Our Black Women in Leadership Symposium takes place here in Leeds on 23 & 24 February. Read on to learn more about our range of speakers.
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Sharon Watson is the fourth Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Prior to this she was the longest-standing Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre. During her tenure at Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sharon received a number of awards and accolades: In 2010, she was named as one of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s ‘Women to Watch’, a list of 50 influential women working in arts and culture in the UK. She was awarded The Sue Ryder ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement in Business Award’ and named ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’ in 2016. She recently received the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts’ Companionship Award from Sir Paul McCartney and was recognised as one of ‘100 faces of a vibrant economy 2017’ by Grant Thornton. Acknowledged at the 2017 Northern Power Women Awards as part of the very first ‘Top 50 Power List’, in 2018 Sharon won the First English Woman’s Award for Arts and Culture and in October of the same year she was named the ‘Arts and Media Senior Leader of the Year’ by the Black British Business Awards. In November 2020, Sharon was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. In January 2022 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Dance. She appears in the Yorkshire Insider Power 100 list 2022.
Pawlet Brookes MBE is the founder, CEO and artistic director of Serendipity – Institute for Black Arts and Heritage. An experienced and highly respected senior manager and producer, Brookes has been at the forefront of the development of Black arts in the UK since she was appointed Marketing Manager at the Nia Centre (Manchester) in the 90s, then Artistic Director of Peepul Centre (Leicester) and ultimately Chief Executive of Rich Mix (London). She has over 30 years’ experience as a cultural leader with expertise in partnership building, international programming and cultural diversity. She is the trailblazer behind several initiatives with arts and cultural organisations both in the UK and internationally. Brookes has been a speaker at a number of international conferences, including being the UK representative at a UNESCO conference in Stockholm. Brookes was a finalist for the 2009 National Regeneration and Renewals Award for Cultural Leadership and recipient of BME Leader of the year at the East Midlands Women’s Awards 2018 and One Dance UK’s Outstanding Programme Award 2018 for Let’s Dance International Frontiers. Brookes was awarded an MBE for services to the arts and cultural diversity in the 2022 New Year Honours.
Griselda Togobo is an international corporate consultant. She is also a multi-faceted entrepreneur, engineer and chartered accountant. Her experience as a black woman in the corporate world drives her to help progressive global companies create inclusive workplaces. She works directly with CEOs and business leaders to embed a culture of inclusion at the heart of their talent strategy. She is a respected and impactful speaker and is known for her high energy and engaging style. Griselda offers a fresh perspective and approach to developing leaders. Griselda is passionate about advancing girls into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math sectors and supports female leaders through forwardladies.com. Griselda has an outstanding reputation as a trusted provider of high-quality D&I learning solutions and consulting services through her businesses.
Read more at https://griseldatogobo.com
Heather Paul is a university lecturer, organisational development and workforce development consultant, executive coach and coach supervisor.She works with young people and adults through Learning and Development Programmes, Organisational Development and Workforce Development both strategically and operationally.
She previously created a Leadership Academy for a Local Authority and its partner organisation. In her role as a lecturer, contributing to both undergraduate and post graduate programmes on Teaching and Education within Leeds Beckett University, Carnegie School of Education. Heather lectures on undergraduate programmes and the MA in Race within the school’s Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality.
Heather Nelson is the Chief Executive Officer of the award winning charity Black Health Initiative (BHI). A community engagement organization with its main office based in Leeds, West Yorkshire which works regionally, nationally and is developing its international work. The BHI works in partnership with statutory and private sector service providers and working with and for diverse communities. In 2021 Heather won the National Diversity Awards – Race, Religion and Ethnicity and was awarded an QAV (Queens Award for the Voluntary Sector) the equivalent to an MBE for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector in June 2022.
Khadijah Ibrahiim is a literary activist, theatre maker and published writer, who combines interdisciplinary art forms to re-imagine poetry as performance theatre. Hailed as one of Yorkshire’s most prolific poets by the BBC. Her work appears in university journals and poetry anthologies and BBC radio 4 and radio 3. Her collection ‘Another Crossing’ was published by Peepal Tree Press, 2014. She has performed and directed art programs in the USA, Caribbean, Africa and Asia. In 2010 she was a writer in residence for El Gouna writes, Egypt, and South Africa with the British council Verbalized sustained theatre program. The recipient of the Leeds Black Award 2011 for outstanding contribution to arts, she was shortlisted for the Jerwood Compton poetry Fellowship 2019 and for the Sue Rider ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’ for her contribution to the arts 2018. She received a Leeds Legacy Award for her ‘International Impact in the Arts. She is the founder and Artistic director of Leeds Young Authors, and executive producer of the award-winning documentary ‘We Are Poets’.
Alethia Antonia (they/her) is a UK-based freelance choreographer, performer, teacher and researcher. They trained at London Contemporary Dance School, Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance and Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and are currently a part-time PhD researcher at De Montfort University with a Midlands4Cities scholarship.Alethia’s choreographic work and research incorporate various movement practices and vocality to explore artistic and socio-political issues in relation to race and gender, mental health and trauma. This is in particular connection with the idea of self-authoring feminine blackness, decolonisation, and accessibility. Her choreographic work has been commissioned, supported by and performed at institutions such as The Place, Sadler’s Wells, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Dance4, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance, Fashion Space Gallery, DanceEast, UTA Artist Space and London Gallery Weekend. They are currently a Work Place Artist at The Place and a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion working group at Dancers’ Career Development (DCD).
Monique is the founder of dance company, Jona Dance. She has been choreographing, movement directing, teaching and producing work both online and in person, with the aim of amplifying silenced voices through contemporary dance in the UK. Jona Dance have created for Ballet Black, Rambert School, Pegasus Opera, Reebok and London Fashion Week to name a few. She recently premiered a full length worth with Serendipity Leicester.
Over the years, Monique has worked with Rambert Dance Company, Sally Marie, Hubert Essakow, Arcade Fire, Theo Adams Company, Clod Ensemble and commercially on the Brit Awards, BBC Drama; The Pursuit of Love, Marvel, Jamie Cullum and Kae Tempest
