THE TEAM

Susanna Howard (she/her)

Susanna is the founder and artistic director of Living Words.

She has led workshops and performed one-woman shows at events across the world promoting the work of Living Words, including National Theatre of Taiwan; Tate; Wellcome; British Library; Stratford Lit Fest; BMJ Dementia conference & National Care Forum. Susanna is an international speaker and chair of dementia and mental health conferences and events, regularly chairing and appearing at book festivals across the UK. Her writing on Living Words has appeared in highly regarded journals and she has written research papers in collaboration with partners at Created Out of Mind.

Susanna worked one-to-one with the acclaimed poet James Berry OBE and is very proud of the work they did together, as James was able to continue being a writer whilst living with advancing dementia. Some of this has been featured at British Library and the BBC.

Many years ago, Susanna studied Drama at Bristol University (BA Hons), followed by Advanced Theatre Practice: Performance (Postgrad, Distinction) at Central School of Speech and Drama. She leads on the performance and film side of Living Words.

In addition to running Living Words, Susanna is committed to her own artistic development, which she plans to do more of, as the organisational structure changes. Susanna is an actor and producer/director in TV and film (RTS winner/BBC/Guardian/corporate) and has recently re-engaged with her own writing practice.

Susanna Howard (she/her)

Philip Cowell (he/him)

Philip Cowell is the author of This Is Me, Full Stop. (Penguin, Nov 2017); Keeping A Journal and Stress (Sheldon Press). His writing has appeared in Poetry Review, The Philosophy Shop and BBC Culture. He has run workshops at the Southbank Centre, Wilderness, and Normal? Festival of the Brain. He is especially interested in making words and people stand out.

Philip has been trained by Susanna in the Living Words method and has worked in residencies in London. He became an Associate of Living Words in 2013.

www.philipcowell.co.uk

Philip Cowell (he/him)

Shazea Quraishi (she/her)

Shazea Quraishi is a Pakistani-born Canadian poet and translator. A Complete Works alumni, she is widely published in the UK and US, with poems appearing in The Guardian, The Financial Times, Poetry Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Hudson Review & anthologies including ‘The Things I would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write’ and ‘The Mighty Stream: Poems in celebration of Martin Luther King’. Her books include The Courtesans Reply (flipped eye publishing, 2012), The Art of Scratching (Bloodaxe Books, 2015), The Taxidermist (Verve Poetry Press, 2020) and The Glimmer (Bloodaxe Books, 2022).

Shazea teaches with the Poetry School, is on the board of English PEN, and on the Poetry & Spoken Word committee of the Society of Authors.

A Living Words artist since 2015, Shazea is involved in artistic & practise development and mentoring. Training and development with Living Words has enriched & informed her artistic & teaching practise & vice versa.

www.shazeaquraishi.com

Shazea Quraishi (she/her)

Pippa Wildwood (she/her)

Pippa Wildwood is a writer, theatre maker, artist, and facilitator.

She has a BA degree in Acting from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and an art foundation from the London Metropolitan university. She has worked in film and theatre with companies including Secret Cinema, Inspector Sands, Shams Theatre, Filter Theatre and Foursight Theatre.

Pippa trained in clowning with Spymonkey, John Wright and Angela de Castro. She wrote and performed comedy with her comedy duo Killer and Gorilla and was co-artistic director of the United Nations Association for the Playfulness of People, with whom she devised and produced two sell-out shows. She has toured with Clowns Without Borders UK on several projects to support children affect by war, conflict, and human trafficking. She was an artist leader for Playing Up at TATE (LADA) and ‘Meet me at the Albany’ with the Albany theatre.

Pippa has worked since 2015 as an artist in residence with Living Words. Her experience of disability and chronic illness has informed her life and work in unexpected ways.

Pippa Wildwood (she/her)

Julia Miranda (she/her)

Julia Miranda is an Anglo-Brazilian artist, illustrator and art teacher. She studied design and went on to work as an art director producing arts documentaries. Since spending three years in Rio working alongside her father, the painter Luiz Aquila, her paintings have been exhibited extensively in London and Brazil as well as in Europe and the US, most recently at the Sluice Art Fair in Bermondsey and Animamus, New York.

The intuitive process of her abstract paintings differs from illustrating for poetry, NGOs and childrens’ books, always borne of careful interpretation of the text. They share a preoccupation with the subtle highs and lows of human emotions, as well as a distinctive simple line.

Julia illustrated Living Words' anthology The Things Between Us and Living Warriors films.

Julia Miranda (she/her)

Astrid Goldsmith (she/her)

Astrid is a writer and animation director, interested in finding new ways to tell stories about marginalised people. She set up her own stop-motion studio in 2012, and made a string of award-winning short films which screened at film festivals around the world. In 2018 she was selected for the BFI/BBC4 Animation talent scheme, which resulted in her film Quarantine. Quarantine was broadcast on BBC4, won the Best Animated Film award at LSFF, and was the third most-watched free film on BFI Player in 2020.

