Fuel Adds Three New Trustees To Board

Fuel Artistic Director and CEO Kate McGrath has announced the appointment of three new Trustees to the organisation’s Board: Rakie Ayola, Selina Ocean, and Jenny Waldman CBE.

They will join the existing Board of Trustees, which includes Nadine Benjamin MBE, Sean Egan, Lilli Geissendorfer, Joe Hallgarten, Wendy Martin, Kate McGrath OBE, Jenny Sealey OBE, and Shail Thaker.

“We're kicking off the year with some exciting news. Following an open recruitment process last year, we're announcing three new Trustees who are joining the Board of Fuel: Rakie Ayola, Selina Ocean and Jenny Waldman CBE,” said McGrath. “We couldn't be more thrilled to be working with them. Rakie, Selina and Jenny each bring passion, experience, and expertise to our excellent Board of Trustees, who offer invaluable support and counsel to me and to the Fuel team. Being a Trustee is a big commitment and a gift to our organisation, and we thank each of them for accepting the role.”

Ayola is an actor whose stage and screen work includes Fuel’s co-production of Inua Ellams’ The Half God of Rainfall with Kiln Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Her career spans theatre, film, television, and audio, and she has received multiple BAFTA and BAFTA Cymru honors. Ayola is also active as a producer and trustee with several arts and charitable organisations.

Ocean is an arts marketing consultant with more than 15 years of experience delivering communications, branding, and audience development strategies across the UK cultural sector. Her work has included projects with London Boroughs of Culture, national arts programmes, festivals, and producing organisations. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Fevered Sleep.

Waldman is Director of Art Fund, the UK charity supporting museums and public engagement with art. She previously led 14–18 NOW, the UK’s official arts programme for the First World War Centenary, commissioning large-scale works by artists and organisations including Jeremy Deller, Peter Jackson, and the National Theatre of Scotland. She was awarded a CBE in 2017 for services to the arts.