UK Trust Trustees and Contact
Trustees
Lisa Bennett
Mrs. Bennett is a director and a trustee of the Webster Land Corporation, a family owned real estate management company in Concord, New Hampshire. She is involved with family conservation efforts and historic preservation. Mrs. Bennett is a member of the Smithsonian National Board. She was Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees as well as chair of Trustee Affairs for the American School in London, where she served for 11 years. Prior to moving to London she lived in Bronxville, New York and served as president of the Junior League, president of the Lawrence Park Historic District, chair of Annual Giving for the Community Fund and hosted an annual fundraising event for the New York Botanical Garden. Mrs. Bennett started her career in advertising for BBDO, Inc., and is a graduate of George Washington University.
Murray Hallam
Mr. Hallam is a consultant at Withers LLP, the firm that advises the Smithsonian on matters related to its independent charitable trust in the United Kingdom. His practice focuses on all aspects of trust law and tax for the private client, estate planning, heritage property and probate. He also advises on all aspects of charity law. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, is a fan of the classical world and a member of the Hellenic and Horatian Society.
Leslie A. Scott
Ms. Scott is a board game designer and author, best known as the inventor of the game Jenga, which she launched at the London Toy Fair 1983. Born in Tanzania, Ms. Scott was raised in East and West Africa, and educated in Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone and England.
Most recently, Ms. Scott was elected as Senior Associate of Pembroke College. She founded Oxford Games Ltd in 1991 and is the recipient of the 2010 Wonder Women of Toys Inventor/Designer Award and the 2012 Tagie award for Excellence in Game Design.
Advisors
Robert J. Spiller
Robert J. Spiller joined the Smithsonian Institution in March 2018 as Assistant Secretary for Advancement. He oversees the Office of Advancement, which is responsible for securing philanthropic support for the Smithsonian. Before this Smithsonian position, Mr. Spiller was the associate vice president for development and alumni relations for John Hopkins University, where he previously served as the associate dean for development and alumni relations in the School of Engineering from 2005 to 2011, and director of regional and international programs from 2001 to 2005.
From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Spiller was the senior associate director of major gifts at Yale University. Previously he was an international business analyst for Litton Industries in Washington, D.C. Mr. Spiller received his bachelor's degree in political science with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his master's degree in international relations from the University of Virginia.
Zully Dorr
Ms. Dorr is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Advancement at the Smithsonian Institution where she oversees the advancement services portfolio, which includes the departments of Prospect Research, Prospect Management, Advancement Information Systems, Gift Registration, Professional Development and Administrative Services. Before joining the Smithsonian in 2005, Ms. Dorr worked at the Florida International University as the Director of Development Services and Assistant Dean doe Advancement in in the College of Engineering. Ms. Dorr started her career with BellSouth Corporation upon graduating from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
Research Fellow
Blake Ewing
Dr. Blake Ewing is the Smithsonian Junior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford, a post generously funded by the Smithsonian UK Charitable Trust. As a Research Fellow, Dr. Ewing, a political theorist, is researching the intersection between conservation politics and the use of temporal language, especially in regards to issues of generational justice. Dr. Ewing finished his DPhil (PhD) from the University of Oxford in 2017, in Ideology, Language and the Politics of Time. He holds an MSc in political theory from the London School of Economics and a BA from Colorado College, majoring in political science. Before coming to Oxford he worked at the World Bank and as a journalist, writing mainly for The Economist.
