PATRONS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS

After graduating in Modern History from New College, Oxford, followed by Voluntary Service Overseas in Papua-New Guinea (through which he met his wife, Gwendolyn), David spent 36 years in the Diplomatic Service from 1971 to 2007. He and Gwendolyn served in Thailand in the 1970s, 1990s and from 2003 to 2007 when David was British Ambassador (concurrently to Laos). Other overseas postings included South Africa, Australia and Vietnam (as Ambassador).

David speaks rusty Thai, French and Afrikaans. His post-retirement roles have included Chair of the Anglo-Thai Society, Vice-Chair of the British Red Cross, Vice-Chair of the Royal Over-Seas League, and teaching English to migrants. David and Gwendolyn live in Wiltshire. They have three sons and five grandchildren.

Steve is a Career Diplomat who spent much of the latter half of his career promoting British Trade/Investment interests in Asia with postings in Seoul (87-92), KL (96-00), Beijing (00-05), Bangkok (05-10). He subsequently spent 6 years on Secondment to the OCS Group as their London-based Asia Pacific/Adviser. The latter included attendance of quarterly Board Meetings in Bangkok and extensive regional travel.
 

Steve retired from the Diplomatic Service in 2015 and became Chair in October 2017. He also Chairs the UK’s largest Thai Charity, Safe Child Thailand.

Narisa, who is quarter Thai, quarter Russian and half British, was born in London but spent the early years of her life in Cornwall and Bangkok, attending school in both countries and is bi-lingual; speaking Thai and English. She has a degree in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, London University, and a Masters in Southeast Asian Area studies from SOAS, London University.

Narisa founded River Books in 1990 and has published over 200 titles on the art, history and culture of Mainland Southeast Asia, in particular Thailand. She has a small boutique hotel in the grounds of her Bangkok home, Chakrabongse Villas. Her husband, Gee, is half Thai and she has two sons.

Adrian grew up and was schooled in Warwick where he is now a governor of the Warwick Independent Schools Foundation. He read Law at Trinity Hall Cambridge was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1990. He has practised as a barrister since. He was appointed one of his Majesty’s Counsel (QC/KC or “silk”) in 2011. Adrian is a member of No5 Chambers, the biggest set of barrister's chambers in the UK with offices in London, Birmingham, and Bristol. He was Head of Chambers between 2020 and 2025. He is a governing Bencher (or Master) of the Inner Temple.  He has a life long passion for south east Asia - Thailand in particular. He is awaiting appointment as a Thai Honorary Consul. He is a founder member of the UK Laos Friendship Society and has done FCO sponsored legal outreach there. He is also on the managing committee of the Oriental Club. 

John came to England in 1965 and went to John Fisher boarding school in Surrey. After completing his schooling he started his medical training and graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London in 1981. He has worked at several hospitals in the UK and abroad but has now retired from his Consultant Haematologist NHS post at the North Middlesex Hospital, London.

He remains in private practice at local BMI hospitals in north London. He was a member of a Guideline Development Group for National institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and is now a Committee member of the Anticoagulation Specialist Association. He is also currently an active member of the Pathology Council, Royal Society of Medicine and has been a member of the Anglo-Thai Society since 2001.

Ann Chance is a freelance accountant, specialising in providing services primarily to small businesses. Her career in accountancy began in the 1980s, following her earlier work for the Local Authority in Environmental Health, the subject in which she graduated from the California State University, Northridge in 1981, having been brought in that part of the world. Accountancy ultimately became her chosen path, and over the years she has gained experience both in practice and as a Finance Manager for a small manufacturing company, until 2006 when Ann transitioned to self-employment.

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Ann became involved with the Society thanks to her friendship with a previous chair. Through this connection, she has participated in all the Anglo-Thai trips to the Far East, and her engagement with Thailand has been entirely as a tourist. ​Outside her professional life, Ann is passionate about open water swimming, walking and tennis. She regularly enjoys these activities in Maidenhead, the town where she lives with her husband Michael, who is also a member of the Society.

With a background in senior management within the UK Secondary Education (Independent and State) sectors, Angela held the post of Deputy Principal prior to joining the Office of Educational Affairs (OEA), The Royal Thai Embassy, in 2003 in the role of Senior Education Advisor and Head of the Privately funded Student Section.  

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Her original in-depth research for her doctoral thesis focused on the specific cultural, social and academic challenges faced by Thai postgraduates studying in the UK. 

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Angela has spent years chairing the ATS Education committee, whose  Educational Awards was a flagship annual event celebrating the talented postgraduate Thai students studying at UK universities. She is also a founding member of the London  Education And Research Network which provides an advisory platform for colleagues from  diplomatic missions and liaises with members of the All Party Parliamentary Group with special interest in international students. 

