Fuel’s New Trustees Announced

Artistic Director and CEO of Fuel, Kate McGrath today announces three new trustees

Rakie Ayola, Selina Ocean and Jenny Waldman CBE Join Fuel’s Board

Artistic Director and CEO has today announced that three new Trustees will join the Board of Trustees of Fuel. Rakie Ayola, Selina Ocean and Jenny Waldman CBE will join the existing Board members – Nadine Benjamin MBE, Sean Ega, Lilli Geissendorfer, Joe Hallgarten, Wendy Martin, Kate McGrath OBE, Jenny Sealey OBE and Shail Thaker.

Kate McGrath said: “We’re kicking off the year with some exciting news. Following an open recruitment process last year, we’re announcing three new Trustees who are joining the Board of Fuel: Rakie Ayola, Selina Ocean and Jenny Waldman CBE. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them. Rakie, Selina and Jenny each bring passion, experience, and expertise to our excellent Board of Trustees, who offer invaluable support and counsel to me and to the Fuel team. Being a Trustee is a big commitment and a gift to our organisation, and we thank each of them for accepting the role.”

Rakie Ayola

Actress and producer Rakie Ayola grew up in Cardiff and trained at The National Youth Theatre of Wales and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

An eclectic career in TV, theatre, film and audio has led to her receiving the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress Award for tv film ‘Anthony’, the BAFTA Cymru Best Actress Award for ‘The Pact’ S2 (on which she was an Executive Producer) and becoming the 18th recipient of the prestigious BAFTA Cymru Sian Phillips Award for services to tv and film.

Her upcoming screen work includes feature film ‘Bad Apples’ with Saoirse Ronan and tv series ‘Falling’ by Jack Thorne.

On stage she has performed with many theatre companies such as the Bush, National, Globe, Sherman, RSC and Welsh National Opera. In 2019 she worked with Fuel on their Kiln Theatre/Birmingham Rep co-production of Inua Ellam’s ‘Half God Of Rainfall’ (BBTA nomination).  The following year she received a BBTA Best Female Performance Award for The Royal Court/NTW production of Ed Thomas’ play ‘On Bear Ridge’ in which she starred opposite Rhys Ifans.

In 2026 Rakie will appear at The NT Dorfman Theatre in Winsome Pinnock’s new play ‘The Authenticator’.

In 2017 Rakie co-founded Shanty Productions with her husband Adam Smethurst for whom she Exec -Produced the award-winning short film ‘Hedgehog’. They have two daughters and a dachshund.

Rakie is also a Trustee of the Welsh National Theatre and Wayout Arts, a Patron of the Actors’ Children’s Trust, Childhood Tumour Trust, Collage Arts and Praxis Performing Arts and is an Ambassador for The Anthony Walker Foundation.

She is a Fellow of RWCMD, has an Honorary Fellowship from Aberystwyth University and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Drama and an Honorary Doctorate from Warwick University.

Selina Ocean

Selina Ocean is an arts marketing consultant with 15 years’ experience of delivering creative communications’ strategies across the culture sector for a variety of arts organisations, venues and festival programmes including the London Borough of Culture in Brent 2020, Croydon and Haringey, 14-18 NOW, Kirklees Year of Music, Coventry City Council and PoliNations created and produced by Trigger.

In addition, she delivers brand and website development projects including for the London Borough of Culture, Love Camden and The Javaad Alipoor Company, as well as audience development strategies for the likes of 59 Studios, Belfast Ensemble and LEEDS 2023. Selina is also the Chair of Fevered Sleep’s board of trustees, an arts organisation that makes bold new work for and with adults and children.

Jenny Waldman

Jenny Waldman is Director of Art Fund, the UK’s charity connecting people, museums and art. She was previously Director of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s official arts programme for the First World War Centenary, where she commissioned over 100 new works from leading contemporary artists including Jeremy Deller’s Somme tribute we’re here because we’re here, Peter Jackson’s film They Shall Not Grow Old and new works by John Akomfrah, National Theatre of Scotland, Wildworks and Rachel Whiteread.

She was Creative Producer of the London 2012 Festival for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, working in partnerships with arts organisations across the UK. From 1999-2011 she was Public Programmes Consultant at Somerset House Trust, where she created the famous ice rink, concerts and film seasons. She has also commissioned large-scale performing arts events for Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

Jenny was awarded a CBE in 2017 for services to the arts.