The Historic Houses Trust is governed by a group of nine Trustees appointed by the Governor of New South Wales on the recommendation of the government. They are generally appointed for a term of three years and can serve three terms.

Keith Cottier AM has had a distinguished career as an architect and is a partner in the architectural practice of Allen Jack + Cottier. He was awarded the RAIA Gold medal in 2001. Keith has been a Commissioner of the Australian Heritage Commission (1986-93), Member of the Heritage Council of NSW (1993-96) and a Member of the Sydney Cove Authority (1985-95). His current term expires on 31 December 2012.

Bruce Hambrett LLM Bruce Hambrett is  a practising lawyer, the chairman of  Baker & McKenzie, Australia and a former General Counsel of SingTel Optus  Pty  Limited. He is  also  a director of the Pacific Opera Company Limited and a former chair of the Media and Communications Law Committee, Busin ess Law Section, with the Law Council of Australia. He was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2006 and his current term expires on 31 December 2011.

Associate Professor Grace Karskens teaches Australian history at the University of New South Wales. She has worked in history, heritage and historical archaeology for the past 30 years and has held a number of Australian Research Council grants. Grace has published extensively and internationally in Australian colonial and convict history, urban and environmental history and historical archaeology. Her books include Inside The Rocks: the archaeology of a neighbourhood and the multi-award winning The Rocks: life in early Sydney. She is interested in promoting historical understanding and awareness to wide audiences and is currently on the boards of the Dictionary of Sydney, the National Museum of Australia’s reCollections journal and a number of other international scholarly journals. Her latest book, The colony: a history of early Sydney, was released by Allen & Unwin in 2009. Grace was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2008 and her current term expires on 31 December 2010

Martyn Mitchell has over 25 years experience in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as an auditor and business advisor. He has held a number of roles with PwC in this period including leading the Australian firm's practice in Technology, Information, Communication and Entertainment for 10 years. He currently acts as the Asia-Pacific leader for PwC's Technology, Information, Communication and Entertainment practice, as well as Asian Engagement leader for the Australian practice. During his career he has played significant roles in sale of the State Bank of NSW and working on the initial privatisation of Telstra. On the latter account, he managed the Sydney based audits of Telstra for a five year period. He also leads PwC's team in respect to the privatisation of the NSW TAB and the listing of OzEmail on NASDAQ. Martyn was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2005 and his current term expires December 2012.

Penelope Pike BA Dip Town Country Planning is a conservation planner who specialises in heritage studies for local government areas and in preparing and implementing local environmental plans and detailed control plans for historic towns, precincts and suburbs. Penelope has served on the Urban Conservation Committee of the National Trust and was Founding Chairman of its Cemeteries Committee. She is currently on the Board of Trustees for Eryldene and Parramatta Park. She was appointed as a Trustee on 1 January 2002 and her current term expires on 31 December 2010.

Carol Liston BA (Hons), PhD, FRAHS is Associate Professor in History at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney. Her research covers early colonial history in New South Wales, with interests in people (convict, colonial born and free immigrant), local history, heritage and the built environment. Her particular interest is the colonial development of the County of Cumberland. Carol’s current projects include researching and writing histories of Liverpool and its heritage places, such as Collingwood House. A continuing research interest is women in the convict period. She continues to research the Female Orphan School at Parramatta, now a campus of UWS. Carol was appointed as a Trustee in January 2009 and her current term expires on 31 December 2011.

John Montgomery Bsc, PhD, MRTPI, FRSA is a town planner and urban and regional economist. Much of his experience is drawn from his work in the United Kingdom and Ireland, dating from the mid 1980s, and with his London-based firm Urban Cultures Ltd since 1991. He emigrated to Australia in 2002. His book The new wealth of cities was published in 2007. John was appointed as a Trustee in January 2009 and his current term expires on 31 December 2011.

Michael Rose (Trust Chairman) is the Chief Executive Partner of international law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson.  Before becoming Chief Executive Partner, Michael practised as a commercial litigator in Australia, the United States and Hong Kong.  Michael is the Chairman of ChildFund Australia and a board member of the ChildFund International Alliance.  ChildFund is an international aid and development organisation that supports children and their communities in 55 developing countries. Michael is also a member of the Education, Skills and Innovation and the Indigenous Engagement Task Forces of the Business Council of Australia. Michael lives in Sydney with his wife Jo D'Antonio and their three children. Michael was appointed as a Trustee in July 2010 and his current term expires on 31 December 2012.