Trustees & Policies

(Chair) Susan Benn, a former publisher and photographer, was the Founder Artistic Director of PAL (Performing Arts Labs) created to design and produce residential laboratories with leading artists, performers, scientists and others creating experimental new work in film, theatre, opera and interactive media (1987-2012). She is collaborating with StrongBack on the design of ‘Berwick Sound’ in Northumberland.

Susan lives in Rye East Sussex where she currently co-directs an oral history HerStory project documenting stories of women of all ages and jobs who are working in Rye.

She is also a photographer, reporter and board member of the local online newspaper Rye News.

Susan feels very fortunate to be associated with almost a decade of inspiring Strongback Productions.

She is especially excited by the unique creative team for a new project, SongMaps Rye, currently being formed by Strongback and Speaking Volumes, to explore the changing effects of climate with local people who live by the sea in East Sussex.

Our Policies

StrongBack Productions Safeguarding Policy November 2022

StrongBack Productions Equal Opportunities Policy & Action Plan

Dominic Manning is an architect and has been a keen environmentalist ever since reading Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature. He grew up in Luxembourg and has travelled widely but is now very engaged in his community in and around Rye, East Sussex. He is the chair of Rother Environmental Group, chair of Rother Green Party, a trustee of Strandliners, sustainability officer for Rye Chamber of Commerce and founder member of Rye Food and Wildlife Community Garden. He sits on the steering group of the Rye Neighbourhood Plan, is a regular volunteer at Rye Swap Shop, as well as Iden Footpath Team and is also an occasional contributor to Rye News.

Eva de Blocq van Kuffeler has worked as a senior level fundraiser and development consultant for key arts organisations in both The Netherlands and the UK for the past 25 years. These include leading lights in the London portfolio – Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Opera House, the Serpentine Gallery and The Courtauld Gallery. Eva’s personal passion for and commitment to the arts across the board, and most importantly the people at the heart of each art form, not only drives her professional record but is also reflected in her active engagement as a trustee on the Boards of both Dance Umbrella and Strongback Productions.

Katherine Gardiner is a qualified accountant with broad experience of commercial
organisations of all sizes, and over 20 years working in senior financial roles in the not-for-profit sector. She has played a key role in strategic growth and organisational stability for Mind, the leading mental health charity, and the Royal Ballet School, while maintaining a passion for the arts and acting as trustee for small arts charities.

Maria Hayden* graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in French and German and is a qualified solicitor working in a City law firm. She has a passion for theatre and the arts.

* A Tribute to Maria Hayden 1987 – 2023

We were deeply saddened to learn that our beloved Trustee Maria Hayden, passed away on May 12th 2023.
Maria joined StrongBack as a Trustee in March 2019 and brought with her, tremendous dynamism, light and joy. Her passion for the arts, theatre and life was infectious and she was an eager and inspiring presence on StrongBack’s small board contributing valuable insights and generous support. The board also benefitted hugely from her knowledge of the law.
Maria was diagnosed with an aggressive blood cancer at the end of 2022. She faced her treatment with such courage and optimism. We saw her in March just as she was preparing to undergo a second round of chemotherapy, and the prospects for her future seemed bright at that point. It was a profound shock for us to learn that she had succumbed to complications in May.
We will forever be grateful for Maria, for her friendship, for her faith in StrongBack and her support for everything that we undertook. We will miss her greatly.
Rest In Peace, Maria.
26 June 2023