Staff

Helen Pennant has been Director of the Cambridge Trust since July 2013 where she leads strategic direction and creates opportunities for study and research through scholarship funding. 

Managing an endowment of £200 million and with around 1,400 students in residence each year from 85 countries, the Cambridge Trust has funded more than 20,000 postgraduate students since its foundation over 40 years ago.  Decisions about a scholarship can shape an individual’s entire life and Helen regards her role as an honour and a privilege to serve both the student body and the wider academic community.

With a background in government service, Helen has an international outlook and career experience.  She studied French and History at the University of Oxford and spent five years in Paris as Labour and Education attaché at the British Embassy.  She has been working in university environments since 2006 when she relocated to Canada and joined the University of British Columbia where she was Executive Director International.  Helen was a trustee of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London 2018-2021.

Helen enjoys many aspects of life in Cambridge including the opportunities it affords to work alongside some of the brightest minds in the world.

Helen is also Vice President of Clare Hall, Cambridge.

Sue is head of the student support team, and is responsible for the administration of the Trust’s many scholarship programmes.  Formerly the Trust’s acting Administrator and Scholarships Secretary (1987-2008), Sue became Deputy Director in August 2008. 

Working with funding partners worldwide, Sue oversees the award of some 500 scholarships each year and has extensive knowledge of the admissions process to the University of Cambridge, its Colleges and Departments.

Sue’s previous employment included working for the University of Cambridge Board of Extra-Mural Studies, which helped to arrange summer schools for international students, and for the National Health Service.