Board of trustees

Althea Efunshile CBE has had a 40 year career working primarily in the fields of education, the arts, and children & young people. She is also Chair of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing. Althea is passionate about social justice. She was Deputy Chief Executive of Arts Council England, and a senior civil servant in the Department for Education and Skills working in various director level roles all concerned with improving outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children. She was Executive Director for Education and Culture at London Borough of Lewisham, and Assistant Director of Education at London Borough of Merton. Althea has previously been a Non-Executive Director of a number of organisations including University College London Hospitals; Channel 4; and Goldsmiths College. She began her career as a secondary school teacher.

Tonye Vianana is a Chartered Accountant with a near 20-year career working in strategic finance. Currently she is Finance Director for a global membership association focused on values-driven investing worldwide. She has worked as a Finance Director for a start-up consultancy firm supporting the process of securing government funding for innovative firms. She was a Group Head Accountant for Green Deal Finance Group, a government-backed firm aimed at providing finance to homeowners for energy-saving home improvements. A ballet devotee, Tonye worked as Company Accountant for English National Ballet where she also focused on transforming systems and processes. Tonye has experience in designing and implementing fundraising strategies, working with donors, corporates, foundations and philanthropists. She also serves as a trustee for a start-up charity, The JUMP that works with communities to make key changes for sustainability and climate change.

Christopher Hampson joined Scottish Ballet as Artistic Director in 2012 and was appointed Artistic Director / Chief Executive in 2015. He has created many award-winning works for major ballet companies throughout the world including, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Black, Atlanta Ballet and English National Ballet. In 2017 he curated the world’s first Digital Season and produced numerous works for screen since. Beyond Scottish Ballet, Christopher has participated in TEDx Glasgow, and has developed and led the inaugural Young Rural Retreat for Aspiring Leaders, in association with Dance East. He is a co-founder of the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague and has been a guest teacher for many major international companies. He is on the Board of both Ballet Black and Central School of Ballet and completed an MBA at Hult Ashridge Business School in 2019.

Following a 20 year career in investment banking and financial communications, Patricia is an avid champion of conscientious capitalism and social change. She now helps social enterprises attract private capital and advises funders on their responsible investment strategies through her consultancy Integriti Capital.  She also advocates for access to funding for diverse entrepreneurs as co-founder of Extend Ventures and access to philanthropic capital as co-founder of Black Funding Network. Patricia is a Trustee of Theatre Royal Stratford East, of NFL UK Foundation, Social Enterprise UK, Areté Network and International House New York. She is also on the Advisory Board of Money A+E and Shaw Trust Foundation as well as a member of Women in Social Finance.

Akilah is a solicitor with over six years’ experience specialising in risk management, compliance, and litigation. She has represented clients in complex, high-value disputes and advised on governance and regulatory matters. Alongside her legal career, Akilah is deeply committed to equity, wellbeing, and inclusion within the legal and charitable sectors. She currently leads the Wellbeing Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales’ Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division and has served as a trustee for organisations including the Windsor Fellowship, Kazzum Arts, and the Clockhouse Charity. Passionate about dance and the arts, Akilah values their power to inspire creativity, connection, and change. She brings this enthusiasm to her governance work at Ballet Black, where she is dedicated to supporting the company’s mission to promote representation, nurture emerging talent, and broaden access to ballet for diverse audiences.

Anna Prag has worked for over 25 years in fundraising and grant-making roles across the not for profit, business and government sectors.  She has worked with organisations from the European Commission, Plan International, to the Sainsburys Family Charitable Trust.   Anna has volunteered since 2016 on the Red Cross’ refugee support programme. She’s a dance lover and sits on the Board of Ballet Black Company.

Louise Small, a therapeutic transformative coach and workforce development manager, boasts a decade-long tenure dedicated to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion within educational settings and local authorities. Driven by the goal of enhancing representation for ethnically diverse children she started her own small business and serves as a school governor for a primary school federation where she actively contributes to educational governance and diversity in schools. Louise nurtures a passion for dance, particularly in diversifying ballet for children and young people, blending her professional expertise with personal passions to effect positive change.

Sandra is an executive coach and freelance consultant with c.18 years of senior management experience. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Member of the Chartered Management Institute, Sandra holds a strong interest in improving individual and organisational performance and developing diverse and inclusive leadership. Sandra has worked within the Charity, Voluntary, and Social Enterprise sector for the past 30 years – most recently as Chief Exec of Bristol’s Council for Voluntary Service. Her current roles include City Leader, Chair of the National Association for Voluntary & Community Action, Vice-Chair of the Bristol Beacon (formerly Colston Hall) and non-exec Director for BrisDoc Healthcare. Having trained as a Dancer and qualifying as a Dance Teacher through the N.A.T.D., she is passionate about ballet and increasing diversity and representation within the sector. Recognised amongst the ‘Top 100 Women in Bristol’ in 2019, awarded an M.B.E. in 2020 and ranked amongst the ‘Most Influential Women in Bristol’ in 2022, Sandra is a committed Trustee for Ballet Black and holds the role of Board Safeguarding Lead for the organisation.

A senior chartered governance professional working in the financial services sector for over 25 years, Andrea Davidson is currently Head of EMEA Corporate Governance and Company Secretarial at Invesco, responsible for governance and secretariat services to Invesco’s investment trust business and UK, Irish and European regulated entities and related funds. She is a director of a number of Invesco subsidiaries.

Andrea holds a LLB (Hons) in Law with French Law from University College London and a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, London. She is a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute. Outside her business role, Andrea is a faculty member with the Future Leaders Group, a mentor, and a speaker and panellist on corporate governance and diversity and inclusion. Andrea is passionate about ballet. Having stepped into her first class at the age of six, she continues to attend classes regularly.