Director & Trustee:

Play for Progress

Play for Progress is a Croydon-based charity that supports unaccompanied young people seeking asylum and promotes community resilience through trauma-informed creative engagement in the arts and education.

My relationship with Play for Progress (PFP) began in 2017 when, as part of organising a fundraising concert in aid of the Refugee Council, I attended some music workshops ran by PFP. The power and impact of the work PFP does was immediately apparent and I was bowled over by the vision and energy of its two co-founders, Alyson Frazier and Anna Macdonald.

Following that introduction to their work I invited PFP and their participants to give a performance at Southbank Centre ahead of the fundraising concert taking place in Royal Festival Hall. All the young people involved were also given tickets to attend the concert and invited backstage to meet some of the professional musicians involved. My relationship with PFP grew from there and, in 2020 I became a Trustee working on fundraising, sustainability and strategic planning.

As a member of both our Fundraising and Impact Subcommittees, I played an active role in shaping how we articulate the incredible work of PFP, while ensuring the charity is sufficiently financially resilient to be able to deliver that work consistently now and into the future. Alongside my fellow trustees I oversaw transition of the charity to appointing its first Chief Executive as the co-founders stepped back after 10years helming the organisation. Following this process I stepped down as Trustee in summer 2024 in anticipation of taking some time away from work for maternity leave. It was a huge privilege to work alongside my fellow trustees, the wonderful team at PFP, and our community of incredible young people.