Astrid is a regular Visiting Lecturer at various universities, and was a faculty member at Bob and Roberta Smith’s Art School project. Astrid won the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize in 2022, with her comic A Funeral in Freiburg. She is now working on her debut graphic novel, The Crystal Vase, which will be published by Jonathan Cape in 2024.

www.mockduck.co.uk

Astrid Goldsmith (she/her)

Zoë Aldrich (she/her)

Zoë is a Folkestone-based actor who joined Living Words in 2018. She read Drama at Bristol University, trained at Webber Douglas Academy, and has since worked as an actor in television, radio, and extensively in theatre, with companies including Wilton’s Music Hall, National Theatre, Cardboard Citizens, and Cheek by Jowl.

As a workshop leader, Zoë has experience in schools and youth groups for Pop-Up, Touchstone, and the National Theatre Education Department. All of this has been good preparation for the listening and collaboration at the heart of Living Words.

Zoë Aldrich (she/her)

Charlotte Forfieh (she/her)

Charlotte Forfieh is an emerging writer who enjoys combining writing with projects that harness the power of literature for social good. Her focus is primarily on short forms (short stories and novellas); and themes she returns to in her work include the nature of reality, fantastical beings and the experience of time.

Charlotte was our administrative officer and project manager until 2019, and worked on our Nepalese elders project.

Charlotte Forfieh (she/her)

Olivia Franklin (she/her)

Olivia is a freelance Writer and Project Manager based in Folkestone, Kent (UK). After graduating from King’s College London (English Literature), Olivia returned to her hometown, enrolling as Communications Manager for Folkestone Fringe in 2018 - later developing to be Artist Project Coordinator, to Project Manager, across multiple community arts festivals/events. She has also run leading Kent attraction 'Folkestone Marketplace', enrolled as Producer for Strangelove Festival, and is now a practicing freelance Website Designer & Copywriter. She is approached for her expertise/knowledge in Kent arts/cultural scenes, and is an emerging thought-piece writer for these subjects.

In 2019, Olivia joined Living Words, working on everything from film/song/book distribution, marketing & copywriting, event managing & producing, to day-to-day office running and creating podcasts. Currently Project Manager for Kent-wide, multi-organisational Mental Health/Arts platform ‘Flux’, Olivia is a trainee writer, producer & editor, and future Living Words artist.

Olivia Franklin (she/her)

Josh Cottingham (he/him)

Josh is a Folkestone-based voluntary member of the Living Words team. Since joining in 2021, he has provided administrative support to the office team, and has participated in several Living Words projects to gain first-hand experience in the Listen Out Loud methodology, with a view to his development as a future Living Words artist.

Josh studied Creative Writing at the University of Roehampton, and since graduating has been building skills through jobs ranging from running bars to project and concept management. He is blazing a trail in the local music scene, organising and promoting events through the small, independent record label he co-founded & runs with a friend.

Josh Cottingham (he/him)

Anil Sebastian (they/them)

Anil Sebastian is a multifaceted artist and producer. They joined the Living Words team as a writer in 2018 working as part of various residencies including in care homes, remotely online with carers and relatives during the pandemic and with 18-25 year old young LGBTQIA+ people at risk of self-harm as part of Flux.

As co-founder of London Contemporary Voices choir, Anil has worked with over 20 Grammy winning artists including Alt-J, Imogen Heap and U2 as well as at iconic fashion shows, BBC Proms and the Harry Potter Play soundtrack. They are also the Co-Founder and Director of Trans Voices - the UK's first ever professional trans+ choir, debuting in March 2022 with a specially commissioned Guardian documentary produced by Charlie Philips and Living Words’ Director Susanna Howard.

Following their debut album Mesonoxian, Anil featured on Björk/Madonna producer Guy Sigsworth’s debut Stet alongside Imogen Heap. In 2020, their animated music film Daffodil was released on NOWNESS and previewed at NORMAL? Festival of the Brain.

From soundtracking the BEPI Colombo Mercury, to working with young people from KRAN, to welcome War Horse creators' refugee puppet Little Amal to the UK, the breadth of Sebastian’s work is utterly unique.

www.anilsebastian.com

Anil Sebastian (they/them)

Oliver Senton (he/him)

Oliver Senton is an actor, an improviser, a teacher and director.

He joined the National Youth Theatre in 1984, then studied English at The University of York and Acting at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has appeared extensively in both mainstream work (RSC, Chichester, Mamma Mia!, BBC Radio, EastEnders, Casualty and Hollyoaks) and alternative (Helen Chadwick, Nigel Charnock and Joseph Alford; as a founder member of performance trio IROQIM; with Ken Campbell in the 24-hour play cycle The Warp and esoteric impro group The School Of Night; and in recent years with Slung Low).

