Trustees

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  Joao Figueiredo, Chair

  Joao is a well-rounded management consultant with a background in governance and organisational change. Experienced in managing and delivering complex consultancy projects, he works with senior leadership across government and public sector to achieve effective and sustainable outcomes.

  With an academic background in international development, Joao has experience in the not-for-profit sector. He worked with the UNDP in Cambodia, where he oversaw the landmines programme clearance programme’s M&E processes; and for International Service UK, where he was part of a development programme focused in Ghana. As part of the University of York’s Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), Joao conducted research in Kosovo on themes of reconciliation and development.

  A strong believer in the power of the arts in driving community and human development Joao is very keen to work with community-based organisations to help democratise the arts and support young professionals to build their portfolios.

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  Olivia Shaw, Trustee

  Olivia has had a long career in marketing and communications, holding senior marketing and communications positions in both local and national NHS organisations for over 20 years and has significant board experience. She has also held the position of company secretary at an NHS trust. In the later years of her career, her work focussed mainly on service improvement and large scale change. She has previously been a trustee of another charitable organisation and has led on and been involved in many successful fund-raising events both for the public and charitable sectors.

  She has a life-long interest in music and the arts and, having moved to Hastings some years ago, is delighted by the quality and range of cultural activities available locally.

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  Elizabeth Allen, Trustee

  It was Elizabeth’s first job, working as a music critic on an evening newspaper in South Wales, covering events which ranged from a recital by Arthur Rubinstein to a school production of The Sound of Music that showed her the importance to the wider community of making and listening to music. Having moved to Hastings twenty years ago, she has been delighted to witness and, through Barefoot Opera, be involved in, the growth of the music scene in the town. As a director in environmental organisations, she was respon-sible for the development of educational projects, working with schools, national and lo-cal government and corporate sponsors and recognised that projects are only sustaina-ble when those involved feel ownership of them. Her later career was as a university lec-turer in literature and cultural studies.

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  Laurelle Hughes, Trustee

  Laurelle Hughes is a proud DFLer, having moved from London to St Leonards-on-Sea 18 months ago.
  She is a professional PA with business experience in various commercial and other sectors. Her career has included work in the creative industries and she is passionate about the arts in all forms (with a particular love of dance). For 10 years to 2018, she provided freelance business administration services including management board and committee administration/governance and promoting best practice procedures.
  She retains trusteeship of The Dalgarno Trust, a charity working with multicultural communities in London’s North Kensington, and has recently been appointed to the Advisory Panel of 18 Hours Ltd who delivers local events and education with a focus on global citizenship and diversity.
  Laurelle’s varied interests include wining and dining (and exercising to counteract those) and cultural activities. She is also a member of a local contemporary choir, her focus being on the joy of participation.

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  Sue Cowell, Trustee

  Professionally, Sue has worked for the NHS for the past 35 years as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Primary Health Care in London and West Wales.

  In her spare time, she has always been an active member of her community and through her church, she became Chairman of the Fund raising section of the Church’s charity, ‘Under Tree School’ for girls in South Sudan. Her team raised a considerable amount enabling the 16 -18 year olds to further their education in private schools near by. The money raised also provided computers, school dresses, sports kit and books. 15 years on, some of these girls have returned as teachers and nurses to their community.

  Sue has also been a member of St. Mary’s hospital’s charity ‘ Save the baby’, raising money for research into the prevention of miscarriage.

  As a recent ‘DFL’, she has embraced the music and art opportunities that Hastings offer and is delighted to now be part of Barefoot’s continued journey.

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  Laura Mucha, Trustee

  An enthusiastic amateur singer and erstwhile pianist, Laura’s engagement with Barefoot Opera began in 2021, when she took part in Bloom Britannia. This sparked her love of community singing and performance as she experienced, first hand, the joyful, positive difference that Barefoot Opera makes.

  Professionally, Laura’s background is in insight-led consulting, data analytics and digital transformation. As a business leader, her remit spans strategic, commercial and operational functions. She’s been fortunate to work across multiple sectors, spending the last decade supporting healthcare organisations to bring new treatment options to patients. She is also a trustee of Age UK East Sussex.

  Proud to call Hastings home, Laura is passionate about championing its inclusive, free-spirited and hugely talented cultural and artistic scene!

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  Mary Long, Trustee

  Mary had an international career in sales and marketing for global IT suppliers before becoming a headhunter and then a management consultant specialising in leadership and human capital. She has worked at the most senior levels across multiple industries and became a trusted advisor to main board directors. Latterly she has run her own companies supplying coaching and c-suite consultancy services to blue chip clients, notably in the financial services sector.

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  David Rogers, Trustee

  “David started his career as a consultant with a large accounting firm, advising substantial corporations which had got into financial difficulties, including a railway operating company and a another constructing offshore wind farms. Later he was engaged to develop a strategic plan for public services across Stoke and Staffordshire.
  After supporting family members with mental health problems, he moved over to the NHS and chaired a poorly performing mental health trust, which grew and improved, and was eventually judged the best NHS trust in the country. His wider involvements, which were taken with a view to connecting mental health support more widely, included being a trustee at a Wildlife Trust and a large further education college in Staffordshire.
  David now lives in St Leonards and is a trustee at Hastings Contemporary and at St Michael’s Hospice in St Leonards. His ambition is to encourage outreach across arts organisations to enrich all parts of society, but particularly those suffering hardship and deprivation.”

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• Creative Associates