Team

Beadie Finzi (UK)

Foundation Director

Beadie Finzi is one of the founding directors of Doc Society, a non profit foundation with team based in Europe, East Africa, the Americas and Australia, dedicated to supporting independent filmmaking globally. Since 2005 we have supported 450+ projects and directly regranting $22M to filmmakers in over 40 countries. Leveraging our support to unlock tens of millions more in resources for the whole field.

In addition to grant making for artists and journalists and supporting their creative process, we help them develop impact strategies and connect with communities and allies beyond the media industry and across civil society.

Our preoccupation goes beyond the right of artists to self-expression to the right of citizens to access public interest media - and to the global media ecosystem that we need to make all of that possible. Beadie works day to day with many global partners who are also focused on this challenge.

Within Doc Society Beadie also has her shoulder to the wheel behind the Climate Story Unit and now the Democracy Story Unit. Two major global narrative strategy experiments - focused on unleashing transformative storytelling to advance a just future. 

Emily Wanja (KE)

Co-lead of the Climate Story Unit, Director of African Programmes

Emily Wanja uses storytelling to drive social change. She collaborates with organisations, people, and communities to envision a more climate-just world. As an award-winning impact producer, she engages with stakeholders in policy, civil society, foundations, media ecosystem and communities. Emily previously served on the Climate Justice Resilience Fund Advisory Council and the Global Impact Producers Alliance Transitional Committee. She is on the board of STEPS, Advisory board of Open Planet and several others. She is the Co-lead of the Climate Story Unit and the Director of African Programmes at Doc Society.

Emma Borgerding (NL)

Social Media Consultant

Emma is a social media strategist and content producer based between Amsterdam and London. She leads on social media strategy, platform management, and communications across Doc Society’s global presence. With a background at Meta and Vevo, Emma brings insight into how audiences engage with content across platforms, helping mission-driven projects build meaningful and impactful digital communities.

Hannah Bush Bailey (UK)

BFI Doc Society Senior Film and Production Executive

Hannah Bush Bailey works across the slate of films supported through the BFI Doc Society Fund. She supports filmmakers both in production and editorially. The national fund aims to develop storytellers from all parts of the UK, backing feature & short creative documentaries with bold cultural and social ambitions. Prior to this role she worked as a short form producer creating work for companies such as Universal, Disney and Channel 4's Random Acts. Her experience also spans a number of feature docs and high-end television series. Hannah has previously been involved in BFI Network X BAFTA Crew, BAFTA'S Guru Pro training scheme and Film London's Microwave Feature Film Development Scheme. Her films have screened internationally including at Raindance Festival, BFI Future Film Festival and London Short Film Festival.

James Franklin (PT)

Creative Director

James looks after design at Doc Society as well as the websites for all the Doc Society brands and programmes, starting with the first website back in 2006. With 25 years experience in design and the web, James previously ran a design agency in London for 7 years. Currently he is also founder of the web-based film-marketing platform assemble.me and has produced the design behind many of Doc Society’s films.

Jamie Allan (UK)

BFI Doc Society Fund - Talent Development Manager

Jamie Allan is a curator, artist and filmmaker with a background in documentary filmmaking and community cinema. He was previously the Curator of Artist Film programmes at HOME Manchester, Producer of the Artist Development programmes at Castlefield Gallery, and Curator of the Short Film and Community Programmes at Sheffield DocFest.

He is interested in transdisciplinary and collaborative processes of filmmaking and how these can inform alternative models of exhibition and distribution. He is the co-founder of Cinecaravan, a nomadic cinema project which hosts workshops and screens new films in remote communities across Europe. He holds a Masters in Documentary Film Directing from the DocNomads itinerant film school (Lisbon, Budapest, Brussels), and a Post-Master in Collective Practices from the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm.

Julian Etienne (ES)

Co-lead of the Climate Story Unit

Julián is a cultural campaigner from northeastern Mexico committed to diversity in documentary cinema and to fostering transformative
encounters between media and the public. At Doc Society he is the Co-lead of the Climate Story Unit.

He has undertaken film programming projects since 2009. He joined Ambulante in 2018 where he was involved in programming, outreach, impact, and fund-raising activities. 

