in England, and am lucky to have settled in this beautiful Thames-side university city thriving in the arts. I have worked as a legal translator, taught English and piano, helped curate the Children’s Discovery Centre at the National Museum of Singapore, conducted choirs, been a trustee of Gerrards Cross Sailing Association and Iffley Music Society, and am currently a trustee of Oxford Studio Orchestra. Having organised TASO teas/coffees and registration for a number of years, I am delighted to join the trustees of TASO.
Topsy Murray (Lectures)
I lived in Oxford when I was at Wolfson College undertaking research into family law and social policy. I then moved to Exeter for several decades before returning to Oxford four years ago to be nearer family. I had a busy career in NHS management, ending up as a policy adviser on primary care services at the Dept. of Health. My interest in the arts began with a forgettable season with the National Youth Theatre and student jobs working with a West End Theatre producer. Over the years, this has developed into studying art history through a range of courses, born out of envy of those who can create art where my skills in this field are so dismal. A friend and I set up our own art history lecture series in Exeter using local specialists in their field under the auspices of the WEA. I was a magistrate for 34 years, specialising in Family Law and I am co-author of three books on social policy. I’ve held trustee posts with an NHS Trust, a hospice and I’ve been a school governor. Sharing the role of programme planning for TASO is a welcome and exciting opportunity.
Steve Rogers (Visits)
My interest in the arts began when I was about 12, when I wanted to be a film director! My favourite film then and now is ‘Bicycle Thieves’. Due to ill health, I didn’t start my career until I was in my thirties, in social services, which was more by accident than design. This was via a degree in sociology/psychology and several post graduate diplomas. 
At university, I directed a stage production of ‘A Taste of Honey’, which was later followed by directing several amateur theatre productions. My taste in the Arts is eclectic and I have studied various formal and informal Open University courses in aesthetics and art history, as well as undertaking numerous courses on classical music, architecture, literature and film. Recently I finally realised my ambition – I attended a summer school at Oxford School of Drama, followed by enrolling in the MA course in Shakespeare and Theatre at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford.
I passionately believe that the Arts should be accessible to everybody because they are rooted in our very being and I espouse the fact that nobody should ever be restricted from pursuing them because of their background. I am an advocate for the performing arts and believe that my role as a Trustee should be to encourage innovation and creativity within the society
Sue Hine (Study days)
I spent most of my working life as a secondary English teacher, becoming 
head of sixth form in two Oxfordshire schools and an assistant head teacher. I have also worked in community education and FE. Since retiring I have completed an MA in the History of Art at Brookes, and studied various ten-week art history courses with OUDCE. More recently I spent seven years volunteering for the Ashmolean Museum, organising lectures, study days and visits for the Friends. I have been a member of The Arts Society Oxford for about 10 years, and joined the Study Day team in 2021, becoming a trustee in 2022. I very much enjoy the variety of topics offered by the Arts Society lectures, study days and visits, and the challenge of organising events.