A founding member of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Oliver has taught drama students, primary schoolchildren, prisoners and the long-term unemployed. Most recently, Oliver appeared with Austentatious at Leicester Square Theatre, The School of Night at The Willow Globe and for the 'Shakespeare's Coming Home' project at Stratford Town Hall. He is working on a new short film, Forest, and a recording for Audible of Robert Anton Wilson's Prometheus Rising.

Oliver joined Living Words in 2018, aiming to do more to make sure art is for all and accessible for all, and to provide creative space for those underrepresented in society.

http://oliversenton.com

Oliver Senton (he/him)

GOVERNANCE

Founded in 2007, we became a charity in 2014. We are also a company limited by guarantee. The directors of the company are also our trustees.

We have continued guidance from our team of individuals living with dementia, as well as senior professionals within the field of dementia care and research.

Living Words is currently governed by a board of 3 trustees with a rotating chair, and another about to join. Prior to the pandemic, we had reduced our board for rotation, and are in the process of recruiting new trustees to complement the skills and expertise we already have on the board.

We are committed to implementing, reviewing and updating our policies and systems. In 2020, we are inviting new trustees to join us - contact us if you are interested and have skills, experience and knowledge that will enhance our work: info@livingwords.org.uk. Thank you.

LIVING WORDS TRUSTEES

Sasha Bruce (she/her)

Sasha Bruce is a customer insight leader.

Sasha’s focus is developing business strategy, aiming to put insight at the heart of what she does. Whilst working at Fintech company Simply Business, she has built a team to represent the needs of customers across the company. Sasha has been praised for her excellent communication, research and empathy in her field.

She joined Living Words as a Trustee in 2018, after seeing our work at Normal? Festival of the Brain (2017). Witnessing the work of Living Words struck a chord, and Sasha became interested in dementia, and more broadly similar conditions where a person’s sense of self is distorted somehow.

Sasha now extends her personal interest in the field, whilst contributing to the charity’s work by bringing her commercial background and strategic thinking to the organisation.

Sasha Bruce (she/her)

Thomas Ernst - Medical Advisor (he/him)

Dr Thomas A. Ernst is Consultant Physician and Geriatrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London.

He started his career there in May 2006 following Registrar training in Bristol, Australia, the South Coast and London. He specialises in the holistic management of patients with dementia coming into hospital in a state of acute delirium. These patients are confused, their behavior often erratic – and his main interest lies in the influence that the physical and staff environment can have upon them. He employs many unconventional but relevant skills adopted from simulation training such as communication, leadership and situational awareness training and uses mindfulness based approaches in support of these.

He advocates and imparts stress reduction approaches for staff, and a form of meditation known as compassionate mind training – with a view to developing crucial skills such as empathy and kindness in an otherwise very busy and pressured hospital environment. He is a keen believer in the value of the arts in improving physical and mental health among patients.

In summary, Dr Ernst believes in a combination of conventional medical skills, allied with less orthodox competencies from other professions, as a basis for the progressive care of older people both in the community and in hospital. Dr Ernst also has extensive experience in the management of simple faints and blackouts. He is an expert in neurogenic syncope including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, simple faints and functional disorders. And he specialises in the treatment of the disabling symptoms of chronic medical illness using meditation based approaches.

Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, visiting art galleries, and eating endless sous vide meals cooked by his partner.

Thomas Ernst - Medical Advisor (he/him)

Reinhard Guss (he/him)

Reinhard Guss has been a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the NHS for over 25 years.

Alongside his practice in Kent and Medway, Reinhard is the Co-Chair of Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) and the Chair of Faculty of the Psychology of Older People. Also, he has been the Dementia Workstream Lead for the British Psychology Society since 2012.

Working in the field for a long time, Reinhard joined Living Words as a Trustee in 2018 after being impressed by our work with people in later stages of dementia. He recognised the authenticity of the Living Words approach and our focus on ensuring that the voices of people are heard.

Reinhard joined LW when we began to think about our next stage of growth, his focus has been ensuring sustainability, faithfulness to the model of working and the ethos of LW, whilst helping us widen the scope and format of our projects.

Reinhard Guss (he/him)

Kathryn Gilfoy (she/her)

Kath is former Director of Resonate Arts, a pioneering arts programme for older people living with dementia and other mental health issues. She developed this programme from scratch and has since helped many arts organisations to develop work with people living with dementia. She was previously a Community Arts Facilitator and Director at Studio 3 Arts.

At Resonate Kath was an early partner of Living Words, supporting Living Words’ development & growth through a changing landscape of perception around arts & health.

Kath is living with a terminal neurological condition. A trustee since 2020 she attends boards virtually & supports Susanna & Shazea in organisational change.

Kathryn Gilfoy (she/her)

DOING GROUP

We have a growing team of volunteers who make up a crucial part of our work. Volunteers mostly come to us through the route of having been project participants or relatives of project participants. Our Doing Group is a team of people who represent all sides of our work. This group is setting the agenda of how they work with and support our main team and activities. More information on this coming soon.

About us

Arts and literature charity working with people experiencing dementia and isolated people.