Julian studied linguistics in Mexico City and attended graduate school in Information Studies at the University of Arizona and in Media Studies at UT Austin. He writes occasionally on media cultures. Apart from cinema, he enjoys radio documentaries, theatre, creative nonfiction and road biking. He recently became a dad and lives with his wife and son in Spain.

Katie Mandy (UK)

Finance Manager

Katie is Doc Society's Finance Manager and joined the organisation in 2018. She is working alongside the Interim Finance Director, assisting with the day-to-day activities. Katie is AAT qualified and has worked in the field for the past 8 years.

Kit Colbourne (UK)

BFI Doc Society Production Manager

Kit (they/them/theirs) provides key administrative and production support across the BFI Doc Society film slate, application processes and support programme.  Kit worked extensively in theatre and arts admin before retraining and completing a post graduation course in Film and Television production. Kit joins us from Met Film, where they worked on the outreach and audience engagement for The Reason I Jump, among other production roles, and more recently was Jerry’s Rothwell’s Director’s Assistant.

Laura Husti-Radulet (UK)

Grants Manager

Before joining Doc Society in 2017, Laura worked with the Media Legal Defence Initiative (UK), the Open Society Foundation in Romania, and other non-profit organisations in the UK and Romania encompassing grant-making, project management, compliance and communications work. She has over 15 years experience in grants management.

Luke Moody (UK)

Head of the BFI Doc Society Fund

Luke is a curator, producer and film executive specialising in non-fiction film, new cinema forms and artist’s moving images. Previously, Luke was Creative Director at Abandon Normal Devices, Director of Film Programming at Sheffield Doc/Fest. Luke also co-founded and curated Frames of Representation at the ICA and New Cinema Days Lab in Manchester, and was previously Head of Film at Doc Society. As a producer, Luke’s film productions have premiered at TIFF, New York Film Festival, Busan, IDFA, IFFR and BFI London Film Festival. In 2021 he was a 2021 Sundance Producers’ Summit fellow and 2022 CPH:LAB participant.

Maxyne Franklin (USA)

Director

Maxyne is one of the founding Directors of Doc Society and shares responsibility for overseeing the film funding programmes. She also sits on the selection committee for the Good Pitch events and oversees the annual DOC Impact Awards; celebrating the films that have made the greatest impact on society.

For Doc Society, Maxyne has been lucky enough to executive produce a number of award-winning films including Virunga, All These Sleepless Nights, Hooligan Sparrow, The Possibilities are Endless, The Square, Pussy Riot, Hell & Back Again, Ping Pong and Afghan Star.

As of 2015 Maxyne relocated to New York to head up the US office, Doc Society Inc. Since there she has been deepening relationships with partners and working with our talented collective of US based filmmakers.

Michelle Plasencia (MEX)

Network Co-Coordinator for GIPA

Michelle is a cultural organizer with more than 6 years of experience in film festival production and impact producer based in Mexico City. She led the first edition of the Good Pitch program in México 2020, as the Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator at DocsMX, a documentary film platform in Mexico City. Regional field building has established positive and productive relationships amongst filmmakers and organizers, which she aims to continue to support through workshops, forums, and overall creating spaces to recognize the power of thoughtful, ethical and fundamental storytelling processes as the social change ecosystem continues to grow in Mexico. She is also part of Impacta Cine, the first film & social impact collective in Mexico directed to work alongside filmmakers to design and implement impact campaigns. She is currently leading the second edition of Good Pitch México in October 2022.

Miriam Ayoo (KE)

Network Co-Coordinator for GIPA

Miriam is an impact strategist and cultural producer based in Nairobi, Kenya. At the heart of her work is a commitment to centering and amplifying under-represented stories and voices.  She has nearly a decade’s experience working at the intersection of art and activism, designing and implementing programs and outreach initiatives within a range of social impact areas and artistic mediums. She is currently serving as the co-coordinator of the Global Impact Producers Assembly (GIPA), and as the impact strategist/producer for award winning films including Softie, Los Hermanos/The Brothers, and No Simple Way Home. Miriam holds a dual master's degree in public policy (Mundus MAPP) from the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands and the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals in Barcelona, Spain. Moonlighting as a singer-songwriter, in her free time, you can find her writing her next hit song or singing Whitney Houston at the best karaoke spots in town.

