Meet Us
The Team
Our dedicated team are at the heart of everything we can do.
Whether they’re our technicians, front of house staff, directors, education team, and volunteers, everyone is important and valued here. Together they build bridges, connect with communities and support all to make the arts accessible and exciting for all.
Stephen Escott
Theatre and Gallery Technician
Technical legend.
Andrew Fletcher
Director
Provides strategic leadership across all functions of the organisation.
Clare Fox
PA to the Director
Provides diary management and administration for the Director.
Kate Foster
Planning and Commercial Operations Manager & Retail Administrator
Operational management of the venue, commercial programmes, shop and seasonal craft fairs.
Noreen Gallagher
Planning and Commercial Operations Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
Operational management of the venue, commercial programmes and volunteers.
John Kirby
Programming Manager
Booking programme of performances and events. Developing artistic collaborations and commissioning in the Hall.
Lisa Jacques
SENsory Atelier Programme Manager
Leads and develops the SENsory Atelier programme.
Dr Paul Jenkins
Music Scholarships
Raminder Mallett
Front of House Administrator
Member of the Front of House team, greeting our communities and helping with performances and creative courses.
Paige Manning
Marketing Officer
Coordinating the organisation’s marketing activities.
Rizwana Parkar
Finance Assistant
All aspects of financial processing.
Hannah Pillai
Programme Coordinator
Inclusive Youth Arts Programme & Next Gen. Creatives
Marianne Pape
Learning and Outreach Manager
Leads the Learning and Outreach programme and team. Collaborates with all areas of our public programme.
Felicity Roles
Front of House Administrator
First point of contact for customers, takes bookings through Box Office, liaises with porters, artists and tutors.
Mita Solanky
Weekend Venue Officer
Day to day management of weekend activities. Overseeing invigilator rotas.
Kathy Sykes
Evening Front of House Assistant
First point of contact for customers in the evenings, takes bookings through Box Office, liaises with porters, artists and tutors.
Sunita Tailor
Digital Marketing Assistant
Lead on digital marketing including social media campaigns, photography and email marketing.
Pamela Vivas
Visual Arts Officer
Rebecca Wymant
Visual Arts Assistant
Our Advisory Board
Attenborough Arts Centre’s Advisory Board guides and champions our mission to make art accessible to all.
Our Advisory Board members include both University and external members, who collectively bring a range of professional and lived experiences to inform all that we do. Our Advisory Board oversees the delivery of our Business Plan, helping us to realise our future ambitions.
Jennifer Francis – Chair
Jennifer Francis is an experienced museum professional who has held several senior leadership roles at art, heritage and social history institutions across the world. Jennifer received her MA in Cultural Leadership and Policy Management at City University in London. Currently, she is the Museum Director at Turner’s House, leading on strategy, planning, marketing and fundraising. Most recently, Jennifer served as the Director of External Affairs at the Museum of London with responsibility for Fundraising, Digital Innovation and Marketing Communications, Brand and Tourism. Prior to that she worked as the Director of Marketing and Brand at Grounds For Sculpture New Jersey, and as Director, Marketing, Communication and Visitor Services at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, where she oversaw the successful launch of the museum, its media relations, global exposure, agency and community liaison nationally and internationally, audience growth, philanthropy and income generation.
Previously, she was the Executive Director, Marketing and Communications at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In this role, Jennifer led the strategy and implementation of integrated marketing, communications, media relations, public relations, brand and corporate identity, digital marketing, creative, insights and audience development.
For a long period in her career, Jennifer worked as Head of Press and Marketing at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. She has also been consulting to a number of cultural organisations globally.
Jennifer has been an Adjunct Lecturer at Drexel University, and served on several Boards including ICOM-US and Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust.
Martyn Edwards – Vice Chair
Martyn Edwards is Director of External Relations at the University of Leicester. Prior to joining Leicester, Martyn has held a number of senior roles across different organisations within the HE sector, including the British Council, University of Nottingham and IDP Education. More recently he was Director of Marketing and Advancement at Loughborough University.
Martyn is a graduate of Cardiff University with a bachelor degree in English and a Masters in Strategic Marketing, he also holds a postgraduate qualification from the University of Manchester. He is a former Vice-Chair of the British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA) and of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Higher Education Special Interest Group. Martyn is a former member of the IDP Connect International Advisory Panel and currently sits on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Global Advisory Committee, Keystone Education Group International Advisory Board, Duolingo English Test UK Advisory Group and the Council for Europe of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Donokhon Abdulhamidova
Donokhon Abdulhamidova is a postgraduate student at the University of Leicester, studying Digital Media and Society. She completed her undergraduate degree in Creative Industries and Arts at the University of Sunderland, where she specialised in Fashion Product and Promotion. Donokhon has professional experience in the cultural and educational sectors, having worked at the Arts and Culture Development Foundation and as a Marketing Advanced Staff at the British Management University in Tashkent.
Her academic and professional interests centre on the intersection of digital media, culture, and creative expression. Passionate about exploring how technology shapes modern storytelling and cultural engagement, Donokhon brings a global perspective and a deep enthusiasm for the arts to the Advisory Board.
