David Warden — Chair and Pastoral Team Lead
David grew up as a Christian in Bournemouth. After graduating in theology at the University of Kent in Canterbury he left the church and, over time, came to identify as a humanist. He now edits Humanistically Speaking online journal and is an honorary member of Humanists UK. After a career in business training, he qualified as a humanistic integrative therapist and he now leads our pastoral team. He also enjoys speaking about humanism to young people in local schools.
Lyn Glass — Vice Chair
Lyn Glass is a former Chair of Poole Arts Trust (Lighthouse), and board trustee director of BH Live (BIC, Pavilion, and five south coast leisure centres). For many years she ran our Saturday events programme, and she is particularly fond of live comedy and her two cats.
Steve Neel — Secretary
Steve has a background in design and plays a key role in Dorset Humanists. He oversees our administration and membership, and is responsible for our website and social media presence.
Daniel Dancey — Treasurer
Daniel works in computer security and he's given us some brilliant talks on artificial intelligence, cryptography, logical fallacies, and evolutionary psychology.
Barry Newman – School Visiting Team Lead
Barry grew up in South Africa and he is a retired intensive care consultant. He speaks to hundreds of students every year about humanism in local schools and he represents Dorset Humanists on the Dorset SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education). Barry has given us some very thoughtful and informative talks on medical ethics, assisted dying, how to fix the NHS, and philosophy of science.
Phil Butcher – Tech Team Lead
Phil Butcher is our leading audio-visual technician and he's given us a number of excellent science-related talks. He worked in the nuclear industry before retirement and he is a keen cyclist and saxophonist.
Dean Robertson – Social Events
Dean Robertson co-hosts our pub social nights and he cooks a superb curry for our annual Darwin Feast Day in February.
Sandra Lucie-Smith – Social Events
Sandra hosts our hotel social events and organises our annual festive dinner. Now retired, she has previously worked in London managing dental practices, followed by marketing and promotions.
Roger Mann – Webmaster
Roger is our webmaster and tech specialist. He has travelled extensively, working for overseas volunteer organisations, and he currently supervises our website and systems maintenance.
Sally Hawksworth
Sally Hawksworth is a retired teacher and she represents Dorset Humanists on BCP SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education). When not attending Dorset Humanists events she may be seen Molly dancing!
Dorset Humanists is run by a small committee of members who help to organise events and support the life of the group. We’re always open to new people getting involved, and we aim to build a team that reflects a range of backgrounds and perspectives. If you’re interested in contributing in some way, feel free to have a word with David or another committee member at one of our events.