Meet the Lakenheath Pride in Place Board
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Members of the Lakenheath Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board have been formally appointed following an open recruitment process led by Board Chair, Mike Malina. The members bring a wide range of skills, experience and local knowledge, ensuring the Board is representative, inclusive and well placed to reflect local priorities.
Mike Malina - Chair
Mike is a long-standing resident of Lakenheath, having lived and worked in the village for over 25 years. He studied Geology and Engineering and began his career in the offshore exploration industry before moving into the building services engineering sector, where he developed extensive senior management experience. Throughout his career, Mike has built strong expertise in leadership, strategic planning, partnership working, and project delivery, successfully balancing long-term vision with practical decision-making.
Beyond his professional achievements, Mike is deeply committed to the local community. As Chair of Governors at Lakenheath Community Primary School, he provides strategic leadership and supports positive outcomes for pupils, families, and staff. He has also contributed to the Active Lakenheath Steering Group, helping to strengthen community engagement and local initiatives
Passionate about community-led action, Mike is dedicated to protecting the environment, improving public spaces, enhancing wellbeing, and fostering stronger community connections, helping Lakenheath remain an inclusive and thriving village for all.
Dawn Bluett - Vice Chair
Dawn has lived in the village for the past 10 years and is deeply connected to the community. With a background in finance, she brings strong organisational and analytical skills, alongside a practical, solutions-focused approach.
Over the years, she has actively supported the community in a number of ways, including serving as a governor at the local primary school. Also helps run the administration for the local football team, which has given her great insight into the importance of community activities and bringing people together.
Dawn lives in the village with her husband and son, and in her spare time enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, as well as travelling.
Dawn is passionate about making a positive difference locally and committed to ensuring that this funding is used in the best possible way to benefit the whole community, both now and for the future.
Sally Batchelder
Sally has lived in the community with her husband and children since 2002, with her children attending the village primary school and subsequently Mildenhall College Academy. As practice manager at the village doctors surgery Sally is keenly interested in the healthcare provision and needs of the community.
She is a member of the Sedge Fen Village Hall committee who are dedicated to improving the community facilities for residents.
Prior to her NHS role Sally worked in various education and education management roles for 15 years. Since living in the area Sally has worked for the MOD on RAF Lakenheath and previously was a Clerical and Services Manager for Essex Police. Sally brings to the board a good understanding of various funding streams, systems and resourcing.
Andrew Blenkion
Andrew is the Managing Director of Elveden Farms Ltd in the Suffolk, this includes a substantial and varied in-hand farming operation growing a range of crops, two public houses, a farm shop and café, forestry, hedge and Christmas tree business, a residential and commercial property portfolio and various other commercial and charitable activities. His previous wide-ranging experience has included working in rural businesses in every region of England, from Dorset to Northumberland.
Andrew is a Professional Fellow of the Society of Agriculture and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies, he is passionate about communities and takes a real pride in where he lives, including the positive development of those areas.
In his spare time, Andrew is involved in a number of other local community initiatives and enjoys sharing his wife’s passion for all things equine, including breeding event horses and show jumpers
Chris Duggan
Chris has lived in Lakenheath for almost five years with his fiancée and young son, and the family are proud to call the village their home. Having chosen Lakenheath as the place to put down roots and raise their family, Chris is passionate about helping create a thriving community that offers the very best opportunities and quality of life for current and future residents.
As Managing Director of a manufacturing business in Cambridgeshire, Chris brings experience in leadership, business development, and securing funding to deliver projects that make a real difference. He has helped establish a further education and training centre that is already benefiting local people and strengthening links between education, industry, and the wider community.
As a Board Member of Lakenheath Pride in Place, Chris is committed to ensuring the programme delivers meaningful, lasting improvements that enhance village life, strengthen community spirit, and create a positive legacy for the next generation growing up in Lakenheath.
Gerald Kelly
Gerald is currently Vice Chair of Lakenheath Parish Council, and a Cabinet Member of West Suffolk Council. With a background in the private sector, starting in shipping and imports, he was eventually a partner in a business which produced the UK’s first plastic petrol can! He then moved to the NHS, starting in operational management, then commissioning, and after twenty odd years retired as Resilience and Response manager for Suffolk’s two acute hospitals. During this time he became an Honorary Commander a RAF Lakenheath and established an arrangement where USAF (United Sates Air Force) surgeons work at NHS Hospitals.
