MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Verd de gris arts is a registered not for profit company limited by guarantee, overseen and supported by our Management Committee. The committee meets quarterly, and includes past project participants as well as health sector professionals – who help to guide and shape relevant policy and company aims.
Meet our Management Committee members:
Sharon Marsden is a co-founder and director of verd de gris arts
Since 2005 Sharon has worked with a host of artists and creative practitioners from across the UK, working across art-forms and disciplines to create works that include elements of performance, recorded sound, reclaimed or found objects, original music, photography, written and the spoken word.
Sharon and the company have won a number of regional and national awards, including Outstanding Arts Award in Dementia Care, and the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2021. Sharon has written on social engagement and arts and health practice for 3rd sector publications (e.g. Journal of Dementia Care), and worked closely with staff at Universities (inc. Huddersfield and UCLAN), to explore and highlight impact on health and social care agendas.
As a producer and consultant Sharon has delivered on a range of educational and health initiatives and participatory arts projects for clients including: Arts Council England; Salford City Council; Calderdale CMBC; South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust; NHS England.
For more than 20 years, Sharon’s commitment to socially-engaged practice has changed the way many people experience art in a myriad of settings. She has done this by working closely with e.g. health professional, community development and support workers, local cultural partners (theatres and event venues etc. for showcasing opportunities): authentic writing for local people, authentic voices performing, genuine engagement with audience and community.
Jeff Turner is a co-founder and director of verd de gris arts
As a producer and consultant Jeff has delivered on a range of community-based initiatives and participatory arts projects for clients including: Liverpool Housing Action Trust; Arts Council England; Salford City Council; Calderdale CMBC; South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust; The Piece Hall, Halifax.
As an experienced project facilitator, manager and freelance practitioner Jeff has a broad understanding of the requirements of effective financial management and the responsibilities associated with project delivery. In the past he has secured funding support from a range of regional and national grant-making bodies, including Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Big Lottery; Community Foundation for Calderdale, North West Playwrights, and from local delivery mechanisms and regeneration agencies Merseyside Development Corporation and Liverpool City Council. He has gained significant experience in areas such as: the overseeing of multi-project budgets; the evaluation and documentation of project work; and the meeting of tight time-schedules / work deadlines (such as that demanded by LEA’s and public sector providers).
For more than fifteen years, Jeff commitment to socially-engaged practice has changed the way many people experience art. He has done this by working closely with community development and support workers, local cultural partners (theatres and event venues etc. for showcasing opportunities): authentic writing for local people, authentic voices performing, genuine engagement with audience and community.
Fi Kellet is Chair and Finance Lead of verd de gris arts
“I have over 25 years’ experience of managing finance and operations in the voluntary sector. I’ve worked with a number of theatre and community arts organisations in Liverpool and Greater Manchester and a women’s health charity in Leeds. Since 2022, I’ve been working as the Finance Manager for Soundabout, a national charity that provides opportunities for Learning Disabled people with complex support needs to enjoy making music. Outside of numbers I have a passion for music, both making and listening to, and a joy for walking the hills, usually with a dog in tow.
I’m on verd de gris steering group because I believe in the work they deliver and its power to change lives. Also I love how they bring beauty into the lives of everyone they touch whether they are participants, volunteers, partners, colleagues, audiences plus their families and friends.” Fi Kellet
Samantha Gill is a Project Facilitator & Communications Lead at verd de gris arts
Sam Gill, once a participant in the Behind the Mask project over six years ago, has since become a dedicated group lead at verd de gris arts. In her role, she leads group sessions and provides compassionate one-to-one support for women, using her lived experience to connect with and deeply empathise with those she supports.As a mother of three boys, Sam also finds joy in reading, walking, and attending church.
At the heart of verd de gris’s work is community cohesion and bringing people together. For Sam, fostering unity and intercultural collaboration are central values, both in her role and personally.The group sessions she leads bring together people from all cultures and backgrounds, helping to break down barriers and build understanding across diverse communities. Sam sees the powerful impact of this work firsthand, as it cultivates trust, unity, and a stronger sense of community, enriching lives and promoting meaningful, lasting change.
Dr Mary Coaten is a Dance Movement Psychotherapist working within the regional health care sector.
“For the past 20 years I have worked as a dance movement psychotherapist in the NHS Mental Health care setting. I am passionate about using the arts and creative approaches to helping individuals who are experiencing mental distress and have frequently seen the power of these types of intervention.
