Meet The Team
Key People
Richard Hughes
Chief Executive
Born and bred in Cefneithin, Carmarthenshire, Richard started his professional career in theatre and television production before a 16-year stint in local government working across leisure, culture, social care and wellbeing services. He became Chief Executive of Awen Cultural Trust in 2015.
Responsible to the Board of Trustees, Richard is committed to ensuring Awen is, and keeps on being , an organisation that has a real and sustainable impact on people’s lives and the wellbeing of communities.
A married dad of two, Richard now lives in Cardiff but remains a passionate west Walian and is a season ticket holder at the Scarlets.
Ceri Evans
Director of Development & Partnerships
Ceri has worked in theatre management, marketing and development for the past 25 years.
Her current role includes strategic oversight of Awen’s Theatres & Creative Wellbeing programme as well as acting as the strategic lead for our local authority and Arts Council of Wales partnerships. Ceri also leads on business development, partnerships and funding across the organisation. She lives in Porthcawl with her family and in her spare time enjoys playing tennis, going to the theatre and spending as much time as possible at the beach.
Richard Bellinger
Director of Operations
& Community Services
Originally from Yorkshire, Richard studied librarianship and Welsh
history at Aberystwyth University before moving to Bridgend to
start his career in libraries.
Richard’s role at Awen includes strategic oversight of libraries,
Bryngarw Country Park and our training programmes for adults with
learning disabilities, as well as Awen-wide responsibilities for health
and safety, facilities management, and insurance. Married with a
young daughter, in his spare time Richard enjoys live music, hillwalking
and learning Welsh.
Steve Dimmick
Commercial Director
Originally from Blaina, Steve is the entrepreneur behind a number of successful companies including the UK’s first recruitment agency to offer video job adverts, the creative communications consultancy Small Joys and most recently doopoll, the online real-time survey platform, which was acquired by QuestionPro in February 2023.
Steve’s role at Awen is to lead on our commercial endeavours, by identifying and activating new revenue streams as well as optimising operations to ensure Awen runs as efficiently as possible. Steve’s work will support the sustainability of Awen and its ability to impact positively on the lives of people and communities of South Wales.
A proud Welshman and fluent Welsh speaker, Steve splits his time between Cardiff and Cornwall with his three children and girlfriend. In his spare time he enjoys getting lost; in the pages of a book, on a long walk, watching a film, with new technology or his own reveries.
Helen Cook
Head of People
Helen joined Awen in 2015 after 24 years of working in local
government, first at Cardiff City Council then Bridgend County
Borough Council from 2011, where she discovered her interest
and passion for human resources. Helen has been a Chartered
Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) since 2009.
Helen enjoys taking her dog Murphy for walks and loves travelling .
Brought up in Nantymoel, Helen now lives in Coity.
Maria Goddard
Head of Finance
Maria joined Awen Cultural Trust as Head of Finance in 2018. A qualified management accountant, Maria has worked in finance for over 20 years, from large commercial organisations including PepsiCo and Vodafone UK, and other charities including Wales Millennium Centre. In 2019, Maria won highly commended Young Director of the Year at the Welsh Finance Awards.
Maria studied French and Spanish at university, and lived in Madrid during 2001. Her love of learning new things continued after her CIMA qualification and she gained her ILM level 5 in 2020.
Maria has two young children and lives near Cardiff. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, swimming, paddle boarding and cycling. Holidays are an important part of her life – her favourite being the Maldives, and wants to take her children all over the world.
Board of Trustees
Ava Plowright (Chair)
Ava Plowright is an experienced fundraiser and event manager, currently Fundraising Manager at Shelter Cymru, the housing and homelessness charity in Wales.Ava previously worked within the development team at Wales Millennium Centre, across all fundraising disciplines. An MA Arts Management Graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Ava joined the Board at Awen following completion of the Chwarae Teg ‘Step to Non Exec’ programme.