He chairs the Suffolk wide Environment Portfolio Holders group and is a member of a number of regional committees; he is also a board member of both Lakenheath and Sedge Fen Internal Drainage Boards. More important to him though is Lakenheath, where he has lived for more than twenty years. One of his two daughters also lives in the village.
Amanda King
Amanda lives in Lakenheath with my her, Chris, and their four-year-old son.
Having grown up in Suffolk, Amanda has always felt a deep connection to this beautiful part of the world. Inspired by the Suffolk landscape, she went on to study Environmental Science at the University of East Anglia. Although her career eventually took a different path, she remains passionate about environmental protection and sustainability, especially when thinking about the future we are shaping for our children.
Amanda now works as a Physician Associate at King’s Lynn Hospital, a role she truly loves. The most meaningful part of the job is meeting people, listening to their stories, and hopefully helping them feel a little better. She is particularly interested in exploring opportunities to improve access to health and wellbeing services for our local residents and help make Lakenheath an even healthier community.
Amanda looks forward to listening to local people, learning more about what matters to them, and exploring how we can make Lakenheath an even more welcoming, thriving and enjoyable place to live.
Charles Lever
Charles recently retired after a distinguished international career in the construction and engineering services industry. He has held senior executive and board-level positions across the UK, Middle East, and Asia, and now serves as a Non-Executive Advisor to a number of companies.
In his roles, Charles carried full profit and loss responsibility and led multi-disciplinary teams across finance, operations, procurement, HR, and quality assurance. He was responsible for developing and implementing effective business strategies, strengthening governance and commercial controls, and ensuring the successful delivery of major projects across the UK, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.(MENA) region.
Throughout his career, Charles has demonstrated strong governance, financial oversight, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement skills.
Charles is married to Fiona and has lived in the village for the past six years, his daughter and son in law live next door with his six-year-old granddaughter who attends the local school and is happily growing up in Lakenheath, Charles is a member and vice chairman of Lummi Indian Business Council (LIBC).
Charles brings to the neighbourhood board extensive board-level experience, sound commercial judgement, and a collaborative leadership style, together with a commitment to serving and strengthening his local community.
Natalie Ann Murphy
Natalie has been a dedicated resident of Lakenheath village for over 32 years, fostering a deep commitment to the community’s heritage and its future. As an active member of the Pride in Place initiative, she is committed to ensure local residents have a platform to share their voices and shape community decisions.
Professionally, Natalie has built a distinguished career supporting both RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. She currently serves as the Community Relations Advisor for the 100th Air Refueling Wing, supporting the Wing Commander and facilitating community relations for over 6,000 Airmen. In 2025, her leadership enabled more than 1,000 Airmen to integrate into the local community through civic outreach, volunteer programs, and local events.
Deeply invested in community leadership, Natalie serves as the Chairman of the Beck Row Pre-School Committee and the Executive Secretary of the British American Committee.
Having watched her daughters attend the local primary school, she remains passionate about youth development and educational opportunities within the village. Natalie is happily married to Jerome, has two daughters, and enjoys walking, Zumba, reading, and traveling in her personal time.
Lindsey Scott
Lindsey has lived in Lakenheath with her husband since 2007, and had their two sons here in the years that followed. Over the years she has got to know many people in the village having joined the Lakenheath Parent and Toddlers, both her sons play for Lakenheath Football Club, and as a parent on the school runs while they both attended the primary school.
Lindsey has worked in a financial role since 2001, and currently work as a management accountant for a regional legal firm. In her spare time she enjoys getting out and about within the village as she is a keen walker and runner.
Lindsey has joined as a board member for LPiP (Lakenheath Pride in Place) as she loves where she lives and would like to see the village grow and become even better, so that we have something wonderful to leave for the next generations.
Garth Tolmie
Garth is a retired software system engineering manager and 39 years in the military aircraft OEM (original equipment manufacture) and MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) industry. Garth is father to two daughters and grandfather to four, one girl and three boys.
Since arriving in the UK ten years ago I have made my home in Lords Walk, Eriswell.
Garth joined the LPiP board as a volunteer to improve the community facilities of Lords Walk residents, especially the young children and youth of this area. Furthermore, he can envisage a joining up of the villages along the B1112 corridor by creating a safe sustainable outdoor travel route, not only linking up existing indoor and outdoor facilities but creating additional opportunities for outdoor leisure and underrepresented sports.