Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees comprises a Chair and four Trustees who aim to meet four times a year either in person or virtually. The Trustees are the people responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of the charity on behalf of its beneficiaries.
Sir Stephen Bubb
Sir Stephen was appointed as Chair in March 2025 having served as a trustee on the Board since December 2022. He works in Oxford University as the Executive Director of the Gradel Institute of Charity, a research body based at New College. He has had extensive experience in the charity world; leading the UK national organisation for charity CEOs, establishing the National Lottery Charities Board and acting as a trustee of several charities, as well as extensive work as a Non-Executive Director on various government bodies and chairing two national enquiries for the Government. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 for services to the voluntary sector.
CHAIR
Professor Tommaso Saltini
Tommaso was appointed as a Trustee in February 2018 and is a Professor at Università Cattolica in Milan and a faculty member at ALTIS, Graduate School of Sustainable Management, teaching entrepreneurial finance, financial planning and impact financing. He is co-founder of Pro Terra Sancta, a network of European organisations that promotes and implements projects for the conservation and enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage, to support local communities and help in humanitarian emergencies in the Middle East. Tommaso believes strongly in the importance of fostering education and preserving the cultural heritage to support development, and that the work of PTSUK is vital to keep bonds alive with the Holy Land for the people in the world.
TRUSTEE
Guendalina Sassoli de’ Bianchi
Guendalina was appointed as a Trustee in February 2018. She holds a degree in International Affairs and, since 1992, has been working in the NGO and non-profit sector. For over fifteen years, she served as Director of Fundraising at Amref Health Africa Italy, an organisation headquartered in Nairobi. She has successfully combined her passion for Africa with her expertise in Direct Marketing, Corporate Partnerships, Events and Major Donor Relations. Since 2012, she has served as President of the Council of Supporters of Terra Sancta and has been closely involved in fundraising activities for both the Terra Sancta Museum and the Terra Sancta Association, whose President is the Custos of the Holy Land. She is based between Milan and Jerusalem.
TRUSTEE
Lucy Bubb
Lucy was appointed as a Trustee in June 2025. She is a qualified accountant (CIPFA) and accomplished Director with extensive leadership and governance experience, having worked for Deloitte for 18 years and is now an Associate of Lineofsight Consulting Limited. She also leads on faith and church engagement for Mothers’ Union, a women-led, international Christian movement focused on transforming lives, strengthening families and communities and advocating for meaningful change in the UK and around the world. As a committed Christian and having travelled to the Holy Land in May 2023, she joined the PTSUK Board of Trustees to help promote the work of the charity and the network more widely in the UK.
TRUSTEE
Dr Rakoen Maertens
Rakoen was appointed as a Trustee in September 2025, and is a Belgian-British social psychologist specialising in depolarisation and countering misinformation. With affiliations to the University of Cambridge, the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Oxford, and through NGO work at the UN, he has worked on cross-cultural dialogue and conservation. As a Christian concerned about the Holy Land, he joined the PTSUK Board of Trustees to help improve peace and conservation in the region by applying his expertise in behavioural insights and diplomacy.
TRUSTEE
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board acts as a sounding board for the Trustees. It has no formal role within PTSUK.
Baroness Helen Liddell
Baroness Liddell is a Life Peer of the UK House of Lords and a valued member of our Advisory board. Elected as an MP she also served as Secretary of State for Scotland and British High Commissioner to Australia. Helen brings critical insight to the charity operations in the UK.
Antoine Mattar
Antoine is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He practiced in a number of Arab countries throughout his working life. He was a partner in Andersen (a global accounting firm) based in London from 1986 until he retired in 2001. He then became a Non-Executive Director of Consolidated Contractors Group until 2022. He is now a Director of Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd. He is a Knight of the Order of St. John. He served as Deputy Chairman of St. John Eye Hospital Group from 1996 to 2011. He is Chairman of Palestine Britain Business Council. He is also International Director of the International Arab Society of Certified Accountants.
Stephen Byers
Stephen brings personal knowledge and insight to the charity as a regular visitor to the region. He is also able to draw on his high-profile political career as well as his skills as a qualified Lawyer. He was elected as an MP in 1992 for Labour in the Wallsend constituency and held a range of Government positions throughout his political career, such as: Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Trade and Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. He remains a member of His Majesty the King’s Privy Council. In addition to his charitable work Stephen acts as an adviser to several companies.
Father John Luke Gregory OFM
Father Luke was appointed to Rhodes as Guardian and Parish Priest by the Custos of the Holy Land in 2004. He was named Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Rhodes by His Grace the Archbishop of Athens. He was born in Sheffield and entered the Order of Friars Minor as a postulant in Rome in 1990. In 1998 he was ordained a priest and after 6 months he was made Knight of the Holy Sepulchre where for several years he had been Cantor. The ceremony took place in St. George’s Cathedral in London. From 1998 to 2004 he worked in the Secretariat of the Custody of the Holy Land, using his knowledge of English, Italian, French, Spanish and Arabic. He has since added Greek to his working languages and regularly writes for the Vatican News.