Lucy Pickford and Ben Lewis join Open City staff team

Open City has appointed Lucy Pickford as Chief Operations Officer and Ben Lewis as Development Manager.

Today Open City, the charity dedicated to making cities more open, accessible and equitable, is thrilled to annouce the appointment of two new members of staff.

Lucy Pickford will join the charity as Chief Operations Officer taking on leadership of the processes and systems used to power Open City’s work including the famous Open House Festival and the organisation’s wider educational programmes and events.

Lucy said: ‘It’s been a delight to watch Open City grow and develop, particularly over the past few years. I’ve long admired their work and am thrilled to be a part of an organisation that so fittingly aligns with my own values and passion for making the built environment open, accessible and equitable. As COO, the opportunity to be a part of this amazing work and play a role in empowering the team of staff to do even greater things, is one I’m truly looking forward to embracing.’

Also starting at Open City this month is Ben Lewis who will lead the charity’s development focusing on trusts and foundations. Ben brings experience managing grants and stakeholder relationships for Historic England, the Cultural Recovery Fund, and Arts Council England. He began his career as a researcher for a cultural heritage consultancy and is passionate about widening access and participation to arts and culture.

Welcoming both to the charity, Open City chief executive Phineas Harper said: ‘The races to become Open City’s new COO and Development Mangers were extremely competitive and I’m thrilled to welcome Lucy and Ben to our team. They are both exceptional and talented practitioners with a deep passion for making architecture, heritage and cities more accessible. Lucy brings a strong track record of developing effective tools and systems across a variety of organisations. As COO she will work closely with me and the Open City board to take the impact of our work to the next level. As development manager, Ben will help grow our core educational programmes, including the Open House Festival and our year-round work with children and young people, to new heights. 2023 is going to be great year for Open City and I can’t wait to get to work with Lucy and Ben – welcome, both!

You can contact Lucy Pickford on lucy@open-city.org.uk.

You can contact Ben Lewis on ben@open-city.org.uk.