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Wellcome Collection announces its new Advisory Committee

Wellcome Collection is pleased to announce its new Advisory Committee. Three external members have been appointed to work alongside Wellcome senior staff to provide strategic guidance and advice for Wellcome Collection. Drawn from the fields of libraries and museums, the external members have specialist knowledge of digital collections and public engagement, among other skills and expertise. Their role will be central in supporting Wellcome Collection in its ambition to become a world-leading museum and library that explores health and human experience. 

The Committee will be chaired by Paula Kahn, who is experienced in governance matters. It will also include: Dr Aruna Bhaugeerutty; Masud Khokhar; and Wellcome members Kathy Poole, Wellcome Director of People; Paul Schreier, Wellcome Chief Operating Officer; and Philomena Gibbons, Wellcome Associate Director, Transition and Legacy.   

The Advisory Committee will work with Melanie Keen, Director of Wellcome Collection, Wellcome Collection’s Leadership Team, and Wellcome’s Executive Leadership Team and Board of Governors to support the delivery of Wellcome Collection’s future strategy.   

Melanie Keen, Director of Wellcome Collection, said, “With the heralding of a new strategy for Wellcome, this is a timely moment to establish a group that will act as ambassadors and advocates amplifying Wellcome Collection’s significance as a cultural institution. They will bring a range of expertise across the museums and libraries sector, which will be key in helping shape Wellcome Collection’s future direction, while guiding our work to become more accessible and inclusive.”

Paula Kahn has worked throughout her life in education, health and housing, combining working as a trustee in a range of cultural organisations and charitable foundations. She spent over 20 years at Longman, the international education publisher, finally becoming the Group Chief Executive. She then led the World Learning Network and subsequently became the Managing Director of Phaidon Press. Later, Paula was appointed Chair of her local NHS Primary Care Trust and North Central London NHS, responsible for a multimillion-pound budget. She moved to social housing, becoming Chair of Metropolitan Housing Trust for seven years. Alongside this, she was a Trustee of Camden Arts and of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), eventually becoming Acting Chair after Professor Stuart Hall retired. She is currently Treasurer of the Stuart Hall Foundation and engaged in a range of cultural sector activities. 

Dr Aruna Bhaugeerutty is a specialist in the online discovery of museum collections. Her team at the Ashmolean Museum recently delivered the digitisation and publication of 25 per cent of the museum’s collection online and an overhaul of the museum’s digital collection systems infrastructure. She has been closely involved in the development of Oxford University’s GLAM Digital Strategy as well as an equality, diversity and inclusion programme for museum staff. 

Masud Khokhar is the University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds. A computer scientist by education, and with libraries in his DNA, Masud is passionate about digital leadership and innovation in the changing library and archive environments. His core interests include strategic development, digital transformation, open research and inclusive leadership. Masud is also the Vice-Chair of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and a firm supporter of championing and embedding diversity in our thinking and practice within libraries and collections.

For press information and interview requests please contact

Juan SanchezComms Lead, Wellcome Collection
j.sanchez@wellcome.org


About Wellcome Collection

Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library exploring health and human experience. Its vision is to challenge how we all think and feel about health by connecting science, medicine, life and art. It offers changing curated exhibitions, museum and library collections, and public events, in addition to a café. Wellcome Collection publishes books on what it means to be human, and collaborates widely to reach broad and diverse audiences, locally and globally.   

Wellcome Collection actively develops and preserves collections for current and future audiences and, where possible, offers new narratives about health and the human condition. Wellcome Collection works to engage underrepresented audiences, including D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and racially minoritised communities.   

Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, which supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, global heating and infectious diseases. We are a politically and financially independent foundation.