Meet the team
Sajida Carr
Director of Operations and Development
I have overall responsibility for operations and development for CBC which includes financial management, evaluation and governance. My roles also involves developing authentic strategic relationships and identifying creative opportunities. I’m excited about the unique collaborations which are built on what already exists in the Black Country… its stories, people, place, heritage, businesses, talent. Previous to the this role I spent a number of years focussing on developing non-traditional audiences within the Museums and Heritage sector.
Gavin Medza
Programme Coordinator
My role is to coordinate and support the delivery of the Creative Black Country programme in Sandwell & Walsall including activities, events, reporting and helping to promote arts and cultural sector development opportunities for communities across the Black Country.
I have worked within the arts sector for over 14 years co-ordinating a wide range of projects from participatory theatre in education tours to extra curricular peripatetic music lessons in schools. I also work part-time as a freelance videographer and musician with local indie band DINKY.
Kerry O’Coy
Marketing & Content Manager
Creative Associate - Dudley Creates
I work across the programme looking after everything from our social media channels to print, PR & marketing, updating the website and telling the rest of the Black Country and UK (and sometimes the world) about our brilliant projects and events.
The role is a wonderful mix that continually changes depending on the project and brings together my skills in publishing and PR perfectly.
Alongside Laura Dicken I also help curate and coordinate our creative commissions across the Dudley Borough.
Nelson Douglas
Creative Adviser - Wolverhampton
I’m a freelance lens-based media artist and Senior Lecturer at Kingston University. My work spans both traditional and digital film and photography production. For the last twenty years, I have produced a series of exhibitions and films working with community groups excluded from mainstream society due to education, language, culture, and gender. Much of my work has been commissioned/exhibited by English Heritage, the Arts Council of Great Britain, commercial broadcast and The National Trust.
Laura Dicken
Creative Adviser - Dudley
Creative Associate - Dudley Creates
I’m an award winning visual artist and creative producer who is based in the Black Country, with over a decade of experience working on socially engaged projects locally, nationally and internationally. I’m the Creative Adviser for the Dudley Borough and also a Creative Associate for Dudley Creates.
Richard Franks
Creative Adviser - Sandwell + Walsall
I am the Creative Adviser for Sandwell and Walsall and am also a creative producer, graphic designer, and participatory artist. I have over twenty years of experience managing and delivering community-focused award-winning projects within the cultural, community, heritage, learning, and health and wellbeing sectors. I have lived in the Black Country for most of my life and am proud to call it home.
Parminder Dosanjh
Creative Director
I work closely with our Creative Producers and partner organisations to develop people’s ideas and ambition to make the Black Country an even more creative place.
I look for interesting meeting points and collaborations between sectors e.g. arts, business, media, to help increase creative opportunities in the area. I love this role, it combines the skills from my previous life with ACE, BBC and working with independent arts organisations and artists.
Rosalind Argo
Programme Coordinator
My role ranges from finance & reports to supervising volunteers, live events and lots in between!
I am the administrator for the Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Walsall part of the project and work with all of the teams, coordinators and the Creative Communities. I also co-ordinate our National Lottery Heritage Funded project Funny Roots.
Yvonne Gregory
Fundraising Manager
My role is to develop and coordinate fundraising activities to help Creative Black Country realise its ambitious programme of work and to build fundraising networks across the region. I have been fortunate enough to gain over 25 years experience of the arts sector, working as a fundraiser and project manager for some of the Midlands most prestigious and innovative arts organisations including Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) Geese Theatre Company and Birmingham Royal Ballet. My passion is improving participation and accessibility of the arts for everyone.
Fiona Dye
Project Lead for Culture Volunteer in the Black Country
I’m running a pilot project until March 2024. Its aim is to improve the number, range and quality of volunteering opportunities offered by the creative and cultural sector in the region. We want to open the doors to people who may face barriers to volunteering and make it possible for them to get involved. As well as young people, we want to attract D/deaf/hearing impaired communities, neurodiverse, isolated, and ethnically diverse communities, plus people who have never thought volunteering is for them. My job is to make that happen. Volunteering can be a great first step into a wonderful career, and I have first-hand experience of that. Being a volunteer Wolverhampton Hospital Radio set me on my way to a 29 years of working in broadcasting.
Kat Pearson
Impact Lead
My role is to carry out evaluation and monitoring across all CBC projects, and to think about how to present and use the findings. I have a background in research and evaluation having recently completed a PhD about placemaking, cities of culture and television. Outside my role at CBC I am a trustee at Moseley Road Baths, an Edwardian swimming pool in Birmingham, and I am passionate about advocating for heritage and culture for the West Midlands.