Steering team & Trustee

Arlie is a freelance audio producer, sound designer and mix engineer based in London. He’s worked on documentaries and podcasts for clients like the BBC, VICE, Tate, Chanel, The Allusionist, Ryanair, Scottee, the Barbican and Doc Society. He is especially interested in queer and trans storytelling, hearing audio made by people who don’t normally get listened to, creative sound design, and getting to do work that involves some element of teaching or mentoring. 

Trustee

Leanne Alie is a podcast producer, presenter and all round creative. She is the host and creator of Coiled podcast; a documentary podcast exploring Black hair in all its forms and textures. She is also the Commissioning Producer for BBC Sounds Audio Lab where she develops new podcasts with up-and-coming creators. Leanne's passions lie within making content for diverse audiences and she is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the audio industry.

Trustee

Deborah is a freelance Executive Producer and Project Manager. She was formerly Director of Programmes at Whistledown Productions where she oversaw productions for Spotify, the BBC, Audible and commercial clients across all genres from comedy and drama to science and history. She has worked in radio, podcasting and TV for nearly 30 years, primarily producing factual documentaries and investigations.

Secretary

Laura is an audio producer excited by less commonly heard stories told in more curious ways. She came to audio making later in life, having worked in Organisational and Volunteer Development roles for charitable organisations. Her audio work has been recognised by the Third Coast International Audio Festival and Charles Parker Prize. She’s been a Radio Production lecturer at Bournemouth University and latterly, managing editor of the KCRW & McSweeney’s arts and culture podcast, The Organist. Laura’s currently a full-time mum to a gleefully noisy toddler. 

Steering team & Trustee

Lisa is a Freelance audio producer and Senior Technical Practice Tutor for Radio at Goldsmiths, University of London. Previously to this she spent almost 20 years as a Studio Manager at the BBC World Service where she specialised in outside broadcasts, and training new studio managers and producers in studio operations. In her freelance work she has produced episodes of the Women’s prize for fiction podcast for Birdlime Media and technically planned and produced the third series of the  ‘Mothers of Invention’ climate justice podcast.  She’s also worked on projects and audio for Spotify, NPR and the BBC.

Steering team

Beena is a currently a Talent Executive at BBC Studios, headhunting off mic talent to work on their audio productions. She has over a decade’s experience in the audio industry, from producing content for the BBC, National Prison Radio and Jazz FM to co-founding Sonder Radio, a station that champions older voices and experiences through community based training and development in Greater Manchester. She also served as Non Exec Director of Manchester’s award winning not-for-profit, Reform Radio. Beena believes that in order to succeed, the audio industry has to come together to create opportunity, security and empowerment for all.

Steering team & Trustee

Nicole is an Content Development Executive and Freelance Producer, specialising in content for Under 30 audiences and work that centres the stories of Black and Brown artists. She spent her early career working across Television and Theatre for some of the UK’s well-known production companies and networks, before specialising in audio production. Nicole has worked with some of the UK's leading arts institutions including; ATG, BBC 1, ITV, BBC 1Xtra, BBC Sounds, Spotify, Tate and Roundhouse London. Breaking down cultural and institutional barriers has always been a part of Nicole’s professional journey and she is currently serving on the boards of diversity and inclusion media charity, Multitrack and Bloomsbury Arts Festival. She is currently Development Executive at Reduced Listening.

Steering team

Magdalena is a cultural programmer and producer specialising in live events and audio documentaries. She has over 8 years experience in the arts, culture and entertainment sector, working in both the UK and the US. Magdalena is a Producer at the Southbank Centre, whilst also working freelance as a creative project curator and advisor, and as an audio journalist. Her work aims to connect audiences with different communities, cultures and histories from their own through immersive storytelling. In 2021 Magdalena was awarded the Charles Parker Prize Gold Medal Award for her audio documentary 40 Years On: Remembering the New Cross Fire.

Steering team

Nana is a digital producer with an extensive history across the creative industries, delivering global advertising campaigns for established household brands, start-ups and disruptors. Passionate about community engagement, and the importance of nurturing grass roots organisations, Nana has held board positions with The South London Gallery and The Feminist Library. Nana enjoys bringing a healthy balance of commercial insight and social awareness to any project she works on.

Steering team

Leo is a freelance producer based in London. Since completing an MA in investigative journalism at City, and training at Associated Press, she’s worked in news rooms, on long-form and one-off documentaries, and branded work. Before all that, she worked as a secondary school teacher and a librarian.

Steering team

Anishka’s love of audio lies in immersive storytelling; especially hearing creative ways to highlight issues of social injustice and underrepresented stories. She is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer at Whistledown Productions where she oversees productions across the genres of factual documentaries, podcasts, arts programming, and dramas for clients such as the BBC, Audible, and Spotify. Her recent work includes the investigative podcast series The Bias Diagnosis which examines the history of racial bias in modern medicine. Anishka is keen to support audio makers through the process of bringing the ideas they are most passionate about to listeners, and enjoys offering training in areas from development to pitching and production.

Steering team

Paul has been making audio for ten years and is currently an executive producer at BBC Studios’ Factual Podcast Unit in London, where he oversees longform narrative projects for clients including BBC Sounds and Audible. As the podcast industry continues to expand, he wants the next generation of producers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to have access to greater opportunities and training in the craft of narrative audio.

Trustee

Amy manages Diamond, a cross-broadcaster collaboration to collect and report on the diversity of the people making and appearing on UK television. She is responsible for the day to day running of the project, producing CDN’s annual reports of the data,  and scoping out its future development. Her background includes almost 20 years working in the arts and culture sector. Before joining CDN, she worked for Arts Council England as a senior strategy manager with responsibility for commissioning research in the arts, museums and cultural sector and setting national funding policy and priorities.

Steering team & Trustee

Joby Waldman has 20 years of experience in creative audio production working across music, arts, social history and audio drama. He is a Director at independent production company Reduced Listening where he is passionate about creating a welcoming atmosphere where staff are empowered to create personal projects which open windows to new worlds for listeners.