The Crediton Heart Project Team

Kate Lock (Chair) has lived near Crediton for over 30 years and works as an NHS manager. She has produced the Crediton Arts Centre’s ‘Shakespeare in the Square’ four times and helped organise the Crediton Festivals. She was a founder member of Crediton Town Team in 2014 and of the Crediton Heart Project in 2018. She is also chair of an international charity supporting deaf children. Kate is a keen cyclist, often taking off with her tent and sleeping bag strapped to the bike. She has two children, both who went to QE Academy, now far flung.

Cate Davey (Treasurer) has volunteered at various Heart Project and other town events since she moved to Crediton two years ago. She joined the Heart Project board as Treasurer in 2025. Cate is a Chartered Accountant who has worked with businesses and charities across Devon for nearly ten years. When she doesn’t have her head in a spreadsheet, Cate unwinds with film, TV and books. In early 2025 this led to her co-founding Films for Crediton, a monthly community film night held at Crediton Arts Centre.

Sarah Fryett has lived in Crediton for over 10 years. She currently works in Communications and Marketing at the University of Exeter, having previously spent more than a decade in the Marketing Team at Exeter College. Earlier in her career, she worked for Exeter Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), Citizens Advice and Exeter City Council. She also served for over 5 years as a Trustee at Wonford Community and Learning Centre in Exeter. As a volunteer, Sarah manages the Crediton Community Facebook page and is an active member of her children’s school PTA. Sarah leads on social media and marketing for the Heart Project.

Eugene Mullan has lived in Crediton for over 25 years. He worked for the NHS in mental health services for most of his career before taking on an academic role at the University of Exeter. During this time, he also took on a role as a director in two local mental health charities, which strengthened a long standing interest in the importance of accessible Arts provision in the community. On retirement in 2020, he joined the Crediton Heart Project to support their goal of creating a new larger Arts resource in Crediton. He plays a key role in the annual Summer Arts Festival, and he co-produced the inaugural Crediton Spring Music Festival in collaboration with the Crediton Arts Centre.

Rosemary Stephenson worked as a teacher and journalist in Paris and London before moving to Devon in the early 1990s. Since then she has held numerous voluntary posts, including 10 years as a governor of Copplestone Primary School, where her three sons were pupils. In 2006 she set up and managed Kids@Copplestone after school club and from 2009 to 2018 she ran the Crediton Arts Centre, where she coordinated many community events, including the annual Crediton Flag Project and the biennial Crediton Festival. She was a founding member of the Crediton Town Team and, in 2018, helped set up the Crediton Heart Project, which she chaired until April 2026.

Paul Walker trained as an architect at The Architectural Association and moved to Devon in 1985 to join Exeter City Council as Assistant Director of Planning and Property, responsible for the maintenance and refurbishment of all council owned property. During the 1990s he was project manager for the multi million pound Phoenix Arts Centre Project. He now works as a financial adviser. Paul is a keen actor and has performed with many local theatre groups including Exeter Little Theatre Company and Campion Players. He regularly performs with the Crediton Operatic and Drama Society and has directed plays. He wrote and directed The Men Who Marched Away, a play with music about Crediton during World War One.

Linda Williamson worked as a wig and make-up artist in London for ten years, including roles at the Adelphi Theatre and with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican. After moving to Devon she became a primary school teacher, working in local schools for 30 years. Since retiring, Linda has become increasingly passionate about encouraging children and young people to engage with art and creativity, believing it plays an important role in supporting mental health and wellbeing. She founded and leads the Kick Start Art project to inspire children to be creative at home and to celebrate their artwork within the community.