Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has appointed a new Chair and four Board Members to the Northern Ireland Museums Council (NIMC), the lead development body for local museums. Jessica Hoyle, who has served as Interim Chair since September 2025, formally takes up the permanent Chair position from 1 February 2026 for a four-year term. She is joined by Ruth Balmer, Liesa Johnston, Celine McStravick and Laura Patrick.
The appointments, announced by the Department for Communities on 23 February 2026, come as the NIMC continues supporting UK Museum Accreditation standards, delivering grant programmes and providing training to help local museums engage with their communities. The council acts as the key strategic body for institutions ranging from the Armagh County Museum to the Linen Hall Library in Belfast.
Leadership Team and Terms
Jessica Hoyle will serve as Chair until 31 January 2030. She currently works for Tourism NI as an Experience Brand Development Manager, with responsibility for developing a portfolio of tourism experience businesses and the ‘Embrace a Giant Spirit’ brand, driving engagement to enhance Northern Ireland as a must-see destination. Prior to this, she spent 10 years working in the museums sector across a range of UK museums and galleries. She has served as an NIMC Board Member since September 2023 and as Interim Chair from September 2025. She is an active member of the NIMC Board’s Audit & Risk Committee (ARAC) and the Grants Committee, where she helped secure increased capital funding, allowing the organisation to deliver wider grant funding to the museums and heritage sector.
The four new Board Members, also appointed from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2030, bring diverse expertise to the governance body:
- Ruth Balmer: A dietitian who has worked across health service and civil service settings in public health nutrition, Balmer most recently served as British Dietetic Association (BDA) Policy Officer for Northern Ireland. She is involved with voluntary and charity work in her local community and is a Churchill Fellow.
- Liesa Johnston: A Senior Strategy and Innovation Advisor at a leading creative consultancy and lecturer in Business Management at Belfast Metropolitan College, Johnston teaches Strategic Leadership and Management. She has worked alongside Invest NI and Tourism NI on innovation and growth programmes, developing new visitor experiences. She holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.
- Celine McStravick: Chief Executive of the NI Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), the leading umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector. Most recently, she was Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), working to improve outcomes for children, young people, families and communities. She has previously served as a board member of Sport NI and the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education.
- Laura Patrick: Regimental Heritage Officer for The Royal Irish Regiment and Project Director for UNTOLD Stories of the Irish in the British Army. In these roles, she has implemented good governance and transparent governance models, including establishing two new independent charitable companies.
Governance Arrangements
The Chair requires a time commitment of at least 12–14 days per year, with Board Member positions requiring 4–8 days per annum. These are unpaid voluntary positions, though travel and subsistence allowances are payable in line with NI Civil Service rates.
The appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s (CPA NI) Code of Practice. The Department for Communities states that all appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process, though the political activity of appointees is published for transparency. None of the five appointees hold other public appointments or have undertaken political activity in the last five years.
Strategic Context and Omissions
The new board succeeds Nora Douds, who served as Chair from March 2021 through February 2026. While the press release presents these appointments as routine administrative matters, the composition suggests potential strategic shifts. Hoyle’s tourism background and Johnston’s experience with Invest NI and Tourism NI indicate the council may strengthen ties between museums and the visitor economy. McStravick’s leadership of NICVA, the voluntary sector umbrella body, could enhance connections with community groups at a time when local museums increasingly rely on volunteer support.
Notably, the announcement does not specify the strategic challenges the new board will face, such as ongoing funding pressures, the need for digital transformation in smaller museums, or the governance of contested heritage. Patrick’s role leading the UNTOLD project—which consolidates military regimental collections to tell the story of Irish soldiers in the British Army—places her at the centre of sensitive historical narratives. While the press release notes her work on “transparent governance models,” it does not detail how potential overlaps between her operational project role and her governance responsibilities will be managed.
Questions for the New Board
- How will the board balance the sector’s need for sustainable funding with the voluntary, unpaid nature of these governance roles, which may limit who can afford to serve?
- Given Hoyle’s tourism expertise and the presence of two appointees with Tourism NI connections, will the council prioritise visitor revenue and economic impact over conservation and academic research?
- What specific governance oversight will the board provide regarding contested heritage projects, particularly given one member’s direct involvement in consolidating military collections?
- How will the board ensure representation and support for smaller, rural museums that may lack the resources to engage with the council’s programmes?
- With the appointments effective from February 2026, what immediate priorities will the board address regarding the sector’s recovery and resilience?
The new board will serve until January 2030, overseeing a critical period for Northern Ireland’s museums as they navigate funding constraints, digital evolution and the ongoing challenge of representing complex histories to diverse audiences.