Naomi Walker (USA)

Network Coordinator for GIPA

As the first Coordinator of the Global Impact Producers Alliance [GIPA], Naomi is working with the GIPA Steering Committee to formalise and build capacity for the network.

Previously, Naomi served as Executive Director of the Southern Documentary Fund. 

She had the pleasure of working with Doc Society as Outreach Director for Good Pitch Chicago in 2013 & 2015, and again for GPNY in 2016. 

Naomi spent 9 years in Chicago as Engagement Consultant for ITVS, hosting over 80 documentary film screenings, followed by discussions, workshops, expos and performances.

As Education Director for Cinema/Chicago, Naomi organised screenings for public school students, and managed the groundbreaking Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program.

Naomi is an experienced dj, cab driver, and dishwasher.

Nikki Heyman (USA)

Film Officer

Nikki is a three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and programmer experienced in the non-profit and brand-driven spaces. She strives to be a champion of diverse cinema and constantly pushing for equity in the field. At Doc Society she works across US funds as Film Officer. Nikki's most recent experience at Tribeca Studios afforded her the opportunity to produce narrative and documentary alike, elevating voices and stories through corporate programs such as P&G's 8:46 and the Queen Collective. Prior to Tribeca, Nikki was the co-producer for the acclaimed documentary show POV on PBS. Nikki curated for the series across seven seasons, oversaw series production, and provided editorial support to independent documentary filmmakers. Nikki has served on panels and juries across the U.S. and abroad. She holds a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from Oberlin College and is a member of the Producers Guild of America. Nikki is an avid beach bum, an easy crier, and a popcorn aficionado.

Richard Black (UK)

Interim Finance Director

Richard is a CIMA-qualified accountant with over 20 years experience across the marketing, technology, and biotech sectors in both the UK and the US. He has supported organisations at every stage of growth, from entrepreneurial start-ups to companies listed on the US stock exchange, providing strategic financial leadership and strengthening finance operations as businesses scale. 

Sandra Whipham (UK)

Director

Sandra Whipham is one of the five co-directors of Doc Society. She heads up the Democracy Story Unit, which will bring storytellers into an ecosystem with academics, activists, journalists and social scientists to think together about what narratives about democracy are most needed and most effective. Previously, Sandra managed the BFI Doc Society Fund, distributing National Lottery funding to UK filmmakers. She has also been a producer and commissioning editor at Channel 4.

Sarah Nicholson

Design Consultant

Sarah is director of Involved, a brand and design agency based in London. Sarah has worked with DocSociety since 2010 across all elements of their brand, including many sub-brands, editorial and web/digital communications. Sarah loves working across a variety of sectors and mediums, on creative projects big or small.

Shanida Scotland (UK)

Director, Head of Film

Shanida Scotland is an award-winning commissioning editor and executive producer, working within documentary film and audio. Shanida is the new Head of Film at Doc Society. Before Doc Society, Shanida was Commissioning Editor at The Guardian and worked long term at STORYVILLE, the BBC’s multi award-winning flagship international documentary strand. Shanida developed the ongoing series AFTERWORDS, an award-winning audio documentary series that puts the ideas of great writers into dialogue with contemporary writers, academics and activists, for Falling Tree Productions and BBC Radio 3 and 4.

Shanida is interested in the alternative, the intimate and the liminal: visual and sonic resonant qualities, that which remain meaningful and impactful through time.

Outside of Doc Society, Shanida regularly hosts documentary Q&As for the Barbican’s ScreenTalk strand and manages a delightful dance between sci-fi reading group, sonic explorations and terrible drumming.

Stu Tily (CZ)

Technical Director

Originally from London and now based in Olomouc in the Czech Republic.

Stu looks after the technology for Doc Society’s websites.

Suzanne Alizart (UK)

Business Affairs Consultant

Suzanne started working in film last century, after training at Intermedia Film and Video, in Nottingham. Having delivered some short films and a baby, she moved into film and creative industries policy development and funding. She contributed to the establishment of regional film Lottery distributor EM Media where she worked for a decade, eventually leading on business affairs across the slate. 

