In September 2025, following a councillor vacancy, Dena Ellis Smith was co-opted onto Rye Town Council and warmly welcomed by fellow members to serve through to the next elections in May 2027. Her appointment marked not simply a change in the council chamber, but the continuation of a long tradition in Rye of residents stepping forward to serve their town. This at a time when local communities face shifting challenges, from climate adaptation and housing pressures to economic change and the careful stewardship of heritage. Dena joins the council with a commitment to listen, to learn and to play her part in shaping Rye’s next chapter with care and conviction.
How did you feel when it was announced you had been successful?
I felt deeply honoured. Rye is not just where I live; it’s where I am building the next chapter of my life. To be entrusted with a role of service by fellow councillors was both humbling and energising. I felt a strong sense of responsibility to listen carefully and contribute thoughtfully.
When did you come to Rye to live?
I moved to Rye with my husband, Graham, in May 2021 from St. Leonard’s, where I’d lived for three years, and the Big Island of Hawaii before that. I am originally from Seattle, Washington.
What do you love about Rye?
Where do I begin?! I love the layers of Rye — its medieval streets, the softness of the marsh light, the sea air and the creativity tucked behind ancient doors. There’s something powerful about living in a place that has weathered centuries and still feels vibrant. Rye holds history and possibility at the same time. It has a strong sense of identity, but also a generosity of spirit that welcomes newcomers. That balance is rare.
How did you integrate yourself into the Rye community, and what helped you feel at home?
I began by simply showing up: volunteering, attending events, joining local initiatives and saying yes to conversations. Becoming involved with the Rye Community Garden and other wellbeing-focused gatherings helped me build genuine connections. A few years ago, I even wrote about that experience in Rye News (Growing a Garden of Friends), because it captured what was unfolding for me: community forming through shared effort. What truly made me feel at home was the warmth and openness of people here. There’s friendliness in Rye that feels steady and sincere. I’ve come to see how much of the town’s strength rests on the generosity of volunteers and the dedication of its local businesses. Service has always been a big part of my life — I started volunteering at 11, at the care home where my great-grandmother lived — and in Rye, that instinct to contribute found a natural place to land.
What skills do you bring to the post that will help you to be a successful councillor?
I’m a listener by nature and by training. My parents were both natural “people people,” so I had a front-row seat to learning about human connection and cultivating community while growing up. I don’t rush to speak. I observe and try to understand first. My professional background is in leadership and wellbeing, and I’ve been trained in various communication modalities, including mediation and conflict resolution, so I’m naturally comfortable holding complex conversations and looking for common ground.
Which of Rye’s current challenges feels most urgent to you personally?
For me, the most urgent challenge is ensuring Rye remains a truly liveable town — not simply somewhere beautiful to visit, but somewhere people can afford to live, work and build their lives. Affordable housing, supporting local livelihoods, strengthening our social fabric, advocating for sustainability and accountability and balancing growth with infrastructure capacity — these issues are all deeply interconnected. At the heart of Rye are the people who call it home. Protecting that sense of community, while planning responsibly for the future, feels essential.
What practical steps can a town councillor realistically take to make progress?
It’s less glamorous than some people imagine. It’s reading a lot of emails and documents, keeping up to date on the news and local conversations, asking careful questions, showing up to meetings, being visible in the town and encouraging collaboration. Real change often comes from patience and persistence.
What does the role of a town councillor involve that people may not realise?
A lot of quiet work. Preparation. Policy detail. Listening to concerns that don’t always make headlines. It’s less about speeches and more about steady stewardship.
Rye is both historic and evolving — how do we protect its character while allowing it to thrive? By remembering that character isn’t only buildings — it’s relationships. It’s small businesses. It’s shared memory. If we keep people at the centre of decisions, we can honour the past while allowing the town to evolve thoughtfully.
At the end of your term in 2027, how would you like residents to describe your contribution?
I’m deeply passionate about people, place and planet. By the end of my term, I would hope residents feel that I contributed positively to the health and wellbeing of the town, that I helped protect what makes Rye beautiful, supported practical efforts to keep it clean and cared for, and took seriously our responsibility around climate and environmental stewardship. Peace feels especially important to me — not just in the global sense, but in how we conduct ourselves locally. In how we listen to one another, how we disagree respectfully and how we make decisions that reduce tension rather than inflame it. If I’ve helped create a tone of steadiness, civility and thoughtful dialogue, I would be proud of that. More personally, I would hope people might say that I cared. That I paid attention. That I didn’t seek attention, but rather worked quietly, steadily and thoughtfully where I could be most useful. If I’ve strengthened connection between people and supported sound, future-minded decisions, that would feel like meaningful service.
If you could change one thing immediately in Rye, what would it be?
Hmm, besides installing plenty of seagull-proof rubbish bins around town?
I’d like to help strengthen communication between groups and stakeholders. There’s so much goodwill here. Sometimes we just need better threads connecting all that energy.
What do you do as your day job?
My most important role is being a mother to my clan, which now spans the world, and that’s not just a day job; it’s a 24/7 calling for life (as every mother knows!).
Professionally, I work in leadership, health, and wellbeing education. I support individuals and groups in building resilience, strengthening communication and navigating life transitions with greater clarity and balance. I have a particular interest in working with highly sensitive people and those with delicate or easily overwhelmed nervous systems — helping them feel steadier, stronger and more at home in themselves. Locally, I teach mindful meditation and movement classes twice a week at Grounded on Lion Street, and I offer health coaching, holistic life guidance, Reiki sessions and occasional workshops and retreats. Much of what I do, whether online or in local community spaces, centres on helping people feel more grounded and connected.
What do you do to relax?
Relax? Great question! I’ve actually been hibernating a little since returning from an extended visit with family in the US over the holidays, so retreating and recharging has been my rest-and-relax mode lately.
But I do love to play pickleball, swim and relax in the sauna at the Rye Leisure Centre. I also love biking to Camber Sands, walking at the Rye Nature Reserve and exploring parts of this country that are new to me. I love early mornings with tea before the town fully wakes up. And I treasure time with my family and friends, that’s what refuels me most.
What is on your bucket list?
Support my children as they navigate the UK immigration process.
To write and publish all the books inside my heart and mind.
To contribute to the world in a peaceful, empowering and meaningful way.
Travel around New Zealand in a camper van for a month.
What three words describe you well?
Curious. Compassionate. Resilient.
What has been the best advice that you have ever been given?
To put on my own oxygen mask first, so I’m better able to support those around me. It’s simple, widely given advice — but not always easy to live by, especially as a mother and someone drawn to service. Over time, I’ve come to understand that tending to my own wellbeing isn’t selfish; it’s a responsibility. It’s what allows me to show up with presence.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .