Meet our board

Chair of the Board

Beena has been championing Art with Heart since the very beginning, as it embodies her belief that through accessible creativity and storytelling, you can bring people together and help them to find what they have in common. She’s a huge advocate of community, collectivity, and the power of paying it forward through gestures as simple as smiling at a stranger in the street.

Now a Talent Executive with BBC Studios, Beena has spent the last several years working as a producer and director in TV and audio. In 2016, she co-founded Sonder Radio and served as Non-Executive Director of Reform Radio, both social enterprises in Greater Manchester that use the power of radio to empower citizens.

Outside of work, you’ll find Beena travelling and working with wood or co-hosting Effin Hormones, a podcast about Perimenopause and beyond.

Board Member

Rebecca believes that the arts are for everyone, no matter who you are, and that making the arts accessible and inclusive is incredibly important. Art connects us to something bigger than ourselves – and when she first discovered Art with Heart, they felt like the perfect fit for her values.

A born and bred Northerner with roots in Manchester, Rebecca works as the Principal Policy Officer for Culture at Manchester City Council. She’s previously worked as regional Partnerships Manager at the Prince’s Trust as well as for the British Council on a range of international arts and culture programmes.

Rebecca’s happiest in the sunshine and loves visiting Spain. She enjoys travelling and exploring new places, learning languages, writing, reading and books in general. She’s passionate about mental health awareness, valuing anyone who takes the time to empathise, listen and help someone who is struggling.

Board Member

Colette Nerini is a HR professional with over 15 years’ experience advising senior leaders across public, private and third sector organisations.

They bring expertise in all things people policy, projects, strategy and relations to the trustee role, and have a strong track record of supporting organisations through complex change.

Colette is passionate about community and is committed to supporting Art with Heart’s mission through strong, values-led governance.

Board Member

Dawn works in television and across creative projects, leading teams to make work that connects with big, diverse audiences. She has been fortunate to work on huge grand scale events to small programmes.  She loves to see ideas come together, especially other peoples and have learned so much from working in the creative industries.

She was drawn to Art with Heart because of the way it uses creativity to help people explore difficult experiences and feel less alone.

Her work has always been about connecting people through culture and being part of the board is a way of supporting work that she feels genuinely makes a difference in people’s lives.

Board Member

Kiran Sandhu is a Solicitor and Group Head of Legal at Odeon Cinema Group. Beyond her professional role, she leads a busy and fulfilling life with family, friends, travel, learning, giving back, and sport.

Her values strongly align with Art with Heart, having grown up navigating the challenges of unsupported diversity, she is passionate about contributing to meaningful change and making a positive difference.

Board Member

Kate Fox is a freelance access consultant based in Manchester. They work with venues and organisations to help them make their spaces and their work more accessible for Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent folk.  They have a background as an access manager for festivals and arts venues, alongside digital content production and community-based projects across the Northwest.

Outside of work they love watching football, going to gigs and being sat on by their cat and is always trying to find more time for creativity in their life.

They were introduced to Art with Heart through our show Declaration, which resonated with many things they were grappling with at the time, and is passionate about our work creating authentic spaces and conversations that allow everyone to bring their own unique experiences.