She then spent some time at Ffilm Cymru and re-trained as a solicitor, before working at the University of Leicester for five years on academic research contracts, alongside supporting SMEs to understand and manage their intellectual property assets. She also enjoyed continuing to provide business affairs advice to independent documentary film producers during that time.

Vanessa Cuervo (Colombia)

Director of Latin American Programmes

Cultural organizer, dancer & impact strategist working across the intersection of art, activism & social justice. Vanessa connects the world of human rights defenders with the spheres of art & film to promote social change. At Doc Society, she works with the Good Pitch global program across Latin America, building strong partnerships with local host organizations in Colombia, México and Brasil, supporting documentary filmmakers designing impact campaigns and creating a strong network of Good Pitch allies in the region.

Vanessa currently supports the work of the Colombian Truth Commission as an advisor and trainer of Historias en Kilómetros, an audiovisual lab that supports teams in three Afrocolombian communities creating shorts that contribute to the historical narrative of the country, in times of reconciliation. She is also the coordinator of the Skylight Solidarilabs network in Guatemala, Colombia and México, working with movement leaders and storytellers to shift cultural perceptions.

Zeena Starbuck (UK)

Project Coordinator, Independence Project and Democracy Story Unit

Zeena is a Project Coordinator on the Independence Project and Democracy Story Unit for Doc Society. She works across partner organisations to organise, frame, construct, and implement research projects on global independent documentary film and works centred on revitalising and de/reconstructing democracy. Zeena has also provided freelance research for Doc Society and Beirut DC on projects about universal basic income, mapping global documentary organisations, and safety and security measures for filmmakers. 

Now based in London, Zeena previously lived and worked in Seoul, Hangzhou, and New York City. Some of her roles in media, non-profits, and research consulting have included: Project Manager for NATO & the Global Enduring Disorder Project and Disorder Podcast, Programme Assistant for the Libya Security Monitor, Research Assistant for Libya-Analysis LLC, and Programme Manager for The Common Good. Zeena holds an MSc in History of International Relations from the LSE and a BA in History of International Relations with Study Abroad from the University of Exeter. Zeena’s research has looked at intersections between international affairs and social justice via decolonial epistemologies, with recent emphasis on how transnational identities are articulated, developed, and shared through stage and screen representations.

Anurima Bhargava

Co-Chair of the Doc Society Inc Board

Anurima Bhargava is the Founder and President of Anthem of Us, a strategic advisory firm promoting dignity and justice in the building of our workplaces, schools, and communities. She led federal civil rights enforcement in schools and institutions of higher education at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration, and previously directed the education practice at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.    

 

Barbara Truyen

Non-Executive Board Member - Doc Society Foundation Board

Barbara Truyen works in the documentary scene since the early 90’s. As a producer, for festivals, forums, as a sales agent and financier. After heading Dutch public broadcaster VPRO’s documentary department for 15 years Barbara is currently focusing on international coproduction and strategic alliances for both Dutch documentary films and series that have international potential and international projects which are relevant to a Dutch audience. In this role she is trying to come up with new ways of coproducing to create a healthier ecosystem that benefits all.

How can public broadcasters work smarter together within the EBU, or with streamers and private equity? In her now 35-year career she sees her role as a kind of 'creators-creator'. She wants to inspire, to ensure that filmmakers can shape their creativity under the best circumstances to make films. She has helped to develop, finance, and supervise the editing and release of approximately 250 documentaries. Each film has its own substantive challenge and dynamics in the team of makers. The great thing is that documentaries can be about anything: social topics, journalism, art, culture, human interest. In form they are observational, interview driven, ego documents, discourse, animation, experimentation, and hybrid forms. Films like Emmy winner Bellingcat: truth in a post truth world, Flee, Armadillo, The Cleaners, Vivan las Antipodas. Kings of Pastry, the Queen of Versailles, The Trial of Ratko Mladic and Steve mcQueens’ Occupied city. She is the chairlady of the EBU documentary group.

 

Dilhani Wijeyesekera

Trustee

Dilhani is a recognised development and social change expert who has held a range of senior roles working with charities, government, UN agencies, foundations and corporates in the UK and around the world shaping strategy, investing, and institutional practice. She brings significant knowledge of programming with young people, adolescent girls, and women in the field of governance and livelihoods.

