At the end of 2024, we were delighted to welcome four new trustees to join our chair Fiona Butcher and other members of our Board in working with the team at EFDSS to promote the folk arts and support our position as the national development organisation for the genre. We had a healthy response from potential applications who shared our passion for extending the reach of folk, including taking it to young and diverse audiences. We were pleased to appoint Elsa Cardona, Nell Leyshon, Lisa Saper and Jeremy Simpson, and we look forward to working with them over the coming years.
Elsa Cardona
Originally from France, Elsa works in the youth sector. She has led global youth programmes for the Girl Guiding Movement, and national initiatives like the UK Youth Parliament. As a senior leader at the British Youth Council, she guided the organisation through its winding down process due to insolvency and is committed to supporting organisational sustainability.
Nell Leyshon
Nell is an award-winning playwright and novelist. Her play Folk was performed at Hampstead Theatre and was nominated for an Olivier Award. Nell is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was Deputy Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe for six years.
Lisa Saper
Texan by birth, British by choice, Lisa has over 40 years’ experience delivering transformation programmes for large financial institutions. She has a life-long love of the folk arts even if, by her own admission, her own dancing skills are laughable.
Jeremy Simpson
Jeremy is the Chief Financial Officer and Interim CEO (Joint) of Megger, a global leader in electrical test and measurement, and a Chartered Accountant of some 30 years’ standing and was previously CFO of Sureserve Group plc, leading its public listing in 2015. Jeremy is married with three children, a keen morris dancer and experienced triathlete.
