Pilar Bahamonde – President

Committees: Membership, Barcelona Conference Subcommittee, Communications
Committee chair: Membership (co-chair)

Spanish. Member since 2012 and Council Member since 2016. She is the director of the Centre of Studies of Liébana, an institution belonging to the Regional Education, Culture and Sport Society of the Government of Cantabria, and has vast experience in all tasks connected with cultural tourism in rural areas. She is specifically dedicated to the preservation and promotion of tangible and intangible religious heritage, focusing on pilgrimage.

Peter Aiers – Treasurer

Committees: Finance
Committee chair: N/A

British. Council member since 2023. 34th Master and Chief Executive of the Charterhouse. He was previously the Chief Executive of the Churches Conservation Trust, a national charity caring for historic church buildings across England and had worked here for 15 years. Peter Aiers’s background is in historic building conservation and has always had a particular interest in how historic buildings can best serve contemporary society. He has a track record of significant historic church building development projects and also invented Champing™. Peter is a trustee of the Heritage Alliance, and Goodwill Solutions CIO and also a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.

Stefan Beier – Secretary

Committees: Finance, Membership
Committee Chair: n/a

German. A member since 2018 and a council member since 2019, Stefan is the Chair of the Board of KLOSTERLAND, an association of monasteries in Germany and Poland. Director of Museum im Zisterzienserkloster Lehnin (Museum in the former Cistercian Monastery of Lehnin).

Henrik Lindblad

Committees: Conference
Committee Chair: Barcelona Conference Subcommittee, Scientific Advisory

Swedish. One of the founding members of FRH and a council member since 2020, Henrik is a Heritage Officer at the Church of Sweden, a trained Art Historian and a specialist in ecclesiastical art, architecture and heritage management. He previously worked for the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Ministry of Culture. He is one of the founders of FRH and also co-founder of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee PRERICO (Places of Religion and Ritual).

Justin Kroesen

Committees: Scientific Advisory, Paris Conference Subcommittee
Committee Chair: n/a

Dutch. A member since 2013 and council member since 2020, Justin is a professor of the Material Culture of Christianity at the University of Bergen (Norway), and curator of the church art collection at its University Museum. Research interests include the art and architecture of medieval churches and their fate through the sixteenth-century Reformations. During many years he was actively involved in the work of the foundations of old Groningen and Friesland churches (the Netherlands).

Wenceslas de Lobkowicz

Committees: Governance and Nominations
Committee Chair: n/a

Czech and French. A member since 2016 and a council member since 2016, he is a graduate from Sciences Po – Paris and holds a Masters degree in Law from Paris II University. In 1979 he joined the European Commission where he has occupied varying positions, as well as being a cabinet member for two different Commissioners. He is the author of various publications

Michael Mail

Committees: Strategic Planning, Governance and Nominations, Vicenza Conference Subcommittee
Committee Chair: Governance

British. A member since 2014 and a council member since 2019, Michael is an effective Leader – with extensive experience in a range of leadership roles. Initiator of Change – translating vision to strategy to programme. Fundraiser – top donor and mass campaign. Award-winning Author. Founder & Chief Executive, Foundation for Jewish Heritage, 2014-to present.

Andrea Longhi

Committees: Scientific Advisory
Committee chair: N/A

Italian. Member since 2018 and Council member since 2020. Associate Professor in the History of Architecture, Politecnico di Torino. Consultant for Cultural Heritage Projects for ecclesiastical projects and from 2019 consultant on the implementation of the Regional Landscape Plan for Regione Piemonte. Wide experience of university teaching and research in architecture and heritage.

Mara Popescu

Committees: Membership
Committee Chair: Membership (co-chair)

Hungarian – Romanian. A member since 2014 and a council member since 2016 Mara has a PhD, BA & MA in Architecture, MSc in Conservation of Monuments and Sites – KU Leuven, and PGCert in Architectural History-University of Oxford. She is a lecturer at the Architecture Department of the University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology “George Emil Palade” in Târgu Mureș, Romania. She is an expert in Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development from the Corvinus University, Budapest. She is also a representative for the ICOMOS scientific committee of Place of Religion and Ritual.

Chiara Curti

Committees: Membership, Barcelona Conference Subcommittee

Committee chair: Membership (co-chair)

Spanish. Council Member since 2022. Chiara is an Italian architect from the Politecnico di Milano working in the field of religious heritage. She is a Doctor in Art History, teaching at the Antoni Gaudi Faculty at the Ateneu Sant Pacia.  She is also the director of the Barcelona Office of the Eugenia Balcells Foundation. She is an experienced exhibition curator, having curated numerous major exhibitions on the work of Antoni Gaudi.

Sofia M. Vollmer

Committees: Membership Committee

Committee Chair: N/A

French and Venezuelan. Council Member since 2022. Sofia holds a Master’s from Sciences Po in International Affairs, specialising in Fundraising and Project Management. She worked on EU-funded projects for five years based in Paris prior to moving to Belgium and has experience in management and fundraising. She is the Director of Business Development for a Belgian Company that provides digital tools to family offices, businesses, boards and councils worldwide.

Lacramioara Beilic

Committees: Membership Committee

Committee Chair: N/A

Romanian. Council Member since 2022. Lacramioara Beilic is a Romanian member of FRH who has taken part in various projects with the network, the latest being LEARN-IP. She is the Executive Director of the Bucovina Tourism Association and works to promote Bucovina as a tourist destination, including a number of the Romanian Painted Monasteries. She also tutors and mentors students at the Stefan cel Mare, University of Suceava.  She has an extensive experience in tourism, management and financial expertise.

Patty Wageman

Committees: Membership
Committee Chair: N/A

Dutch. Council member since 2023. Patty Wageman is the director of the Groningen Historic Churches Foundation (Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken). Before that, she had been director of Museum De Buitenplaats Eelde. She has a lot of administrative experience, including as chair of the Arts Advisory Committee, Arts Council Groningen for the 2017-2020 subsidy round, and as a member of the Work Advisory Council of the Frank Mohr Institute, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.