Emeka Ejiofor
The creator and owner of the revolutionary lifestyle brand True Colours Clothing, Emeka is a renowned poet/spoken word artist (True Colours is his stage name). He is the author of the thought-provoking, must-read poetry collection Outspoken by True Colours (available on Amazon). He is a Trustee at Derby College and a huge advocate for equality in society. He is currently in the process of publishing Outspoken vol.2 and a children’s book, with a big emphasis on embracing cultural and individual differences. Emeka is an ex-semi-professional footballer who has played for the likes of Burton Albion, and has over 20 years’ experience working with young people in the education sector. He now facilitates SYTC workshops all over the country and is gaining a powerful reputation for invoking positive change in the education system.
Tara Lopez
Advisory Board Safeguarding Lead
Tara Lopez is a Cultural Producer, Strategist and Manager, currently Director of Participation at Nottingham Playhouse. Since graduating from De Montfort University where she studied Dance, Tara has managed a wide range of projects and programmes across; cultural participation, carnival arts and festivals, with a particular focus on work with, by and for children and young people. A particular drive across all of her work has been addressing inequalities and under-representation within the Cultural Sector; most notably this has included leading mass participation dance project ‘Critical Mass’ which aimed to redefine inclusion in mega-events starting with Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Sonal Joshi
Sonal Joshi is the Head of Finance for Internal Performance & Planning at the University of Leicester. She is a CIMA qualified management accountant with over 20 years’ experience in finance. Sonal has been at Leicester since 2009 and has worked in various roles within the Finance division. Prior to joining Leicester Sonal had worked for a number of universities, including Imperial, Warwick and Nottingham. Sonal became part of the Attenborough Arts Centre Advisory Board in December 2021.
Vishal Joshi
A Leicester-based multidisciplinary fine artist, Vishal Joshi was recently commissioned to create a unique piece of art commemorating the Centenary of the University of Leicester. He has also painted a large mural within the Leicester Museum and Gallery. His unique style of mark making has been widely appreciated and celebrated. In recent years, MMA fighter Conor McGregor and actor-comedian Asim Choudhry have acquired Vishal’s original pieces. Joshi’s ability to create public engagement artwork that is inspiring and beautiful is what he is becoming known for. A large outdoor mural inspired by the identity of Europeans after Brexit was commissioned by STAMP Festival in Hamburg. Through his art, Vishal is a socio-cultural activist driven to express his beliefs with painting and sculpture as his methods of expression.
Professor Ross Parry
Ross Parry is the founding Director of the University of Leicester’s interdisciplinary Institute for Digital Culture which works with the culture sector globally to support its adaption to a digital world.
With Art UK and the Collections Trust, Ross co-leads the national Museum Data Service (MDS) – a transformative service that aims to connect and share the tens of millions of object records across all 1,700 accredited UK museums. This landmark initiative is a joint initiative by and the Institute for Digital Culture, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator Program, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s National Infrastructure for Digital Innovation and Curation for Arts and Humanities (iDAH).
Ross is co-investigator on The Sensational Museum – a £1m interdisciplinary research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, that is designing and creating sensory interventions that are accessible to all – using what we know about disability to change how museums work for everyone. Ross leads the international research consortium (‘One by One‘ – building digitally confident museums) and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Currently Ross serves as a member of the UK Research and Industry’s Steering Committee of its £19m digital cultural heritage initiative ‘Towards a National Collection’. In 2018 Ross was listed in the Education Foundation’s ‘EdTech50’ – the fifty most influential people in the UK education and technology sectors.
Meera Saujani
Meera is a marketing and communications expert with multi-discipline international experience across the public and private sectors. She has spent the last decade as a diplomat in China, working for the British Council, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Meera has led on marketing and communications for a number of high-profile initiatives promoting the UK arts and creative industries, including the first ever bilateral UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange. She has spearheaded marketing partnerships with organisations including BAFTA, Secret Cinema and Aardman. Meera combines her passion for the arts and inclusivity, her local Leicester knowledge and her international expertise to bring a wealth of experience to Attenborough Arts Centre.
Meet our Patrons
Our Patrons support Attenborough Arts Centre’s mission to be one of the UK’s leading socially-engaged cultural organisations.
Michael Attenborough CBE
Michael Attenborough continues the Attenborough family association and support for the centre. He is a passionate supporter of inclusion in the arts and the rights of disabled people. His long career in theatre includes Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, the Hampstead Theatre and Principal Associate Director of the RSC. Freelance work includes productions for the National Theatre, the Royal Court and Chichester; a number in the West End and twice on Broadway. He also teaches and trains at three universities and four drama schools, including RADA, where he is Director Emeritus.
Grayson Perry CBE
Grayson Perry is an internationally celebrated visual artist and was the first transvestite potter to win the Turner Prize in 2003. Having trained in sculpture he went on to learn ceramics in night classes, his work is now collected and represented in many museums and galleries around the world.
Yinka Shonibare CBE
Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist living and working in London. Noted for his use of traditional batik patterned cloth in his sculptures he has exhibited in the UK and internationally and his work can be found in many notable collections. In 2010 his first public art commission, Nelsons ship in a bottle, was created for the Forth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. He is an enthusiastic supporter for disability arts and is Chair of Shape.
Dame Evelyn Glennie
An internationally celebrated multi-percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie has been Deaf since the age of 12. Her work has seen her performing with orchestras around the world along with creative collaborations with stars of the contemporary music world such as Bjork and Bobby McFerrin.