OXFORD iS BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

John leads the cultural programme. He was previously the Director of the Royal Danish Opera and Royal Danish Orchestra, Associate Director of Opera for the Royal Opera Covent Garden; and founded The Opera Group, an innovative company which commissioned new work and was based at The Young Vic. John has been a stage director for more than 20 years, collaborating with leading music, theatre, dance and visual artists on some of Europe’s largest stages.

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Josie is responsible for the delivery of our programmes. Josie has previously worked as a senior producer, commissioner and programmer across large scale venues and place-based programmes. She has knowledge of, and a passion for, producing high-quality high-profile work that often provides a platform for marginalised voices. Josie was at The Roundhouse, London for 10 years where she worked as Senior Producer, she was also Senior Producer and Commissioning Director for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. Josie has collaborated with artists and companies such as Wayne McGregor, Random International, Penny Woolcock, Gratte Ciel, Cardboard Citizens and Block9.

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Sara leads on building connections with the widest possible public. Sara has worked in senior roles in the cultural sector for over 25 years in a diverse range of roles covering strategy, marketing, fundraising, disability arts, inner city regeneration, and tourism. Sara was previously the Head of Sales & Marketing/ Deputy CEO at Lighthouse, Poole, one of the UK’s largest regional art centres. Prior to that she spent 6 years as a Senior Lecturer at the Arts University Bournemouth having held project management and marketing roles for a West-end/touring theatre producer, rep theatre and Disability arts charity before that. She is also a trustee for the Dorset based performing arts charity Activate.

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Justine leads on the operational management and delivery of the Cultural Programme with support from the programme’s Event Managers and Project Officers. She supports the Cultural Programme Director, and relevant governance bodies with strategy, personnel and financial management, and policies and procedures. Prior to taking up the role of Senior Coordinator, Justine was the Operations Manager for TORCH.

Justine has worked in Higher Education for the past nine years across a portfolio of roles. She joined the University of Oxford in 2017 and has worked in managerial roles at TORCH, International Gender Studies (Lady Margaret Hall), and Estates Services. Prior to joining Oxford, she was the Coordinator for the research networks The Centre for Modernist Studies and Americans in Paris (both University of Sussex). She holds a BA (English, University of Sussex), an MA (Issues in Modern and Contemporary Culture, UCL), and a PhD on the subject of feminist phenomenology and modernist literature from the University of Sussex, where she also taught history of literature and critical theory.

Alexis joins the team later this year.

Following the completion of undergraduate studies in Music and Mathematics, and an MA in Musicology at the University of Exeter, Alexis joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra working with their chamber ensembles and education department before returning to academia as the recipient of a Richard Whipp Interdisciplinary Studentship for PhD study at Cardiff University, where her research focused on postmodern culture, minimalism in music and the visual arts, and the music of Louis Andriessen.

Alexis has taught at Cardiff and Salford Universities as well as taking on a variety of freelance roles in multidisciplinary and greenfield festivals, event management, research and music arranging.

In 2011 she joined Cheltenham Festivals as Music Festival Manager and in 2016 became Chief Executive of the Three Choirs Festival. Alexis joined the board of the British Arts Festivals Association in 2017, becoming chair in 2019, and will hand over to her co-chair at the conclusion of BAFA’s major research project ‘Festivals Mean Business 4’ at the end of this year. She is a founder trustee of Goldfield Productions, and a trustee of Cheltenham Music Festival Society and Streetwise Opera.

Alexis volunteers with a local homelessness service and a Samaritans events team, and in her spare time enjoys travel, hiking, reading and kickboxing.

Elizabeth Zeddie Lawal is an award-winning creative producer, theatre maker, facilitator, and co-founder of More Than a Moment, a createch agency dedicated to innovation. Passionate about leveraging creativity, technology, and innovation, she strives to make the 21st century a fairer, more equitable, and beautiful world.

Elizabeth authored “Exhale,” a play that delves into faith, sexuality, and forgiveness, which was showcased at the Global Amnesty International Human Rights Forum in South Africa. She also co-wrote and performed at Rwanda’s UBUNTU Festival. Additionally, she created “Empires, Pioneers, and the New Radicals,” an augmented reality walking tour highlighting the contributions of women, the diaspora, and working-class communities to Birmingham’s cultural and economic growth. She developed “The Commons,” an innovative model for collaboration and problem-solving, and founded the Beautiful Futures Festival.

Her contributions have earned recognition from the Birmingham Mail’s “30 Under 30” in 2018, The Stage 100 in 2021, and she was a finalist for Woman of the Year in 2022 and Birmingham Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023. In 2024, she received the Potential Unlocked Award. Elizabeth also serves on the board of Birmingham Hippodrome and Tech WM.

Holly joined the team in August 2019 from Dragon School, and previously worked at Fast Track Ltd, a leading research and events company based in Oxford.

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Rhiannon joined the team in July 2022 and also works on events and projects with the Institute for Ethics in AI. She has a background in culture and heritage, her most recent roles have included leading on public engagement, audience development and events for the History of Science Museum and the Jewish Museum London. Rhiannon has an MSt in English Literature (1550-1700) from Oxford.

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Kate joined the Cultural Programme team in January 2024 from the Barbican Centre, London, where she was Production Manager specialising in classical music projects ranging from recitals, chamber music concerts, international orchestral residencies and opera.

Kate studied music at King’s College, Cambridge and has an MA in Historical Musicology from the University of Southampton.

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Izabela  supports the Cultural Programme team as Projects Officer.  Her role involves juggling a wide range of administrative tasks from finance to editing web content, and everything in between.

Izabela brings experiences working within private and public sectors, including roles in customer service, customer relations, quality, contracts and events to list a few.

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