Who are Spectra?
Meet the Team

Eman
Impact Lead
Eman oversees data collection and reporting, internal systems and policies. She works with the rest of the team to measure and improve how people feel about their interactions with us, and streamline how we record and communicate this information!
“Buzz Stop was my first project with Spectra and Sandwell Hospital happens to be just down the road so it was brilliant starting out with something so local and relevant to me!”

Hayley
Creative Lead
Hayley focuses on Spectra’s creative process, both in the studio when we are making work with the performance company, and when we are out and about in the community getting creative with our fantastic partner organisations.
“I love that I get to talk about creativity, play and nature with different people every day, so I’m always learning!”

Josephine
Development Lead
Josephine will focus her energy on fundraising and supporting Spectra in being sustainable for the future.
“I am excited to join this vibrant team and to support the organisation as best as I can. I believe that if learning disabled and neurodiverse creatives and audiences are thriving in the arts then we all benefit!”

Kate
Creative Director
Kate is the leader of the organisation, which, at Spectra means supporting everyone who works with Spectra to be a leader in their own right. Kate holds space for collaborations, suggests ideas for projects, manages finances and helps with fundraising, delivers creative participation sessions, talks to lots of folks about links between Spectra’s work and what they want to achieve, and helps build stuff!
“I think the arts are hugely powerful in terms of changing society for the better”

Kerry
Operations Lead
Kerry’s role is to oversee Spectra’s strategic operations, particularly focusing on internal systems, HR, finances and communications.
“I’m so excited to be part of an organisation that works with disabled creatives in such innovative and radical ways.”

Maisy
Marketing and Communications Lead
Maisy looks after how Spectra exists in the digital world and how we communicate our work, values and ideas. They can be found creating social media content, brainstorming marketing ideas with the rest of the team and making sure you know what we’re up to!
“I’ve loved learning more about all of the projects Spectra have worked on, but my favourite is Woods for the Trees”

Ruby
Community Lead
Ruby’s job is to be out in the community, continuing work with our fantastic partners and also seeking out new friendships and collaborators. She is an artist who helps people to make all sorts of things; willow weaving, mosaic making, paper puppets or nature printing.
“I’m a firm believer that making and creativity is the best way to bring people together”
Meet the Board

Mandeep
Co-Chair of The Board
I’m a Graphic Designer at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, supporting both clinical and non-clinical teams. Typography is my passion—I love how words and design can transform a blank page into something meaningful.
For over 15 years, I’ve worked across the creative sector with organisations such as Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the National Trust. I enjoy mentoring young people and running creative workshops in art, design, and digital media.
I’m a firm believer in the power of creativity—it knows no bounds, touches all senses, and is inclusive of everyone. I’m honoured to co-chair Spectra and to champion its mission to open doors, spark imagination, and make creativity truly accessible for all.

Sipho
Co-Chair of The Board
Sipho Eric Ndlovu is a West Midlands-based performance artist & consultant whose approach encourages accessibility & inclusivity in the arts.
Current Poet Laureate of The University of Sheffield Social Sciences, he was awarded a West Midlands High Sheriffs Award in recognition of his cultural and creative contributions.
“I am so excited to join Spectra as Co-Chair, and I am in full support of the mission to build access and capacity with and in support of learning disabled people.
This is an exciting but crucial time for the West Midlands arts and culture sector, and with so much change taking place, I am honoured to be involved with Spectra. “

Robin
Board Member
Robin Jax (he/him) joined Spectra Arts Company as a performing artist for 2019’s Eat the Stars. Whilst predominately joining as a musician, Robin has contributed in multiple aspects of co-creation for the company’s following shows New Heights and Woods for the Trees, and the outdoor projects Abundance (at City Hospital, Birmingham) and Buzz Stop (at Sandwell General Hospital), as well as being part of Spectra’s board since 2020. Outside of Spectra, Robin performs music solo under the alias RobinPlaysChords, is a guitarist for the London-based band The Shining Tongues, and one-half of the transatlantic autistic duo The Companions. He also works as an accessibility coordinator for The Tin Music and Arts, a grassroots music venue, community space and charity based in Coventry.

Emma
Board Member
I am starting my journey with Spectra as of May 2024 as I complete my Masters studies in Curatorial Practice at the European Institute of Design in Florence. I began working in the arts from the very beginning of my career and now hold experience in a variety of cultural institutions across London and Manchester.
My research has focused most specifically on experiences and representations of disability and my aim as an emerging curator is to build an artistic aesthetic surrounding disability. I work mostly with community exhibitions and emerging and mid-career artist where I promote disability visibility and vitality in the arts.
An interesting fact about me: I’m originally from France where I grew up alongside 5 chickens, a hamster, 2 goldfish, 2 dogs and 4 hedgehogs. On sunny days you can find me outdoors looking for moss and plants and on a rainy day at the local cinema.

Sally
Board Member
Sally Taylor has always been a community activist. She started her working life at the Arts Council and then the Big Lottery Fund, working at different times on partnership development, funding programme management, funding policy and strategy, and impact measurement commissioning. In recent years she’s set up a national charity’s first ever Impact Management team and strategy and now focuses her efforts on social change in her local community, setting up successful frontline community organisation Bearwood Community Hub. She can often be found trying to cajole her young children into attending community events or trudging up the Clent Hills!
