The committee is elected by the members each year at our Annual General Meeting.

Current trustees are:

Topsy Murray (Chair)
Ruth Burdett (Vice-chair)
Cathy Knowles (Treasurer)
Jean Hindmarch (Secretary)
Ann Bevan (Study days)
Trudy Coe (Visits)
Janice Giffen (Community Arts Projects)
Sue Pfunder (Lectures)
Rumi Ringshall (Communications)
Hans Sundin (Membership)

A little more about us:

Topsy Murray (Chair)

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 a few 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. 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. I am honoured now to be Chair with all the opportunities and challenges that this brings.

 

Ruth Burdett (Vice-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 my village.

 

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.

 

Ann Bevan (Study days)

Bio to follow.

 

 

 

 

Trudy Coe (Visits)

I am delighted to be elected as the new Visits lead for TASO. My love of the arts dates back to an evening Diploma in Art History I studied at the National Gallery, while working as a civil servant in London. Since then, I’ve regularly visited galleries and exhibitions across the UK and Europe and have just ventured into creating my own art for the first time through joining a local arts class. I’m also currently taking a course on the Visual Arts at the Department for Continuing in Education here in Oxford, where I worked for the University for many years. I’ve been a TASO member since 2020 and am excited to be taking forward the Visits programme.

 

Janice Giffen (Community Arts Projects)

I began my professional life as a development economist, first working on debates about economic planning in the then Soviet Union, and then with donor agencies working in various parts of the global south. As a family, we lived in West Africa for a number of years, where I began to work with the NGO/voluntary sector, which I continued to do after moving to Oxford. I have always been interested in different cultures, their contexts, outlooks and associated arts, and the power of the arts to provide new perspectives and insights – reminding us that we are all part of humanity. And I am passionate about the role of TASO in working to make the arts feel accessible to the widest range of people, ‘engaging and encouraging people from all walks of life.’ It is in this spirit that I have chosen to work with the Community Arts Projects Committee, to identify and support arts projects within the local community.

 

Sue Pfunder (Lectures)

Bio to follow.

 

 

 

 

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 be a trustee of TASO.

 

Hans Sundin (Membership)

I was born in Sweden and moved to the UK with my career in container logistics, moving to Oxford in 1999. I have played football, ice hockey and run quite a few marathons over the years, as well as enjoying all kinds of music, ballet, food & wine and travel. In more recent years I’ve become interested in art more generally and joined TASO to have the opportunity to learn more. I’ve been active in Oxford Wine Club and in a local youth project. I now volunteer for Age UK, where I befriend and support elderly people who are on their own. I am delighted to become a TASO trustee and very much look forward to working with trustees and members alike.