Meet the Community is our new series celebrating the people who make Citz what it is.
From 9–13 November, we’re celebrating some of our trustees at Citz, who give their time, skills and experience to help us thrive.
Meet Ayesha Casely-Hayford, a Citz Trustee whose career spans both the arts and legal sectors. Alongside her work as an actress and voice artist, Ayesha is a qualified solicitor specialising in employment law, with a focus on healthcare and the NHS.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your professional background?
My name is Ayesha Casely-Hayford. I have a portfolio career working professionally between the arts industry as an actress and voice artist and the legal industry as a solicitor. I qualfied as a lawyer in 2008 and I specialise in employment law with a focus on healthcare. I work for a leading niche practice law firm whose main client is the NHS.
What drew you to Citz, and why did you want to get involved as a trustee?
I have known about Citz for a very long time and used to go as an audience member supporting their work from when I was young. I became obsessed and have huge respect for their work over all these years, getting to know the members and following their progression. After admiring from afar, when the opportunity came to apply to be a trustee, and after I had by that time built up my experience on trustee boards at other charities, it was a no-brainer.
What does being a trustee involve, and how do you help shape and support the work of Citz?
Being a trustee is a governance role. It requires listening and supporting and keeping the right distance from the grass-routrs work to ensure there is integrity and the correct checks and balances for the organisation. It is a custodian role, and we are making sure Citz remains ethically vital and financially viable for next generations while under our care. On a practical level it invovles attending board meetings, which require taking a day off work, and reading paperwork and quite a lot of documentation. At board meetings it involves working collaboratively with my Trustee colleagues and the senior management team. As a lawyer I provide specialised support to the board from a legal perspective.
Is there a particular moment from your time as a trustee that has stayed with you?
During my time we have had many great moments, the one I will mention is the theatre performance of Fuan. It takes a lot to put on plays ans Citz reaches levels of excellence. Faun was a play that was hilarious and engaging while educating on the definition of homeless, which is not just sleeping on the streets, it includes sofa surfing, over crowding and being unsafe in the place you live, it applies to so many of us and its important to widen the conversation and understand how homelessness affects us all if we want to effect change. Faun and More Than One Story series are momentus examples of this.
What have you valued most about being part of the Citz community?
Being wanted, appreciated and included. Being part of Citz really is a form of home and im grateful to be part of the community and in a position to support this incredible charity as one of its Trustees
