Co-Chair, Trustee

Jide Ashimi has been a Raw Material Board member since Dec 2016 and Vice-Chair since Dec 2019. Jide is a mental health specialist working with South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust, whose experience spans 17 years of community-based provisions in Lambeth. He is the chair of the SLaM BME Network and also sits on the BME working group committee for the Trust, as well as the Patient Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) Project and the Tackling Inequalities and Discrimination Experiences in Health Services (TIDES) Project. He has project managed and delivered ‘Stereohype Lambeth’ Events (2004 - 2010); supporting mental health and well-being through music and the arts, leading to the development of Raw Material’s awarding-winning Raw Sounds Programme.

“I have always been passionate about music and the arts and the demonstrable impact that they can have on health and well-being. Raw Material’s creative programmes have a positive impact on the lives of young people and those facing the challenges of mental health issues. I am excited about being part of the leadership team at Raw Material and the truly positive impact that real inclusive leadership will have moving forward.”

Co-Chair, Trustee

Alex Ritchie is Co-CEO of GlobalGiving UK, a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits in over 170 countries by connecting them to donors and companies. She is also Founding Director at The ARC Agency, an award-winning marketing and events agency. She has been a Trustee of Raw Material for a year, heading up the board’s Risk Committee. Her background spans non-profit, commercial and public sectors, with much of her work having a focus on supporting young people into entrepreneurship, education, employability, or leadership. She has founded two companies and was a board member of MassChallenge UK, London's largest and most diverse startup accelerator and advisory board member for Astia, a global organisation for high-growth women-led businesses and Finca International, a global micro-finance institute supporting the world’s poorest entrepreneurs, predominantly women.

“I have a genuine passion for supporting young people, particularly those who are disadvantaged in some way. I believe that access to varied and alternative education and training, along with relevant mentors and role-models is the key to change and social mobility. I am excited to help lead Raw Material through a new era of change and growth.”

Trustee

Shepa Choudhry has been a Raw Material Board Member since November 2019. Shepa was born and raised and currently still resides in Brixton. Shepa has been in the NGO sector for over 16 years with experience at Cancer Research, Save the Children UK, and currently Unicef UK, working from London to Lagos (Nigeria). She is the founder and Co-Chair of Unicef UK’s Diversity Volunteer Led Working Group (Inclusive Unicef) which has been instrumental in driving forward key diversity and inclusion changes to create a more equitable workplace. Shepa is incredibly passionate about supporting young people and helping to provide them with the right education, resources, and tools to have a fulfilling and happy future.

“It is amazing to work with such an incredible organisation like Raw Material that provides valuable support to the young people in our local community. The positive impact Raw Material has and will continue to do so on everyone within and around Raw Material is truly humbling. It is also very rewarding to work with Raw Material in Brixton where I was born and raised and hope that I can support as many of our young people as possible as I truly believe in them all.”

Treasurer, Trustee

Gill Smith joined the Raw Material Board as a trustee and treasurer in November 2019. Gill is a chartered accountant who was formally a private client tax partner with a top 10 accountancy and consultancy practice. She has extensive experience in providing financial and regulatory advice to a wide range of entities and their stakeholders. Gill has been hugely impressed by the programmes run by Raw and the positive impact they have on those taking part. She is committed to supporting the team at Raw to enable them to develop and grow the charity and the opportunities it provides.

Trustee

Sacha Denton is a disabled British musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer with 15 year’s experience as an artist having studied music at Kingston University gaining a BA in Creative Music Technologies and a Master’s in Popular Music Production having previously progressed through Raw Material via the artist development programme. During her time in time on the programme she learned how to craft and write songs for herself and others, the art of live performance, and the foundation of music production which would go a long way to inform her personal development as an artist.

“Raw Material helped me discover my creative voice as an artist in multiple disciplines. Giving me the basis to create art in my own vision and image”

Trustee

Yomi is a Nigerian British poet, playwright, performer, and facilitator. He is a recipient of the Jerwood Compton Poetry fellowship 2019, founded the poetry night BoxedIN, His debut solo play COAT, played to sold-out audiences at the Roundhouse before touring. His work has been commissioned by a number of high-profile venues and partners such as the Southbank and Nationwide where you may have seen him perform a poem with his son in one of their recent adverts. Alongside his creative career Yomi has worked as a youth worker for many years and a long time ago was a participant in a Raw Material project!

Trustee

Shereen Jasmin Phillips graduated from RCSSD in 2010 with a degree in Drama, Applied Theatre and Education. She has worked within artistic and engagement departments at various London Theatres. She was Project Manager for Kiln Theatre's 2016 Takeover festival, Barbican Centre's 2017 Dialogue festival, and Outreach Producer for Barbican Cinema. She was previously Assistant Producer for National Theatre's Pericles as part of their Public Acts programme and is currently Director of Taking Part at Young Vic. Shereen is also a Trustee of Talawa Theatre Company, Reader at NT, and a Writer – her short film was screened as part of Royal Court’s Windrush event in April 2019 and was recently selected to be part of Cardiff's international film festival in October 2020.

Trustee

Titania Altius is the Creative Programme Manager at Help Musicians UK. She heads up the development, management, and delivery of the charity’s creative programme, including their grants schemes with The MOBO Trust which supports music creators to further their creative output, build their business skills and explore ways to maintain their wellbeing.

Titania began her career working in music PR before moving into the world of intellectual property at MCPS as an account manager for over 100 record labels. She then worked PRS for Music as a consultant for Online and Mobile music licensing where she worked with brands such as Spotify, Google, and Apple. As a creative producer on the London Borough of Culture 2020 project, Titania led on community engagement and participation and the education programmes leading on projects with A New Direction, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and delivering the opening event at Wembley Stadium.

Outside of this, Titania’s passion for music manifests in co-founding the long-running Soul Affair club sessions in Mayfair.