She spent a significant proportion of her career based in East Africa, and since returning to the UK has led a high-profile change agenda as an influencer with government, funders and civil society, to Shift Power to local institutions, reform representation through innovative programmes and investments to cultural and creative institutions in the UK and Africa, and tackle issues of equity and representation in the funding, philanthropic and creative sectors.

During her time in Tanzania, Dilhani led the country’s first at scale pilot scale out of school programme for Adolescent Girls Mabinti Tushike Hatamu with the Government of Tanzania, Restless Development and UNICEF winning global recognition from UNAIDS and the Resolve Award, and later acknowledged at the launch of the Global Goals in 2015 in Barack Obama’s opening speech to the UN ONE and President Obama, Eva's Wish.

Since returning to the UK, she has held a leadership roles at Restless Development and Comic Relief, and advised funders including DFID, USAID, Mastercard Foundation, Sainsbury’s and KPMG on their social impact strategies. She has led sector influencing and advisory into Justine Greening’s (SOS DFID) office resulting in its Youth Strategy and the high profile Global Youth Summit, and major campaigns including Youth Power (2015) culminating action at the launch of the SDGs in 2015.

Now at Comic Relief, Dilhani is overseeing its first steps in influencing including building strategic relationships with influencers of bi-lateral institutions, within government and parliament, and overseeing its first parliamentary reception hosted by Sir Lenny Henry and youth advocates from South Africa. Dilhani has led efforts to shift its storytelling through critical platforms including Africa No Filter a co-investment fund to generate positive narratives about the continent; and Sema Stori an innovative fund investing in emerging film makers in East Africa in factual documentary; and overseen progress on ethics and climate responsibility establishing the organisation’s first ESG strategy. Dilhani has gained recognition for the role she has played during the Covid-19 emergency in advocating for and investing in Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities in the UK, and working across funders and government to publish recommendations on equality and equity in funding in the UK.

In her spare time, Dilhani is an active yoga, mindfulness and meditation teacher and leads collective care programmes for communities working with trauma.

 

Fatima Ibrahim

Trustee

Fatima is the Co-Executive Director of The Green New Deal UK. She is one of the commissioners on IPPR's Environmental Justice Commission. Fatima is a climate activist and social justice campaigner, and much of her work has been spent campaigning and building solidarity with international movements. She has worked for the global NGO Avaaz, EU citizens movement WeMove.eu and was one of the lead organisers of the People’s Climate March. She has also spent years organising with and supporting the UK Youth Climate Coalition. Fatima has already worked with Doc Society, featuring in the Climate Reframe.

 

Heather Grady

Board Member

Heather is a Vice President in the San Francisco office of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and leads the organization’s strategy and program development in global philanthropy and systems change. Heather advises funders from the US and other countries on philanthropic strategy. Her approach has been shaped in by two decades of living in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, managing long-term development and humanitarian programs. As Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation she oversaw portfolios including climate change, health, and employment. She serves on the boards of the Dropbox Foundation, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Forum for the Future, the Wildlife Justice Commission, and Doc Society.

 

Jade Begay

Board Member

Jade Begay, (Tesuque Pueblo and Diné), works at the intersections of Indigenous rights and climate and environmental justice, shaping national and international policy. Jade has worked with Indigenous-led organizations and Tribes from the Amazon to the Arctic to advance Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination through advocacy campaigns, research, storytelling and narrative strategies. In 2021, Jade was appointed by President Biden to serve on the first ever White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and in 2024 served as the National Engagement Native American Director for the Harris Walz Campaign. 

 

J. Bob Alotta

Board Member

J. Bob Alotta is a movement strategist, radical philanthropist and non profit executive working at the intersection of creativity, human rights and technology.  Most recently, Bob served as Senior Vice President, Global Programs at Mozilla, where they led a grantmaking portfolio of over $20M annually spanning five continents. Bob also leads an international portfolio of award winning events, research, and fellowships centered on trustworthy AI and data agency. Their goal: to expand and diversify the infrastructure that allows like-minded activists to network, succeed, and operate at a level greater than the sum of their parts, so that technology may serve the public interest. Bob is the executive producer of the award-winning podcast, IRL: AI in Real Life.  For eight years Bob led the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, providing critical resources to LGBTQI+ activists and artists around the world in addition to serving as co-chair of the Global Philanthropy Project.  Bob is a filmmaker and media activist and served as the Director of Digital Technology for Film at Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts. In addition to their Doc Society board service, they currently serve on the Executive Advisory Board of Lesbians Who Tech.

