Mark Hopkinson Chair Expand Mark Hopkinson Mark comes to Deafinitely Theatre with a strong background in education and training. Following work as an access and development officer for deaf people in different London boroughs, Mark has spent the past 19 years working for City Lit in a variety of teaching and management roles. Since 2014, he has been head of department for Sign Language and Lipreading. Over the years, Mark has taught and assessed all levels of BSL, from introductory to Level 6 and is a qualified Internal Verifier, also providing consultancy and advice for BSL tutors in other colleges. Mark has lectured on the City Lit/London Met University ‘Deaf Studies’ degree and has coordinated a number of training programmes for external businesses across London. He is hoping that his experience will lend itself to supporting the development of Deafinitely Theatre; he has a particular interest in accessibility. Mark has also been a member of the London Deaf Drama Group for over 15 years, enjoying all that amateur theatre has to offer.
Louise Stephens Vice Chair Expand Louise Stephens Louise Stephens is a dramaturg specialising in the development of new writing. As in-house dramaturg or literary management personnel, she has worked at the Traverse Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. She has worked as a dramaturg or script reader with theatre companies throughout the UK and Ireland, including the National Theatre of Scotland; Tron Theatre; Tiata Fahodzi; Curve, Leicester; Live! Theatre; Rifco, and the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. Her dramaturgical work with maker/performers includes Rachael Young (I, Myself and Me), FellSwoop (Palmyra: Total Theatre Awards 2017) and Jenna Watt (Flâneurs: Fringe First 2012; Faslane, Fringe First 2016). She is the Dramaturg for the Abbey Theatre, Amharclann Na Mainistreach, where her recent work includes This Beautiful Village (Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards Winner, Best New Play 2019) and 2020's Dear Ireland project. She has admired Deafinitely’s productions, ethos and working methods for a long time and is delighted to serve as a trustee for the company. She signs to BSL Level 3 and recently began to learn ISL, completing QQI Award Level 3. She has a PhD in Creativity Management from the University of St Andrews.
Mariam Qazi Trustee Expand Mariam Qazi Mariam is profoundly Deaf and has been working as Finance Officer for over 4 years at LumoTV (formerly known as BSL Zone). Mariam previously worked in the finance sector in corporate and non-profit organisations in London. She is looking to effectively utilise her experiences and is keen to work collaboratively with Deafinitely's Board to support their vision.
Abena Bentum Trustee Expand Abena Bentum Abena is Head of Committed Giving at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, where she leads a multimillion-pound fundraising programme and has significantly expanded the charity’s supporter base. She has over a decade of experience in fundraising and marketing, with a background in Modern Drama from Brunel University. Abena also holds a Level 3 qualification in British Sign Language and is passionate about championing accessible, inclusive storytelling. She is proud to support Deafinitely Theatre’s mission and looks forward to working collaboratively to further the reach and impact of deaf-led theatre.
Dr Junhui Yang Trustee Expand Dr. Junhui Yang Junhui Yang, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Deaf Studies at School of Humanities, Languages and Global Studies in the University of Central Lancashire, England. She obtained a PhD in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University, Washington, DC in 2006. She was born in Beijing and attended schools for the deaf. She taught Chinese Language Literacy to deaf students before studying abroad. Junhui has been involved in many international projects, European and beyond, during her academic career. This has included a UK-China Partnership project for creating an online English learning platform for sign language users; Signs2Cross - a deaf-led EU project that created an online course for learning International Sign; a Language Skills for EU Mobility project focussing on international mobility of deaf and hard of hearing people, and more recently, “Deaf Museum” Erasmus+ Project.
Jonathan Kennedy Trustee Expand Jonathan Kennedy An accomplished Senior International Arts Director with substantial experience with British Council across the creative economy and culture industries. A former theatre producer with 30 years leading large-scale culture programmes in theatre, museums, galleries, film, literature, visual arts and festivals across government, non-profit, and commercial sectors. Proven success in shaping international cultural relations, driving public diplomacy, and building high impact prestigious arts and education partnerships for UK in South Asia and Europe. Skilled in strategy, multi-stakeholder partnerships, business development, and policy influence. With a strong record of leading teams across cultures and delivering measurable results on global stages. Leadership and motivation of high-performing teams and implementation of strategic organisational change management. Recognised for advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion while spearheading programmes with significant social, cultural, and economic impact. Executive Director Tara Arts, oversaw award-winning £2.8M capital development, building the UKs first dedicated cross-cultural theatre with Jatinder Verma MBE expanding the theatre’s capacity and reach; founded the Black Theatre Live, national consortium securing over £1M strengthening generation of diverse creative and production teams in theatre through strategic touring opportunity. Previous posts: British Council - Director Arts India, and Programme Lead Venice Biennale;Executive Director - Tara Arts..
Anne Bedi Trustee Expand Anne Bedi Anne is a business leader and entrepreneur who has spent a decade building andscaling high-growth companies from scratch across a range of industries. Herexpertise spans people and culture, operational excellence, strategy, financialmanagement, fundraising, communications and brand building. Part of Anne’s personal mission is supporting female leaders and female-ledbusinesses. She is a lifelong lover of theatre and a more recent but passionatelearner of BSL, having just started Level 6. As Deafinitely Theatre brings all three ofthese passions together, Anne is excited to join the board and to support thecompany's development.