IWA is a charity governed by a board of trustees.
There are national committees that report to the board of trustees: Canalway Cavalcade Committee, Events Committee, Finance Committee; Navigation Committee; Remuneration Committee, Waterway Recovery Group; and the Volunteers Awards Panel.
The members of these committees are appointed by trustees, usually by approving recommendations from the committees themselves following advertisement for members. A full list of the current membership of each committee is at https://waterways.org.uk/membership-iwa-committees
Essex Waterways Ltd is a subsidiary company of IWA and manages the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation in Essex. It is run by a board of directors appointed by IWA’s trustees, but otherwise operates independently and is not a charity.
IWA is organised through a network of 8 regions and 33 local branches. The region chairs are listed at https://waterways.org.uk/membership-iwa-committees.
Inland Waterways Association
Local Branches
Find the nearest of our 33 local branches.
Waterway Recovery Group
Our volunteers support waterway restoration.
Essex Waterways
We manage the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation in Essex.
Charity documents
IWA Trustees
Les Etheridge – Chair
Les has formerly been an IWA Trustee and National Treasurer, and was National Chair from 2012 to 2017. He is currently Chair of his local branch, IWA Kent & East Sussex. Now retired, his professional career as an actuary spanned over 40 years in insurance.
He also has extensive voluntary sector experience as a school governor and in the Kent County Table Tennis Association.
Sir Robert Atkins
Sir Robert Atkins has had a long and varied political career, serving as MP for nearly 20 years and MEP for North West Region of England for 15 years. He was knighted in the 1997 Dissolution Honours List in recognition of his service as a Member of Parliament, as Minister of State for Northern Ireland and as Minister of State for the Environment.
As well as being a keen boater and narrowboat owner, Sir Robert was President of the “Ribble Link” Canal Campaign
John Butler – Treasurer
John is a semi-retired chartered accountant and has worked in many sectors throughout his career including retail.
He has volunteered with IWA for several years and has previously been a trustee, as well as chairing Events and Marketing committees. He has been involved in organising festivals since 2013, and he is on the organising team for IWA’s Festival of Water 2022, due to be held in Burton-on-Trent.
John is a keen waterway photographer and enjoys walking and cycling the waterways as well as getting afloat on his narrowboat when he has time.
Dave Chapman
Having worked with Xerox Corporation for 30 years, Dave’s time there included 15 years reviewing operating company performance and driving change in Europe, East Asia and Africa and 5 years facilitating relationships between European, US and Japanese organisations.
Dave has been a member of IWA for 46 years and is a long-time boater. He has been heavily involved in IWA national festivals and chairman of Chiltern Branch since 2013.
Nick Dybeck – Deputy Chair
Nick is a retired chartered civil engineer where he was responsible for managing a number of major construction projects. He has experience as a company director and charity trustee. Most recently, Nick has worked with several companies reviewing governance and risk management.
Nick’s interest in the waterways started with canoeing the River Nene. He has owned a narrowboat since 2001, living aboard when working away from home and more recently using it as a weekend retreat.
Rebecca Hughes
Rebecca is an experienced marketing and fundraising professional actively working within the not-for-profit sector.
She is currently employed at the wildlife charity and membership organisation Butterfly Conservation where she leads on individual giving, marketing, and commercial partnerships. Before moving into the not-for-profit sector, Rebecca was the European Marketing Manager for a global manufacturing company. She has also worked as a digital marketing consultant for several businesses helping to develop their online presence to ultimately increase sales.
Rebecca’s interest in waterways developed after she began stand up paddle boarding in 2013. Through paddleboarding, Rebecca developed a keen interest in the protection and restoration of waterways and became actively involved with cleaning up rivers with Plastic Patrol (now known as Planet Patrol) in 2018.
Hannah Sterritt
Hannah has been a liveaboard boater since Autumn 2020, based on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal in South Wales. Her decision to move onto the waterways was both a way to counteract rising property costs and to complement her passion for the inland waterways lifestyle and heritage.
Hannah will soon complete a MSc in Sustainability Planning and Environmental Policy at Cardiff University, focusing her final dissertation on the liveaboard boating community on the UK inland waterways. Hannah currently works for Cardiff University, responsible for alumni, staff, student and supporter engagement and community fundraising, planning and delivering several internal and external engagement and partnership initiatives. She has previously held a trustee position for Cardiff University Students’ Union when she was a Sabbatical Officer, an elected position acting as one of the Union’s primary student representatives. Hannah has just completed a four-year term as a local authority governor at a Cardiff primary school.
She has recently become a volunteer lock keeper on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.
Sue O’Hare – Deputy Chair
Sue’s professional expertise is in new technology and innovation, gained through a career of working with a variety of companies, from corporates to public sector and start-up companies. Her voluntary roles include chairing a professional association and serving on the board of a science and technology outreach organisation.
Sue is a long-time boater. She started by hiring, had a share in a boat for 13 years, and recently became a boat owner. Sue has served on IWA’s Navigation Committee for the past four years, writing content articles and administering IWA’s policy reviews.
LOVE YOUR WATERWAYS
Britain's waterways are vital; together we can campaign for them now and for the future.