Team & board

A resident of Tower Hamlets for over 25 years, Keith is a passionate Professor at the University of Oxford’s Anthropology Department. He has served on numerous community organisations’ boards, including Whitechapel Art Gallery, and was an active local councillor in the 1990s and 2000s. He has founded several urban regeneration schemes, and acted as a Chair for the Thames Gateway London Partnership.

Ansuya Vezendy is a dual qualified attorney in the UK and New York with over a decade of experience in global regulatory compliance matters ranging from financial crime prevention to counterparty credit risk. Her investment banking career includes roles with Bank of America in NYC and UBS in London. In addition, Ansuya is the Co-founder of a holistic health retreat center in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest supporting responsible use of psychedelics for cultural and spiritual purposes, runs a private coaching practice and writes poetry.

Cllr Amia Ali has lived in Tower Hamlets all her life and attended Central Foundation Girls’ School. Prior to her current role, she worked as a journalist for the BBC, a legal advisor and as a political advisor to a Member of Parliament. She was elected to Bow East back in 2014 and has been honoured to serve the residents and as Cabinet Member for Environment, Cabinet Member for Culture Art and Brexit and now Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing. As councillor she has campaigned for better services for Old Ford residents; more affordable housing; and safer, cleaner streets and looks forward to pushing ahead in her health role.

Burman is a London-based mixed media artist from Bootle, near Liverpool. A prominent member of the 1980s Black British Art movement, Burman has explored politics and the representation of Asian women throughout her career. Her work has been championed by the British Council, Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate.

Jones has been a committed London Borough of Tower Hamlets Councillor since 1994, and served as Mayor of Tower Hamlets in 1999-2000. She founded Eastside Arts Books Ltd, and is a Director of Brick Lane Bookshop and Wiltons Music Hall. She is also a Trustee of organisations like the V&A Museum of Childhood.

Harut specialises in delivering financial services for charitable organisations. During the Ebola crisis, she successfully raised funds to help redevelop Sierra Leone. She is currently working on transitioning this fund to help economic growth across the continent. Harut is also an Honorary Treasurer of Food Cycle, a UK charity that assists people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.

Haskins is a BBC producer, working on thought-provoking digital content for BBC Ideas. As a student, he stood for parliament in Ireland, and used social media to significantly increase engagement in young voters. Since then, he has worked to bring about change with organisations like Project Arts Centre, the London Irish Centre, RTÉ and The Guardian.

Evelyn is an experienced fundraising professional and Senior Philanthropy Manager at the V&A Museum where she works on capital infrastructure projects, exhibitions and learning programmes. She has worked in a range of large and small organisations and brings a strong understanding of capital, individual and corporate fundraising. She is passionate about the arts and helping creative organisations like Rich Mix succeed.

Gavin is a Chartered Management Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in the entertainment industry, working with Academy Award, BAFTA and Palme D’or winning content. He has held international roles in companies such as ITV, Entertainment One and most recently as the Finance and Commercial Director of Thunderbird Entertainment. In addition to core finance, he has worked in M&A, business development and change management roles.

A regular at Rich Mix since it opened, Jackie O’Sullivan is the Executive Director of Communications at Mencap. Throughout much of her career, she has held important, senior communications and marketing roles in both the private and public sectors, including being Director of the National Lottery Promotions Unit.

Cllr Kevin Brady serves as a councillor for St Peter’s Ward in Tower Hamlets and is the Chief Whip as well as Vice-Chair of the General Purposes Committee. Kevin is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and is a company director at a talent agency in the West End, representing actors for their work in theatre, film and television.

Born in India, Kamatkar worked as an artist before moving to the UK in 1997. Since then, he has excelled as a multi-media artist, filmmaker and Director of events like GFEST: Gaywise FESTival. He has worked tirelessly with leading organisations, such as the BFI, to showcase LGBTQI work.

Having frequented Rich Mix for almost 10 years, local resident Chauhan is deeply committed to transferring the knowledge she has as a City law firm partner to charitable organisations. She believes in helping arts organisations celebrate diversity, so they can inspire change across the UK.

Sara Wallace is Executive Producer at SMUGGLER London, a production company creating advertising, music videos, documentaries and theatre. Sara has spent fifteen years working in film which has seen her live in New York, produce for Beyoncé and work on behalf of the UN. She now lives in London representing Directors including Kathryn Bigelow, Jonah Hill and Chris Smith.

Azad is a bilingual poet, storyteller and writer who published more than 35 books. She was the first Bangladeshi poet who performed in Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Translations of Azad were published in internationally by known publications including the New Yorker.