Jane Wildblood has been elected as Chair of trustees of the BWCE Fund. Jane became a trustee in 2023 and has taken over from Sophie Hooper Lea who had served as Chair for 6 years.
We are really pleased that Sophie has agreed to stay on as a trustee so that she can still offer her valuable experience and expertise to the fund.
“I’ve been a great supporter of BWCE since it’s inception in 2010 and so it is a great honour to have been elected to chair the BWCE Fund, particularly at this very exciting time for action on sustainable energy and the opportunities for community energy to lead the way. And I speak for all the Trustees, when I say I’m also very grateful to my predecessor, Sophie Hooper Lea, who has successfully and enthusiastically steered the Fund for the last 6 years and who will continue to support the Fund as a Trustee.”
Jane Wildblood, Chair, BWCE Fund
Jane has over 35 years’ experience in the environmental sustainability, climate and energy arena. After 17 years leading environmental campaigns at national and international level with Greenpeace, including the first campaign to promote solar power in the UK, she switched to local government, setting up the environmental sustainability functions first at Islington Council in London and then, from 2005, at Bath & North East Somerset Council, from which she has recently retired.
She led the Council’s strategic work, including running the area-wide Environmental Sustainability Partnership, developing the first Climate Change Strategy, the Community Energy Strategy and the response to the Climate Emergency, whilst facilitating action by the community, for the community. She enabled Bath & West Community Energy to get off the ground and is a passionate advocate for a truly sustainable local energy system, with community energy at its heart.
She is also a Trustee of the West of England Rural Network.