 

Kat Craig

Chair of the Board

Kat is an award-winning human rights lawyer, published author and experienced social change consultant. She has challenged the abuse of power by State bodies and multinational corporations in the court of law and the court of public opinion in countries including the UK, Germany, Colombia, Yemen, Pakistan and the US and regularly appears as an expert commentator on national and international media. Kat also runs a not-for-profit consultancy helping professional and elite athletes use their platform to improve the lives of others. Her clients campaign on issues ranging from the prevention of child abuse in football, to the use of sport to improve social cohesion between refugees and host communities. Kat has a passion for supporting exceptional people who use new and creative ways to make the world a better place, which is why she has found great pleasure and satisfaction working with Doc Society on a range of projects over the last five years.

 

Katharine Wilkinson

Board Member

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is an author, strategist, and teacher, working to heal the planet we call home. She is Vice President of Communication & Engagement at the nonprofit Project Drawdown and was the Senior Writer of Drawdown — the New York Times bestseller on climate solutions. Known for her work at the intersection of climate, gender equality, and women’s leadership, Katharine’s TED Talk on the topic has more than 1.5 million views. In 2019, TIME featured her as one of 15 “women who will save the world.” The Boston Globe dubbed her first book, Between God & Green, “a vitally important, even subversive, story” for its exploration of climate change and evangelical Christianity. Katharine speaks, moderates, and facilitates across diverse forums, including National Geographic, Skoll World Forum, and the United Nations. She holds a doctorate in Geography & Environment from Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

K. Biswas

Trustee

K Biswas is a critic who has written about culture and politics for the New Statesman, New York Times, The Nation, Le Monde Diplomatique, and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the Editor of Representology: The Journal of Media and Diversity, Chair of the charity Heard, and Director of Resonance FM, Europe's most popular community radio station. A media theorist and long-standing expert on populism and the rise of the far right, he has worked with Doc Society on storytelling impact campaigns, facilitating conversations around climate and democracy, and organising parliamentary screenings.

 

Mathieu Ajan

Trustee

Mathieu Ajan is Founder & Artistic Director, Bounce Cinema. Bounce is a community helping you discover and connect with the world of film. “Through our programme of screenings, talks and workshops, we bring thousands of people together to celebrate cinema. Bounce is an independent organisation and reinvests a percentage of their time and resources into supporting new and emerging talent."

BFI NETWORK Executive, Commissioning Short Films & Early Development Features

Mathieu curated & programmed for: The Tate Modern, Institute Of Contemporary Arts & Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

Mathieu is another young Black organiser who has much greater ambitions to grow Bounce into a national Black screening and mentoring programme.

 

Mathieu Lefevre

Non-Executive Board Member

Mathieu Lefevre is the co-founder and CEO of More in Common, a non-profit working to understand the forces driving us apart, find common ground and bring people together to tackle shared challenges. More in Common conducts detailed opinion research on social fragmentation and polarization, using political science and social psychology to map the identities and values of populations in Europe, the United States and Brazil. They use that evidence base to work across sectors and issue areas with more than 160 partners in philanthropy, civil society, politics, the media, unions, faith groups and businesses on initiatives that bridge divides. More in Common is comprised of a team of about 50 people working in national offices in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Brazil, France, Poland and Spain. Prior to helping launch More in Common, Mathieu was a co-founder of Make.org, one of the largest civic tech companies in Europe and for several years he led New Cities, a think tank he helped launch on the future of global cities. Mathieu served as a Political Officer in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations for five years based in Southern Afghanistan, Lebanon and at the UN Security Council. He also worked in the area of governance at the World Bank and has advised political campaigns in France and the US. Mathieu is a dual US-French citizen and lives in Paris with his wife and their three children.

