Meet the Mentees

Ben Banyard-Phelps serves as Operations Officer at NPHT, bringing a strong background in administration, customer service, and data management from his previous roles with Hertfordshire County Council in Libraries and Data Protection. This experience has equipped him with a versatile skill set that he applies daily to support NPHT’s operational goals and ensure smooth, effective processes.

Ben is actively involved in NPHT’s mentorship programme to gain a deeper understanding of how to holistically support vulnerable individuals. He is keen to learn how personal and extra-work challenges can impact performance and wellbeing at work, enabling him to advise and support those he works with more effectively. Through this, Ben also aims to broaden his understanding of how different people learn and retain information, ensuring that work placements are accessible and supportive to a wide range of individuals with varying learning needs.

In the short term, Ben’s goals focus on delivering an inclusive, custom-tailored work placement programme that is sustainable for NPHT and provides opportunities to all interested participants, whether immediately or in the near future. His commitment is to foster an environment where both the organisation and its participants can thrive.

Daniel Reynolds is an Event Officer at Aylesbury Town Council with a strong commitment to developing creative, engaging cultural experiences within local communities. Since 2018, he has worked within the cultural events landscape, beginning with WhizzFizzFest for AVDC/Buckinghamshire Council, where he played a key role in shaping the festival into a platform that champions original work and inspires young people to explore creativity and culture.

Building on this foundation, Daniel has continued to develop and programme events that celebrate original creativity and community participation through his work at Aylesbury Town Council. His approach centres on creating immersive and meaningful experiences that encourage audiences to connect with ideas, stories, and each other.

Alongside his professional role, Daniel volunteers with a high street regeneration group in Chesham, contributing to the development of their arts and events programme. He has also been actively involved in leading several Arts Council England funding bids for the Aylesbury area, demonstrating his commitment to bringing high-quality cultural opportunities and investment into the community.

Daniel is driven by a belief that creativity has the power to connect people and spark meaningful change. He is passionate about finding imaginative ways to share stories through events, and finds the most rewarding part of his work in seeing audiences engage, reflect, and leave with a renewed sense of belonging or inspiration.

As an emerging cultural leader, Daniel is currently developing his skills in producing and programming with the ambition of expanding into freelance work. He aims to specialise in creating immersive festivals, performances, and cultural events that inspire emotional responses and bring communities together through powerful shared experiences.

Daniel Wilson, also known as Dan Wilson/Decreate, is a multidisciplinary artist and creative professional with over 30 years of experience across painting, design, illustration, graphics, print, web, signwriting, murals, and community art projects. With a background in Fine Art Painting, Daniel has built a vast and diverse portfolio that reflects both his passion for creativity and his commitment to engaging with communities through art.

Throughout his career, Daniel has worked with schools, councils, and community groups, volunteering for Wycombe Arts Centre for seven years, while leading workshops, art clubs, and large-scale projects. His practice combines personal artistic exploration with meaningful community engagement, emphasizing transformation, heritage, and environmental awareness.

Daniel’s love of art extends beyond his own work: he is inspired by music, film, theatre, writing, and subcultures, particularly graffiti, which he recognizes as one of the most significant global art movements. He maintains a lifelong personal sketchbook practice and continues to evolve his craft while exploring new ways to share his passion with others.

Currently at a crossroads in his practice, Daniel is focused on refining his approach for the next phase of his career—balancing personal creative work with community impact, expanding his professional skills in project management, business planning, and funding, and creating a lasting legacy of high-profile, transformational artworks. His ambitions include developing structured initiatives such as community murals, art trails, and supporting local artists and creative spaces like Wycombe Arts Centre.

Daniel shares his work and projects via his website www.decreate.co.uk and on Instagram @decreateuk, where he continues to inspire others to create, explore, and connect with art in all its forms.

