Fiona Cameron, Chair, appointed January 2012

Fiona has been working in the cultural sector since 1989, just four days after completing her final exams for her Drama and Theatre Studies degree. She started work at the National Theatre as an Information Officer and tour guide before returning to student life at the Laban Centre where she completed the Diploma in Dance studies specialising in Dance in Education. There was never a plan to dance following her studies there, but the year spent at Laban fulfilled her ambition to study dance full-time. After Laban, Fiona has worked in administrative roles for a wide range of organisations including Ticketmaster, Dance Theatre Red, The Millennium Dome, London Arts and the Independent Theatre Council. She joined the Clore Leadership Programme in July 2006 and currently manages their programme of residential Short Courses.

Anna Anderson, appointed February 2011

After starting her career in the city, Anna has worked in theatre and the performing arts for over fifteen years and is currently at the National Theatre where she is responsible for the programme and business management of the NT Future redevelopment project. She has previously managed the finances of other large arts capital projects including the new theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the restoration of the London Coliseum for English National Opera where she also headed the business management team. In addition to Candoco, she is on the Finance Committee of Rambert Dance Company and on the Board of Bonachela Dance Company.

Stephanie Grundy, appointed January 2012

Stephanie Grundy is a lawyer. She was a civil servant at the Treasury and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for 15 years. Since 2000, she has been working as a legal consultant drafting legislation for the Government and rules for a range of other public bodies. She has also drafted a number of Private Members’ Bills for introduction in the House of Commons and House of Lords. Many of these, including the Civil Partnerships Bill and the Equality Bill, have been taken forward by the Government to become law. Stephanie has a long-standing interest in contemporary dance, especially at the more challenging and thought-provoking end of the spectrum.

Kulsoom Kausher, appointed February 2010

Kulsoom is one of the founders of Wandering Bear, a communications agency with a focus on the digital space. Wandering Bear specialise in branding, visual communication, editorial writing, mobile and web technology.  Kulsoom started off her career as a marketing professional at HSBC and RBS and subsequently moved up in the agency world as Head of Digital at WARL. She has over 10 years experience in account management delivering project for the likes of Virgin, Tesco, Permira and NHS. Kulsoom has a passion for connecting people and ideas and makes it her business to be in on the next big thing in digital.  Kulsoom also manages Wasabi Kiss, a forum that brings together women that have a zest for life and want to meet other like-minded people.

Kamran Mallick, appointed January 2012

Biography to come.

Christopher Nourse, appointed January 2008

Christopher Nourse is a specialist in dance management. He acquired a law degree and read for the Bar before entering arts management. Now a freelance arts manager focusing on dance, current responsibilities include project management of the annual Dance Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and executive management of The Frederick Ashton Foundation. Prior to this, he managed the National Dance Awards for five years. Previously, he has worked for Sadler’s Wells/Birmingham Royal Ballet (administrative director), Rambert Dance Company (executive director), English National Ballet (managing director) and the Royal Opera House (assistant to the general director/administrative director of the ROH Trust).

In addition to Candoco, his other non-executive appointments include: chairman of the Dancers’ Pension Scheme, chairman of the Dame Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund, director of Youth Dance England, trustee of the Cecchetti Society and governor of The Royal Ballet. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Sophie Partridge, appointed February 2010

Sophie is an actor and writer, who trained with Graeae Theatre Co. in 1999 and has since gone on to perform in several productions with Graeae, such as award winning productions ‘Peeling’ and ‘Flower Girls’.  She has also worked with various other theatre companies including David Glass Ensemble, Theatre Resource in Essex and Theatre Workshop, Edinburgh.

Sophie’s work as a writer includes rehearsed readings of `Earthbound’, a contemporary telling of the Joan of Arc tale and ‘Fluff’, her on-going Com-sit!  `Just Me, Bell’ was Sophie’s first commission for Graeae and was performed in schools as an interactive piece for young people, in autumn 2009.  In spring 2011, she co-facilitated a series of workshops for young disabled people as part of the Develop Young Hackney Festival and has just received further GFA funding, towards the continuing development of her 1 woman puppet piece ‘Song Of Semmersuaq’, to be performed at DaDa International Festival in summer 2012.

Summer 2011 saw her perform again for Graeae at festivals, with the much acclaimed `Rhinestone Rollers’ and she is a founding member of the newly formed `Big Lounge Collective’ of disabled artists.

Jane Stokes, appointed January 2012

Jane was a Civil Servant for nearly 30 years before she suffered a stroke in 2000 which left her with severe aphasia and partly paralysed on her right side. During her civil service career she worked initially on export credit and then on framing legislation on, successively, insurance, company law and financial services. Her last major project was the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, for which she received the CBE.

Jane is active at Connect, the leading charity for people living with aphasia. She co-facilitates or participates in the Music Group, the Conversation Group, the Drop-in sessions and the Women’s Group. She is a member of the South London Aphasia Hub and a number of other committees. She is also in the co-ordination group supporting Carole Pound’s Ph.D project on the effect of strokes on friendships and social interaction. Jane received the Southwark volunteer of the year award in 2011.

Jane regularly attends modern ballet and opera with her friends.

Jane’s aphasia makes it very difficult for her to communicate – this biography was written for her by a friend with her input – but as a result of it and her background in law and public service she has a deep understanding of disability issues which enables her to provide a distinct input in many areas.