About Me
I am a collaborative leader and University of Cambridge MBA with ~25 years of international experience motivating teams, entrepreneurs and students at the intersection of social impact and business, the arts, higher education, humanitarian assistance, foreign policy, and the climate emergency. I have worked in over 20 countries from Russia, Malaysia and Egypt to the UAE, Italy and Jordan.
I was Head of the British Council’s Developing Inclusive & Creative Economies (DICE), a £9m global pilot (2018-2021) focused on rising unemployment and underemployment in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and the UK. The program imagined and activated new forms of international relations, capacity building and collaboration for a nascent network of 22,000 creative social entrepreneurs, artists, researchers, intermediaries, young journalists, and policy-makers. With a particular focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, 8, 10 and 17, we provided enterprise training, story-telling, policy-development, and communities of practice for those structurally excluded from mainstream opportunities – including because of gender, age, race, religion, sexuality, nationality, disability and/or likely some combination of all. Co-designed and delivered by my team of 25 across seven time zones, DICE was cited as a 'bold innovation in international development' by Prof. JP Singh at George Mason University and ‘a model for 21st century leadership, encouraging new thinking and horizontal collaborations across disciplines, countries and continents' by British Council Advisory Board Member Gerri Moriarty. The external evaluation (ITAD/BOP) concluded that “DICE provided a roadmap for integrating economic, social and cultural impacts in a newly holistic way.” The work of DICE will be on view in the Bernstein Gallery at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in 2025.
I established the University of Cambridge Judge Business School MBA in Cultural & Arts Management (2007-2016), teaching and coaching over 150 MBA students from over 30 countries during my tenure; publishing case studies for business school teaching, and for the Financial Times about National Theatre Live, the Aldeburgh Festival, Beamish Museum and Tate; and leading research projects through Nesta and Arts Council England's Digital R&D Fund for the Arts. Under Lord Grey Gowrie and Dame Sandra Dawson's mentorship, I also built First Light, a new investment model for measuring the impact of the arts (2005-6).
I chaired and co-conceived the UK-wide Relaxed Performance Project with Kirsty Hoyle and Jeremy Newton (2010-2014) ensuring that theatres across Britain were as welcoming as can be for people with severe autism and their families. We forged partnerships with landmark institutions including the National Theatre, the West End, Theatre By the Lake, the Unicorn, the Globe, and the Royal Shakespeare Company and trained actors, front of house staff and marketing teams to create the right environment. This work catalyzed an international success story; Relaxed Performances are now mainstream in many countries and there is a global network of theatres collaborating to share best practice and fling open their doors to otherwise often deeply isolated families.
With Lucie Branczik (Event Communications) I co-authored the feasibility study for the National Contemporary Art Gallery of Wales, with our recommendations accepted in full, and the Gallery opening as a distributed model across the nation in 2024. Adam Price, the Leader of Plaid Cymru (National Party of Wales) called our work "Thorough, honest, and the best overview we’ve had for decades on the visual arts in Wales. It’s inspiring, far-reaching and comprehensive."
Through these experiences I have deepened my expertise in intercultural fluency, trust-building, and co-design. I am increasingly convinced these are critical ingredients for systems-change and powerful tools to develop with and for the next generation; they are embedded in my current portfolio as a university facilitator, flight captain, NED, strategist and mentor for a range of pioneering socio-economic initiatives.
Today I am Partner (Community) for Giving Connect strengthening the investment strategies of private philanthropists and the case for support for education charities and social enterprises in Kenya, Tanzania, Indonesia and Australia. I'm also a mentor of Young-Wilders (UK youth-led nature recovery), and The New Museum's NewInc, the USA's first museum-incubator for creativity, arts and technology, working closely with Lisa Jamhoury Studio, Dreamspace, and Talking Animals. I also advise Amuzn, a new two-sided market platform for artists and consumers.
I also serve the British Pavilion at the International Venice Arts & Architecture Biennales through the British Council's Venice Fellowship Program (2023+) Each year I work with 45-65 Fellows, 20-30 UK universities and 10+ creative enterprises to prepare Fellows for their collaborative residency in Venice, Italy. I was originally commissioned to widen access, diversity of intake and deepen intercultural camaraderie. As a result, in 2024, for the first time in the Art Biennale's 125-year history, people who had been homeless, refugees, or have full-time carers welcomed visitors through Great Britain's Pavilion doors. Almost 70% of the Fellows had previously experienced barriers to careers in the arts because of classism, homelessness, racism, disability, sexuality, nationality, gender, or ethnicity and likely some combination thereof.
I am a Trustee of Crossing Borders Education, a Scottish-based international charity fusing film and peer-led dialogue for thousands of young people in 20+ countries, forging partnerships with Outrage & Optimism (climate podcast) and raising $250K through a partnership with Cisco Technology. I am also a Trustee of Arts & Homelessness International, a pioneering social enterprise focused on advocacy, knowledge sharing and policy change in the global homelessness sector. I am Former Chair and Trustee of Hoipolloi (2012-2019) a magical theatre company and winner of The Scotsman Fringe First, BBC Audio Drama Award and The Total Theatre Award.
I began my career aboard Artrain USA, traveling to 25 communities across fifteen states showcasing an art collection owned by NASA, including works by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Norman Rockwell; and at the Newark Museum of Art as Special Assistant to the DIrector, Mary Sue Sweeney Price.
I am a proud graduate of the University of Michigan, where I received my BA (Hons) in Arts & Ideas in 1999 and a former Leadership Newark (New Jersey) Policy Fellow (2002-2004).
Through scholarships from Sainsbury Foundation Charitable Trust, the CJBS Director's Scholarship and Cambridge Overseas Trust, I was able to study for my MBA from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School (Pembroke College), graduating in 2005. My thesis explored the relationship between private philanthropy and autism.