Board member:
Cllr Ellie Chowns
Cllr Ellie Chowns
Cllr Chowns acts as Cllr David Hitchiner's alternate on The Marches LEP Board.
About Cllr Ellie Chowns
Councillor Ellie Chowns is Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for Environment, Economy and Skills and group leader for the Green Party.
Her cabinet portfolio connects with a wide range of topics including housing, transport, land use and job creation and she says she sees her role as being about supporting a thriving, sustainable local economy that creates opportunities for everyone and reduces inequalities.
She spent 20 years working for charities and in higher education, including running health programmes for Christian Aid, co-ordinating a group of MPs in Parliament, tackling fuel poverty in East London and supporting peace-building in Northern Uganda.
She was also the first Green MEP for the West Midlands and continues to work part-time as a lecturer in the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham.
Councillor Chowns lives with her family on a small organic farm in Herefordshire and has served as a primary school governor, a volunteer with HomeStart and ECHO Herefordshire, and treasurer of a housing association.