WILL CAMPION
Will, who is also director and chair of Awen Trading Limited, works for The Development Bank of Wales. Living in Aberkenfig, Will and his family are regular users of Awen’s theatres, the local library and Bryngarw Country Park. Will became a trustee at the start of Awen’s journey in 2015. He has seen Awen grow from strength to strength as a result of the hard work of the whole team and has enjoyed watching it become a recognised and trusted name.
Stuart Bain
Pencoed-based Stuart has 25 years’ experience in the financial sector, specialising in risk, compliance and governance. In his spare time, the married dad of two is a trustee and Treasurer for both the Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest conservation charity and The Wildlife Trust for South & West Wales. Stuart also volunteers with the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre. With a passion for the outdoors, nature, biodiversity and conservation, Stuart enjoys taking short camping trips and fishing with his son.
Noel Thomas
Carmarthenshire-based Noel specialises in cards and accepting payments for large, national organisations in the charity and higher education sectors. Prior to this, he worked as an Associate Banker who supported mid-sized organisations in South Wales. In his spare time, Noel, who has a young daughter, is a member of a male voice choir and is passionate about the benefits that arts and culture can bring to local communities. He is also interested in preserving historic buildings of significances and finding new ways to use them in the twenty-first century.
DAWN SMITH
Originally hailing from Scotland, Dawn has lived in Cardiff for over 30 years and now calls the capital her home. Dawn is a solicitor, specialising in Commercial Real Estate and first became involved with Awen in a professional capacity, before later becoming a Board member. Dawn has a passion for all things creative and has a particular love of live music. In her spare time, she enjoys attends music festivals and gigs, as well as a trip to the theatre.
robert evans
Rob is semi retired, having previously worked for 30 years as a senior manager at Bridgend College.Rob lives in Maesteg, is a fluent Welsh speaker and undertakes several voluntary roles including being a school and college governor. He enjoys watching live performances in the arts and is a keen sportsman who enjoys playing and and watching sport. Much of his spare time is taken up with travelling and his passion for photography. Rob is looking forward to regular visits to the refurbished Maesteg Town Hall.
CARLY MCCREESH
Based in Neat Port Talbot, Carly has a strong background in managing community development and social enterprise programmes over the last 20 years, both during her time in Bridgend Council for 8 years and more recently whilst working at Cwmpas, a national development body for social change. Working closely with decision makers and managing teams across Wales who support the not-for-profit sector, she has a wealth of expertise and networks to bring to the role. She has previous experience of being a trustee of a charity and Chair of its trading arm. Carly has a passion for the creative arts and is a keen visitor at the theatre as well as watching live gigs and festivals.
CONAL BEMBRIDGE
After growing up in the North Wales countryside, Conal moved to Cardiff in 2012 to study piano at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Following his studies Conal began a portfolio career as a highly sought after musical director, pianist, and lecturer, working across organisations in Wales and across Europe, which led to senior positions within the arts education sector. Conal is a proud Welsh speaker, and is passionate about supporting Welsh culture and communities, which has evolved into his career shift to delivering Welsh language education. In his spare time, Conal is a keen runner and is looking forward to his first marathon in Newport next year.
DANIEL TAYLOR
Daniel grew up in Kent to Welsh parents and now lives in Pen-y-Fai, Bridgend.He is an experienced governance and leadership consultant for GGI, supporting boards across the education, healthcare, local government and charity sectors. Before moving into consultancy, he led communications and engagement for Hastings Borough Council. He is a regular contributor to publications on governance and public sector leadership. Daniel is passionate about community engagement and the role of public purpose organisations in society and a user of the trust's services. Daniel previously served as a school governor and has supported arts charities. Outside of work, he runs a book club, enjoys hiking, exploring castles and mountains, sea swimming, and keeping up with rugby and football.
KATHRYN WARREN
Kathryn has more than 20 years’ experience in energy, engineering and sustainability consultancy, including a senior leadership role at a global plc. Her career encompasses energy decarbonisation, circular economy and waste and resource management. Kathryn is passionate about the arts and literature, and with her young daughter is a regular visitor to Maesteg Town Hall and library. A long term resident of the Llynfi Valley, Kathryn is passionate about the outdoors, a keen runner and a Director of Maesteg parkrun.
