Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, joined the organisation in August 2018. Born in Liverpool, Laura returned to the city following several years as Head of Culture for Bristol City Council, with responsibility for the five museums in the city. Prior to moving to Bristol, Laura was interim Heritage and Culture Manager for Warwickshire County Council, covering a similar mix of services to Bristol including the Museums and Archives, Arts, Archaeology and Ecology teams. Laura’s early career in museums was focused mainly on museum education, and she has a wealth of experience of working in the North of England, across Liverpool, Yorkshire, and Lancashire.

Isabelle Doran is CEO of the Association of Photographers – a trade association representing over 3,000 members, set up in 1968 with the aim of protecting and championing the rights of photographers and image-makers working in the creative industries. Isabelle’s creative industry career as a photography graduate spans almost 30 years, formerly as both a supplier and client within the photo industry before moving into policy advocacy. Her background began in traditional darkroom practice with Tony Stone (now Getty Images), followed by spells employed at Magnum Photos, Luminous Design, and Conran. After completing a Masters in Museum Management, she ran a lifestyle image library for 14 years. In 2012, Isabelle began her policy role as a BAPLA non-executive director for 9 years and chairing for 5 years, working with wide range of representatives across the creative industries to engage with government departments and parliamentarians. In 2015, Isabelle was appointed as board director of the British Copyright Council, representing Artistic Works. She is a representative member of Creative UK, member of the Royal Society of Arts, and became Vice Chair (AI brief) of the Creators Rights Alliance in 2025.

Sandra Booth FRSA is Director of Policy and External Relations at the Council for Higher Education Arts and Design (CHEAD). She leads a network of Art and Design education providers and, as co-founder of the Creative Education Coalition, wrote a Creative Education Manifesto to advocate for creative education pathways and access for all to creative education and training.

Jen Smith is CEO of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), responsible for developing its remit, operating model and governance structure. Jen led the creation and publication of the screen sectors’ first ‘Set of Principles and Guidance to Prevent Bullying and Harassment and Racism’ convening over 50 cultural organisations to adopt them, in addition to inspiring additional editions tailored for the Theatre and Music sectors. In her previous role at the BFI before leaving to lead CIISA, she was responsible for gaining international recognition for the BFI Diversity Standards, achieving Autism Friendly Status for BFI Southbank, partnering with Changing Faces on the impactful #Iamnotyourvillain campaign and ensuring that the full range of diversity data on who the BFI funds and employs is published annually.

Philippa Childs is the Head of Bectu, the UK’s union for the creative industries.

She is the first woman to hold the position of Head of Bectu, a role she took on shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic brought much of the creative industries to a sudden halt and created unprecedented challenges for the sector’s workers.

This was closely followed by the almost total shutdown of the UK’s film and TV industry in 2023, following historical industrial action in the United States, during which Childs continued to advocate for increased support and improved rights for freelancers.

Childs oversees Bectu’s five divisions, covering broadcasting, film and TV production, and arts and entertainment – championing the rights of nearly 40,000 staff and freelance workers across the creative industries.

As the largest union at the BBC and with a strong presence in many of the UK’s leading theatres, arts centres and independent broadcasting and production companies, Bectu is uniquely placed to secure workplace fairness and equality on behalf of its members.

Childs has spent much of her career in trade unions, with previous tenures at the National Union of Civil and Public Servants (now PCS), the Trades Union Congress National Education Centre and EMA, now part of Bectu’s parent union Prospect.