Tony Graves

Consultant, lecturer and arts producer Tony Graves brings a wealth of knowledge, skill and expertise to Serendipity with a career in the arts and education as a former Associate Professor and Head of Arts and Festivals Management, BA undergraduate degree at De Montfort University.  In addition to Programme Leader for the MSc in Cultural Events Management.

A former classical pianist, he is a graduate of the Royal College of Music and was previously the Chief Executive of The Drum Arts Centre, Birmingham and a producer at Nottingham Playhouse.

Graves has been involved in the delivery of strategic arts planning at a regional and national level with particular emphasis on cultural diversity.  He lead the researcher for De Montfort University’s Cultural Management and Policy Group evaluating the cultural diversity gateway of the New Audiences Programme for Arts Council England.  Alongside holding the position of Director of the university’s annual Cultural eXchanges Festival which has developed this into a major event over the past 20 years.  Previous guests include David Olusoga, Grayson Perry, Ken Loach, Jamal Edwards, Germaine Greer, Melvyn Bragg, Trevor Nelson, Bonnie Greer, Meera Syal, Munroe Bergdorf, David Harewood and Adrian Lester.

Graves has served on several boards including Nitro Music Theatre Company, The New Art Exchange and Dance4.  Amongst his publications are a report entitled ‘Fear of the Artist’ produced in collaboration with Jude Kelly, former Artistic Director of the South Bank Centre, and funded by NESTA.

Brenda Edwards MBE

Brenda Edwards is a Brixton-born independent artist, teacher, consultant and producer.  Her artistic professional career spans over three decades as a professional dancer and choreographer.  She has been nominated twice for the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year Awards, for her outstanding achievements in dance.

Edwards worked as an Associate Producer through the Arts Council of England’s Artistic Leadership Programme.  She was a consultant on Innervision in Swindon and the Assistant Creative Producer of Cultureshock, the Commonwealth Games 2002 arts programme for the North West.  In 2001, Edwards established HIP Dance Festival, recognising the talents of UK talented Black artists.

Edwards has a diverse background in the arts and her qualities as an active performer and producer helps to maximise her vision of the arts.  She has worked with London Contemporary Dance Theatre under the directorship of Robert Cohan, English National Ballet as a soloist under the Artistic Directorship of Peter Schaufuss where she became one of a few women to dance the leading role in Maurice Bejart’s Bolero.   Historically, she became the first Black woman to work in a British ballet company when she joined London Festival Ballet (which later became English National Ballet).  Edwards has also worked with Martha Graham Dance Company, New York as a soloist and she worked with Hungarian-born dancer Eszter Salamon.  Edwards made her West End debut in John Caird’s Children of Eden, choreographed by Matthew Bourne.

Edwards currently works with WEST10ARTS and worked with DJ Papa Face on Dub London: Bassline of a City (2021) at the Museum of London, which was awarded an AHI Award in the Untold Stories Category.  This partnership with the newly rebranded London Museum continues with the commissioning of a new installation which will launch in autumn 2026.

No stranger to the East Midlands, Edwards is a Graduate in Dance Theory at De Montfort University in Leicester.  Edwards has supported Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage for many years as an independent consultant for Signatures and the Black British Dance Platform.

Edwards was awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours list 2005, for services to dance.

Ethan Laurent

Laurent is a structural engineer with over seven years’ professional experience working in the UK, bringing specialist expertise in civil engineering, infrastructure and project management.  He holds a BEng in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Project and Infrastructure Management, providing a strong foundation in capital development, risk management, compliance and long-term asset sustainability.

Laurent brings a practical, solutions-focused approach to governance, with the ability to translate complex technical information into clear and informed board-level decision-making.  His professional knowledge supports Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage’s ambitions around capital development, building stewardship and infrastructure planning, ensuring projects are delivered responsibly and in line with funder and regulatory requirements.

Born in St Lucia and raised in the UK from the age of nine, Laurent’s lived experience informs a strong commitment to equity, opportunity and community investment.  He is passionate about celebrating Black culture and contributing to organisations that deliver meaningful and lasting impact for underserved communities.

Laurent became a trustee of Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage due to a strong alignment with the organisation’s mission, values and long-term strategic vision.  He is committed to supporting the organisation’s sustainability and growth, particularly in relation to capital projects, governance oversight and future-proofing its physical and organisational infrastructure.

Leyla Okhai

Leyla Okhai is the founder and CEO of Diverse Minds UK Ltd.  Diverse Minds creates a positively productive workplace for all through training, coaching and consultancy.  The focus is placed on wellbeing, mental health and race equity.  Okhaihas over eighteen years’ experience in developing and implementing diversity, inclusion and equity practices, with senior leadership teams. She is also the host of the award-winning Diverse Minds Podcast a weekly show about mental health and inclusion.  She is a TEDx Speaker, her talk is entitled The Connection between Race, Culture and Mental Health.  As a trained coach, mentor, speaker and mediator, Okhai’s coaching practice centres on how staff can navigate boundaries and reach their full potential whilst maintaining their wellbeing. Leyla has also spoken regularly on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and delivered training programmes and workshops on these issues across both private and public sectors. 

Okhai was the Head of Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Centre at Imperial College London, from July 2012-June 2017 and prior to this worked at the University of Oxford for over six years, firstly in student recruitment, specialising in increasing applications from underrepresented BAME young people. She went on to pioneer innovative race and religious belief equality initiatives at Oxford’s Equality and Diversity Unit from 2008-2012.  She was the University’s first specific advisor for race and religion.  She has been a member of the University of Leeds Council since November 2018.

Debbie Read

Debbie Read is an arts and heritage management consultant, specialising in business strategy, fundraising, good governance and trustee recruitment.  Read has delivered consultancy projects for museums and arts charities from the small to large scale, across the country.  Previously, she was Director for Arts and Business in the East Midlands for 10 years, working in partnership with cultural organisations and commercial companies on everything from governance and recruitment to sponsorship and individual giving.  She worked as a national governance trainer for Arts and Business, running whole board consultancies, as well as training senior managers from commercial businesses to become effective charity trustees.  Read was Head of Planning at Arts Council East Midlands, managing arts lottery distribution, corporate and local government relationships, and regional funding for the arts.  Read has sat on various charity boards over the years, and was Arts Council observer on the boards of over 30 cultural organisations.  She has also delivered national community and heritage projects as part of the Millennium celebrations at the Dome, worked in theatre-in-education, as a community theatre promoter, and at the Edinburgh Festival.

Javier Torres

Former Premier Dancer with Cuban National Ballet and Northern Ballet. Javier has over 21 years of experience and a demonstrated history of working in the performing arts industry.  A collaborative leader with an extensive network in the international dance scene, whose over two decades of personal experience and expertise span the entire spectrum from acclaimed professional dancer to executive cultural manager.  He is confident in his cultural ambassador abilities with a gift for inspiring the young generation of ballet dancers. He is skilled in Research, Dance Education, Dance Leadership, Communication and Business strategy.  With an intuitive and authentic character, highly organised by nature, detail-oriented, growth-oriented and self-motivated, known for orchestrating the creative direction of art initiatives, promoting an open and inclusive work culture, and perfectly balancing professional rigour with many other extracurricular activities.  He holds a BA Hons in Business Management and Leadership Practices and a Master in Business Administration (MBA).  He is currently the Managing Director of the Acosta Dance Centre and the Europe Business Operations manager at Sansha Group.