Noel Clehane is the Global Head of Public Policy at the global professional services organisation, BDO, and a chartered accountant with over 35 years’ experience in professional practice and public policy affairs. He has a particular focus in his work on economic and trade issues between Europe and ASEAN, notably Thailand, and is a Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board of the EU-ASEAN Business Council. He liaises closely with the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels, was a speaker at the Thai-Belgium Business Forum in September 2023 and visits Thailand regularly.

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Noel is the designated BDO representative on the UK-ASEAN Business Council, is a founding member of the board and current treasurer of ASEANChamEU as well as an active member of Asia Society Switzerland, the Belgian Vietnamese Alliance, the Vietnam-UK Network and Asia House in the UK.

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Noel is a Fellow of both Chartered Accountants Ireland and of ICAEW in the UK (where he was a Council Member 2014-2021) and holds other advanced qualifications from The Law Society Ireland, Insead Paris, the Institute of Risk Management, Florida Atlantic University and Zurich University of Applied Sciences. He was Chairman of the European Services Forum from October 2017 until December 2021.

Susan is a member of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. She previously taught Southeast Asian art and culture at Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York. She has curated exhibitions on the culture of Southeast Asia in the UK and Thailand.

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In 2003 she curated Power Dressing (2003) an exhibition to launch the opening of the James HW Thompson Museum in Bangkok. Her list of publications, books, articles and papers can be viewed on her web site (www.susanconway.com).

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Susan is also a Trustee of the children's charity, Safe Child Thailand.

Charlie graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in Thai Studies in 2009, receiving the Saranrom Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and a scholarship to continue her research into the field of disability policy in Thailand. She studied Thai language at Chiang Mai University and later completed a Master's in Thai Disability Policy whilst living in Bangkok.

Charlie has worked for the Royal Thai Embassy as an independent researcher and for the Thai Office of Educational Affairs as an advisor on disability policy. More recently, Charlie has worked in the non-profit sector with several charities that support Thailand, including For Life Thailand, Soi Dog Foundation and Safe Child Thailand, where she is currently CEO. Charlie is on the International Board of Childline. Thailand. 

Trevor read Physics at Imperial College and spent his career working in Research and Development in the Steel Industry. Following retirement he has done occasional lecturing at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam Universities. He joined the Society in 1986, and became Hon. Secretary in 1997.

Although Trevor has never worked in Thailand, he has travelled extensively in the country, and for many years supported a Thai child in the rice growing area near Khon Kaen, through the charity 'World Family Plan'. He is also Hon. Treasurer of the South Yorkshire branch of the Art Fund.

Saipin Lee has a wealth of experience in business and hospitality industry. She graduated with MBA from Hull and MSC in Real Estate from Reading.

Saipin is also Chair of The Association of Thai Business in UK (ATBUK), a non- profit organisation that promotes and supports Thai business.

Quinton was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1977-2010. In London, he served as International Director of UK Trade and Investment. His overseas postings included Bangkok, Paris, Jakarta and Bucharest. He served as British Ambassador to Romania from 2002-06 and British Ambassador to Thailand from 2007-10.

Since retiring from Diplomatic Service, Quinton has pursued a career in the private sector. He currently serves as Senior Adviser to the President of Thai Beverages and is on the board of Cottsway Housing Association and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

He also serves on the HS2 Hardship Panel and works as an advisor to Sindicatum Sustainable Resources and Prudential Plc. Quinton lives in the Cotswolds with his wife Alison and visits Thailand regularly. He is a fluent Thai speaker.

Dr. Chinnapat is Reader in Computational Materials at Queen Mary University of London (2022-present). He was Associate Professor in Digital Manufacturing at University of Leicester (2020-2022) and EPSRC UKRI Innovation Fellow & Senior Fellow at University of Oxford (2018-2020). Previously, he worked as a Research Fellow in Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre, University of Birmingham (2013-2018). He received his PhD in Metallurgy and Materials from University of Birmingham (2009-2013), and his BSc (Physics) from Chulalongkorn University (2004-2008).

Chinnapat was awarded a Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award from Rolls-Royce plc and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, for his doctoral study. His professional qualifications include Chartered Engineer (CEng); Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM); Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP); Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy(FHEA).

Tui is a recently retired professional guardian & educational advisor to Thai boarding school students. Having been sent to a prep school in Sussex in 1967, he continues to live and work in the UK, but still retains a close connection with Thailand.

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Tui operated a Thai restaurant of the same name in London’s South Kensington (one of the first batches of Thai restaurants in the UK) between 1985 and 2001 when he sold the business to the Thai Square Group. 

Khun Nopporn serves on the Executive Committee of the Anglo-Thai Society and is also Vice Chair of the Association of Thai Businesses in the UK (ATBUK) and the Thai Music Circle in the UK, where Thais and their children come together to learn traditional instruments.

He brings over 30 years of experience in journalism and media relations, having worked with leading outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, BBC News Thai, Forbes Thailand, the Bangkok Post, and the global child rights charity Plan International.

After his media career, he established Boon Sappaya Thai Massage in London, a wellness venture, reflecting his passion for wellness, culture, and community.