Board of Trustees

Raidene has been a cultural leader and creative producer for over 20 years. In this time, she has worked for Talawa Theatre Co., the Lyric Hammersmith, Birmingham REP, the Albany, Deptford, and Theatre Centre, before taking up the role of Executive Producer (Cultural Programmes & Live Sites) for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Here, she led the Birmingham 2022 Festival, the 6-month festival of creativity wrapped around the Games, oversaw the city’s Festival Sites and delivered the Prize Medal design and fabrication project.

Following this, Raidene became Creative Director for Birmingham Festival 23, a free, 10-day celebration of Birmingham’s creativity and culture, marking the one-year anniversary of the Games. She is currently Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Artsadmin, which runs Toynbee Studios, and produces a range of hyperlocal and international artists projects, and artist development initiatives.

Raidene was an inaugural MOBO/LTC Executive Fellow (2016) and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2021).

Photo © Jas Sansi

Indy has spent more than 20 years working in legal, business and commercial affairs in the TV and film industries, spending a large part of his career at the BBC.

He is currently VP of legal and business affairs at the international production arm of SF Studios.

The last time he appeared on stage, the play’s noted playwright came backstage afterwards and scolded him for his cheap melodramatics.

Cerian is an independent consultant with over 15 years’ experience working across the arts sector and with a range of art forms in roles that include strategic fundraising support, organisational development and business planning. She takes a holistic approach through mentoring, hands-on support, strategy development and fundraising.

She has worked with organisations that include the National Theatre, the Old Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Talawa, the Royal Court, National Centre for Writing, Apples and Snakes and Mosaic Rooms, but specialises in working with grassroots organisations, as exemplified by her long-term relationship with The People’s Orchestra.

Alongside her work with The People’s Orchestra, Cerian’s current clients include Old High Street Intra Cultural Consortium, creating ground-up community, cultural and heritage based regeneration in her local area, and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, creating a business plan and fundraising strategy for two strategic projects.

Photo © Nia Rose Branding

Christina Elliot is Head of Programming & Producing at The Place, London’s creative powerhouse for dance development.

Christina leads a team of producers to deliver The Place’s theatre programme, artist development initiatives and new producing and touring projects. Her areas of specialism include project development, partnership working and fundraising.

Key recent projects include the development of the third phase of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative, the expansion of The Place’s in house producing team and the growth of The Place’s Festival of Korean Dance into a national touring programme. Christina has had the pleasure and privilege of working alongside many brilliant artists and companies at The Place (including Requardt & Rosenberg, Igor x Moreno, Lost Dog, Sivan Rubinstein, Extended Play & SAY) and previously whilst producer at Fuel (2006 – 2014, including Inua Ellams, Will Adamsdale & Clod Ensemble). Christina was on the board of Bristol based Uninvited Guests from 2014 – 2023.

Photo © Nici Eberl

Paul is the Chief Operations Officer for the CORE & Co Foundation, an education charity that provides social justice solutions for children and young people. Foundation projects include SAFE Birmingham, a Department for Education backed initiative designed to reduce children’s vulnerability to serious youth violence and Raise My Game, an LTA funded tennis programme that supports secondary school students to build resilience, wellbeing and fitness through access to high-quality coaching.

As Director of Content for Into Film, Paul led content production and curation for the BFI’s 5-19yrs film education programme. In his early career Paul worked in film and television production before joining the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund, supporting new talent partnerships with FILM4, Sight & Sound, Dazed magazine and BBC Film.

Prior to joining CORE & Co Paul had the privilege of being part of the China Plate team, working as their General Manager between May 2019 and September 2021.

Sarah has been in senior leadership roles in top UK companies for the past 27 years. She worked in the arts, health and education sectors and has expertise in strategy, finance and funding, across the charitable, voluntary and commercial sectors.

Sarah worked on three capital projects, most recently as Joint Chief Executive at Mountview Academy delivering a new facility for the drama school. Sarah was awarded an Olivier Special Recognition Award in 2020 and was Southwark Business Woman of the Year in 2020. Mountview received a RIBA London Award in 2021.

Sarah now works as a consultant supporting transformational change. She is the Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for the Lostwithiel & Lanreath area, and a Cornwall Council Cabinet member, and portfolio holder for Tourism, Localism and Planning.

Sarah was born in Birmingham and grew up in the South West. She is a graduate of Goldsmiths College, London – holds a Masters in Organisational Development, and was a Clore Fellow in 2007/08.

Kaya is the Executive Director & Joint CEO of Camden People’s Theatre, a studio theatre in London dedicated to supporting early-career artists and its local community with radical engagement initiatives. Before taking on the role at Camden People’s Theatre, Kaya was a producer with China Plate where she developed and toured the work of artists and companies including Caroline Horton, Inspector Sands, Ben Wright and Chris Thorpe.

In her early career, Kaya worked as the Production Coordinator for Little Angel Theatre, touring pieces such as A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Kneehigh) to children and families throughout the UK. Kaya is also a trustee of Marlborough Productions, a leading UK producer of queer-led, intersectional performance based in Brighton.