 

Oliver Rivers (UK)

Chair, Non-executive Board Member - Doc Society Foundation Board & Stichting

Oliver is a trustee of three charities: Poetry London, the Legal Action Group, and the Britten Pears Foundation. He has an MBA from London Business School, but he did his first degree at the Royal College of Music, and music remains one of his great passions. In his not very extensive spare time he can usually be found at the Wigmore Hall.

 

Peter Noorlander

Trustee

Peter has spent his professional life defending journalists and the right to freedom of expression around the world. He co-founded and led MediaDefence.org, which provides legal defence to journalists, and he has been at the heart of international campaigns on issues such as the right to information and ending the imprisonment of journalists for defamation. Peter is passionate about leaving the planet in a better state than he found it and he volunteers his time fundraising and providing support for Extinction Rebellion, which he urges you to support - the disruption they cause is nothing compared to what we face when we don’t reverse our destructive habits. In addition to DocSociety, Peter is a trustee of Privacy International, which fights for a world where technology will empower and enable us, not exploit our data for profit and power; and he consults on issues of media law and policy, civil society empowerment and organisational development. When he’s not at his desk he’s probably out running.

 

Prash Naik

Non-Executive Board Member – Doc Society Foundation Board

Prash is the former General Counsel for Channel 4 Television and a co-founder of the specialist media practice Creators Counsel through which he also acts as legal counsel to the Doc Society advising on their film slate.

He has spent over 30 years advising, defending and protecting filmmakers. At Channel 4 he played a key role in creative risk-taking and is much sought after as the “go-to” lawyer to get high-risk films to air. He is also highly regarded as a crisis management specialist having advised at executive and board level on many high-profile cases ranging from press controversies, to the protection of sources, and cases involving the detention, kidnap & ransom of filmmakers.

He is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a former trustee on the board of Action Aid UK the international charity that works to alleviate poverty and injustice.

 

Rob Berkeley

Chair of the Board

Award-winning busybody, recovering academic and reformed social reformer, Rob is Lead Organiser of BlkOutUK.com, a community-owned media platform, workspace and collaboration hub for and by Black bi/gay/trans men. He recently completed a stint advising the BBC on accountability and audience engagement. Impatient with injustice and exasperated by wasted potential, he volunteers on the boards of the Baring Foundation, and Doc Society, has previously served on the boards of LGBT rights charity Stonewall, the Equality and Diversity Forum, and been Chair of sexual health organisation, Naz Project (NPL). He was Exec Director of the racial justice think-tank Runnymede Trust (2009-14). Continuing his academic writing on education, social justice and community organising, he was recently appointed Simon Industrial Fellow at the University of Manchester. He has lectured across the UK and beyond, and written for national newspapers on social justice and movement-building. His current fixation on new forms of community ownership, co-production, AI and digital tech and their potential for social justice means that he spends a lot of time on his phone and calls it ‘research’. Dr Berkeley was awarded an MBE in 2015 for services to equality.

 

Sahar Driver

Board Member

Sahar Driver, Co-Founder + Co-Executive Director of Color Congress, is a veteran documentary impact strategist, field builder, and researcher. Her career has focused on social and cultural transformation through nonfiction storytelling. She has led impact campaigns and strategy for over two-dozen documentaries, independently and with Active Voice. She has designed and led impact trainings and grantmaking programs to support impact producers and filmmakers of color with Firelight Media. She worked with Doc Society to update the second edition of their Impact Field Guide and wrote the 2019 Impact Hi5 case studies. She is on the Picture Motion Advisory Board, was a 2022 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow, and a 2021 Rockwood/JustFilms Fellow. In 2020 she authored the Ford Foundation commissioned report: Beyond Inclusion: The Critical Role of People of Color in the U.S. Documentary Ecosystem. Sahar is a second generation, Iranian American living in Oakland, CA on the ancestral lands of the Muwekma and Ohlone peoples

 

Shireen Irani

Non-Executive Board Member – Doc Society Foundation Board

Shireen is the founder of iProbono, an organisation enabling people to access their rights in pursuit of a just society. She works with activists, NGOs, foundations and filmmakers to strategize and implement programs, with a focus on South Asia.

Centred on local leadership, Shireen works with teams in different jurisdictions to strengthen laws on issues ranging from child protection to disability rights, anti-trafficking, LGBTQ+ equality and access to healthcare. She is passionate about accelerating the work of community leaders and has worked on cases in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, France, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, the UK, USA and Vietnam.