I also run a community intergenerational theatre group called the King’s Troupe and is based in Hebden Bridge. We specialise in the performance of Shakespeare where all are welcome. There is no audition process, and I am committed to facilitating access to theatre making for all.
The work of Verd De Gris Arts very much resonates with my own values and philosophy.
I have witnessed their ongoing life changing projects over the years. I have seen them grow and develop over the years and go from strength to strength. They have inspired my work and helped me to grow as an arts psychotherapist and theatre practitioner as a result.” Mary Coaten
Dr Sarah Campbell is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Social Care and Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Health and Education, where she specialises in dementia and ageing research.
Sarah has contributed to numerous research projects funded by organisations including the National Institute for Health Research and the Economic and Social Research Council. Her scholarly work spans topics from embodied narratives in dementia care to cultural citizenship and community wellbeing for older people. She regularly utilises creative and participatory approaches in her research, working with artists to explore complex social issues. Most recently, she has been co-leading the participatory research component of the award-winning Uncertain Futures project with renowned artist Suzanne Lacy. This groundbreaking five-year collaboration (2019-2024) examined intersectional inequalities facing women over 50 around work in Manchester, combining art, research and activism through interviews with 100 women, gallery installations at Manchester Art Gallery, and community organising. The project, which won a Manchester Culture Award in 2022, exemplifies Sarah’s commitment to participatory research methodologies that amplify marginalised voices and drive social change. She has published extensively and regularly presents at national and international conferences on ageing, dementia, and social care.
Sarah has been a dedicated member of the steering group for Verd de Gris Arts for eight years, drawn to the organisation by her belief that the arts are integral to social change and to building capacity within communities. She particularly values the organisation’s creative approaches, relational ways of working, high quality artistic outputs and the lasting impact they have on people’s lives. She is especially impressed by their commitment to sustained engagement – working alongside individuals over extended periods to provide deep, meaningful support that is increasingly rare amongst organisations. Her involvement reflects her commitment to bridging academic research with community-engaged practice, using creative approaches to amplify marginalised voices and address social issues.
Tricia Stead is an experienced CBT therapist and community health manager working in the regional health care sector
“I grew up in Dorset and moved to London in my early 20s. I worked in the voluntary/3rd sector as a support worker through my 20’s before training as a social worker and working in adult mental health services. I moved up to West Yorkshire in 2000, when my 2 children were young, and met Sharon and Jeff at the school gates; and both we and our boys became friends. I trained as a CBT therapist in 2008 and have worked as a therapist since, in the NHS. I currently work in the Staff Support and Therapy Service within Bradford Care NHS Trust, which provides services to a diverse population. I appreciate working in a Trust which is committed to social inclusion and trauma-informed care-both in relation to staff and service users.
I feel privileged to be part of the VDG steering group, to witness the life-changing, arts-based projects they co-create and deliver with passion, compassion, intelligence and humility.” Tricia Stead
Saalihah Rasheed is Project Ambassador, Cloverleaf Advocacy, Community Interpreter, and part-time Small Business Entrepreneur
Saalihah first became involved with Verd de Gris in the Behind the Mask project back in 2014. She was referred by her GP after reaching out for help from a domestic abusive relationship of 20 years. Her struggles include childhood abuse, forced marriage, facing gender inequalities and race discrimination in her former job.
Saalihah is on a continuous journey of healing from mental health illness and educating herself on the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Domestic Abuse and Discrimination. Saalihah has progressed to the One Voice Collective and has remained a participant over the last 10 years.
She is passionate to use her lived experience positively, and work on changing her own life, help her children and disadvantage females in her family and friends, along with a vision to help women in the community.
Saalihah’s Islamic faith plays a significant role in her everyday life and choices. She lives in Halifax with her children. In her spare time, she loves to cook, enjoys walking with her friends, discovering nice coffee shops and working to develop her business.
Cath Senior is a Family Support Worker, Emerging Futures
Cath was referred a Verd de gris course through a support worker. By her own admission, she felt isolated, depressed and anxious. Cath was caring full-time for her son and had looked at volunteering but the unpredictable nature of her son’s illness made it almost impossible. Volunteering with Verd de gris was different though, as we were able to respond to Cath’s needs and her circumstances and availability.
Cath’s background was in theatre and psychology and this really allowed her to utilise her skill-set in different and impactful ways. She volunteered on ‘Everything Changes’, which supports local women back into employment and eventually went on to become a trained lead worker for Verd de gris in a paid role. Cath has recently taken up a full-time post with local charity Emerging Futures, she lives in Calderdale and is a passionate champion for wild swimming!