Tessa Gordziejko | Non-Executive Trustee | Acting Chair

Tessa is a theatre-maker—creative producer, director, writer, performer—and a consultant specialising in organisational and creative development with arts companies.

She was a Fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme 2005–07 and has over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in the cultural sector. These include Creative Programmer for London 2012 and Director of imove, a £3.2 million 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme comprising 32 projects across Yorkshire; Executive Director of Unlimited Theatre; and Chair of Red Ladder Theatre. In 2013, she established imove Arts as an independent production company that created socially engaged arts projects which connected groups of citizens and communities with a deep set of ideas or themes, framed through collaboration with artists.

Tessa has a passion for, and a wide experience of, making site-specific performances in unusual, mostly outdoor settings, and is engaged in networks of artists making work about climate and ecological breakdown. She is also a performing poet. Having lived and worked in the north of England for 30 years, she moved to Dumfries & Galloway in 2021, and since then she has worked as a producer for several Scottish companies. She is a founding member of The Forest Ridge Project, an arts-led, off-grid cooperative which embraces rewilding, growing food, and creative connections with land, nature, and communities.

Jodie Barnacle-Best | Non-Executive Trustee | Vice Chair

Jodie is a dedicated creative projects facilitator, working with arts and cultural organisations across Scotland. An MA graduate from Glasgow School of Art, she has gained valuable experience since 2021, working across community arts settings in Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, and Renfrewshire.

Jodie is deeply committed to fostering stronger connections among individuals through creative methods within local communities. She has strong networking, partnership, and organisational development skills and is passionate about cultivating inclusive cultural spaces. To date, her work has seen her engage with over 300 artists and cultural practitioners, as well as programme, organise, and deliver cultural activities for attendees aged 4 to 65+. She has experience in coordinating cultural activities in settings where opportunities to engage creatively are limited, such as care homes, hospitals, and prisons.

Jodie’s first connection with The Stove came in 2021, when she was a Creative Associate in the Creative Spaces programme. She developed and delivered professional community arts workshops, talks, and other creative activities aimed at engaging young people in Dumfries and Galloway, alongside a team of three other exciting and inspiring emerging creatives. This experience ignited her passion to further explore opportunities to engage with communities, enabling her to see how she could best utilise her skill set in the most personally fulfilling and meaningful way.

Since then, Jodie has worked on freelance programmes and projects for Creative Renfrewshire, Rig Arts, and Refractive Collective, alongside her role as Communities Programme Assistant for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. She served on the Craft Scotland advisory board from 2021 to 2024 and has been delighted to sit on The Stove’s board since May 2022.

Erica Judge | Non-Executive Trustee | Treasurer

Erica is a Director of Funds at Inspiring Scotland, which provides financial and practical support to more than 700 of Scotland’s third-sector organisations. She was instrumental in launching Creative Communities and Rural Communities Ideas into Action, two community-led development programmes. She brings with her over 20 years of experience in change management, financial strategy, and commercial delivery roles.

A US native from New York City, Erica holds an MBA from the Wharton Business School and began her career as a diplomat with the US Foreign Service. She has subsequently worked with a variety of FTSE 50 companies, most recently in the banking and retail sectors. Passionate about community-led change, equity, and improving access to opportunity for all, Erica is motivated by a desire to make the world better by helping people and organisations achieve their objectives.

Erica has lived in the UK for over two decades, with half that time in Scotland. She was previously a trustee of the Curiosity Collective, a charity working to give children the freedom to explore the world of learning beyond the classroom. She enjoys reading and exploring the outdoors with her two sons and adopted greyhound.

Andrew Hepburn | Non-Executive Trustee

Andy is a lifelong Doonhamer, born and raised in Dumfries, with over 40 years’ professional experience in engineering and site management. He began his career with Carnation Foods before moving to Chapelcross, where he has held a range of technical and leadership roles, including health physics management and construction site engineering, with strong responsibilities around safety and environmental standards. He is also a trained mental health first aider.

Outside of work, Andy has run a Shotokan karate club in Dumfries for 35 years, is a keen photographer and maker, and cares deeply about environmental action. His connection to The Stove began through Climate Kitchen, and he has since become a familiar and active part of our community.