Recognised by Queen Elizabeth II and cited by The Observer as one of Britain’s New Radicals, Shireen has received awards from the UK Prime Minister, the Asian Women of Achievement, and has been named The Financial Times’ Legal Innovator of the Year.

 

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson

Trustee

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson is the President, International of The New York Times Company. Stephen is responsible for the oversight and strategic development of the Times Company’s international businesses. Dunbar-Johnson was appointed President, International for the New York Times Company in October 2013 to lead the global expansion of The Company.

Prior to The Times, Dunbar-Johnson was Publisher of the International Herald Tribune (IHT), a position he assumed in January 2008. Before joining the IHT in 1998, he held various business development roles in the UK, France and the US over twelve years at the Financial Times. He was educated at Worth School and Kent University in the U.K. and has completed an executive management program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Sulzberger program at the Columbia School of Journalism.

 

Twiggy Pucci Garcon

Board Member

As an activist, advocate, and healer, Twiggy has collaborated with artists, filmmakers, academics and policymakers to increase visibility of both creative and sociopolitical agendas. Twiggy served at FACES NY, Inc. as a Recruitment Specialist, Senior Community Health Specialist, and more recently a Program Development Specialist and Community Organizer. With over 10 years of experience in the field of general and specialized health education and direct services, she has extensive knowledge of the needs of the LGBTQ youth population and how to foster relationships with organizations that offer effective quality services.

In their current role as Program Director at the True Colors Fund, Twiggy leads their Youth Collaboration programs and True Impact Summit, aimed at not only elevating youth voices but also creating space for partnerships with young adults to lead the movement to end youth homelessness.

In addition to her activism and advocacy work, Twiggy has worked as a model & runway trainer, performance artist, and special events & talent management coordinator. She and her work have been featured in major media publications and media outlets such as OUT Magazine, PAPER Magazine, NY Mag, The Huffington Post, The METRO Weekly, and The Advocate among others. Twiggy was also a featured subject in Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ and HBO’s documentary feature film, The OUT List and is the co-writer and one of seven subjects in the Sundance-selected, award-winning documentary, KIKI. Twiggy serves as a consultant and choreographer on Ryan Murphy’s hit FX series, POSE. She is also a consulting programmer for Outfest, Newfest, and Outfest Fusion, the Overall Overseer for the Legendary International House of Comme Des Garcon, and the Chief Ambassador for the Center for Black Equity. Twiggy’s continued mission is to elevate the authentic representation of the House|Ballroom Community worldwide.

 

Vince Warren

Board Member

Vincent is the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He oversees CCR's litigation and advocacy work, which includes using international and domestic law to hold corporations and government officials accountable for human rights abuses; challenging racial, gender and LGBT injustice; and combating the illegal detention at Guantanamo, rendition, and torture.

Prior to his tenure at CCR, Vince was a national senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, where he litigated civil rights cases, focusing on affirmative action, racial profiling, and criminal justice reform. Vince was also involved in monitoring South Africa's historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, and worked as a criminal defense attorney for the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Haverford College and Rutgers School of Law.

 

Yvette J. Alberdingk Thijm

Non-executive Board Member of Stichting Doc Society & Co-Chair Doc Society Inc

Yvette is a  human rights leader and a systems thinker, who is an active collaborator in global activist communities and social justice organizations, working to positively transform our world and ecosystem. She mentors and coaches social change leaders and social entrepreneurs, and works as an advisor to foundations and philanthropic funds.  Her passion point and expertise live on the intersection of storytelling, technology, and human rights. Yvette co-facilitates the global “Digital Executive Directors Network” and “HR & Ops” communities of practice, who share ways to solve challenges, build healthy remote organizations, and forge new approaches to human rights activism. As the former Executive Director of WITNESS, a global leader in the use of visual storytelling and emerging technologies for human rights, she championed approaches that center the agency and voices of those most at risk of harm. She contributes to projects that focus on sustaining our power and fostering resilience, including Wellbeing Architects, The Wellbeing Project, and Strength & Solidarity. She is a member of the Boards of Doc Society and AccessNow.