Emma Large is a freelance theatre director, producer, and facilitator whose work is defined by curiosity, playfulness, and a deep engagement with movement. She has a particular talent for transforming spaces, exploring the architecture of each performance site to create experiences that feel both site-specific and immersive. Most recently, Emma directed two critically acclaimed productions for Aylesbury Opera and is developing a touring immersive theatre piece in partnership with Buckinghamshire Library Service and Buckinghamshire Archives, bringing one of her favorite theatrical mediums to audiences across the county.

Emma has a strong commitment to youth engagement and education in the arts. She currently directs at Dr Challoner’s High School, introducing students to Shakespeare for the first time, and maintains a longstanding relationship with the Birmingham REP through past volunteer and paid work with their Youth Theatre and schools’ programs.

Born and raised in Buckinghamshire, Emma’s creative practice is shaped by the county’s landscapes and communities. Her work often reimagines classic stories in radical ways, finding contemporary resonance while connecting deeply with local audiences. She is passionate about building opportunities for people to surprise themselves through arts and culture and has extensive experience producing work that reaches new audiences, including those who might not usually attend theatre.

Emma’s professional journey has been guided by both creativity and curiosity. After university, she worked as a librarian, reconnecting with her home community and exploring the power of culture in public spaces. This experience inspired her to develop projects such as the Rekindle initiative, which brought more arts programming into libraries. Dyslexia has presented unique challenges in her career, particularly in processing speed and navigating the business side of freelancing, but Emma has embraced these obstacles as opportunities to innovate and build systems that support her practice.

Currently, Emma is focused on establishing herself as a creative leader in Buckinghamshire, developing her personal brand, and laying the foundations for her own company. She is committed to fostering local creative networks, mentoring peers, and contributing to the county’s cultural landscape. Her long-term ambition includes speaking at the Bucks Culture Conference, sharing best practice, and advocating for creativity that is rooted in community, collaboration, and experimentation.

Dynamic, playful, and endlessly curious, Emma Large is a director and cultural leader shaping the future of theatre and arts engagement in Buckinghamshire.

Website: www.emmalarge.co.uk

Esther Joy Mackay is a writer, actor and theatre-maker, and the Artistic Director of The UnDisposables Theatre Company, a UK-based theatre company she founded in 2017. After training as an actor and writer, Esther found it difficult to break into the industry while balancing day jobs to support herself. Rather than waiting for opportunities, she created her own by launching The UnDisposables, initially as a platform for emerging artists through scratch nights and development opportunities.

Largely self-taught as a leader and producer, Esther has overseen every aspect of building the company—from administration and finance to creative direction and team leadership. After several years supporting new artists, she shifted the company’s focus toward fully produced theatre, developing a distinctive approach that blends storytelling with interactive and technology-infused performance. This innovative style has become the company’s creative niche.

Driven by a belief that theatre should be accessible to everyone, Esther’s work focuses on human connection, joy, and storytelling as a means of building empathy. She is particularly interested in breaking down traditional barriers to the arts and creating work that welcomes audiences who may not see theatre as “for them.” Through unconventional spaces, interactive experiences and inclusive practices, she aims to broaden who theatre reaches and who feels represented within it.

Esther leads a small core team alongside a network of freelance collaborators, guiding The UnDisposables as it grows its presence locally and nationally. Her long-term ambitions include touring original productions across the UK, presenting work at major venues such as Soho Theatre and Royal Court Theatre, and championing interactive theatre as a powerful form of contemporary storytelling.

Harsha Basu is a folk artist primarily inspired by Madhubani painting, one of India’s oldest traditional art forms originating from the Mithila region. Now based in the UK, her artistic practice blends cultural heritage with personal storytelling, using intricate patterns and vibrant colours to create expressive works rooted in tradition while engaging contemporary audiences.

Growing up in a traditional Indian household as the middle daughter, Harsha first discovered painting almost unknowingly as a form of therapy. Although she went on to study literature and work in the publishing industry, art re-emerged as an essential part of her life when she became a mother and struggled to find time for herself. Creativity became both a refuge and a way to reconnect with her wellbeing, helping her recognise the powerful impact art can have on mental health.

She is now on a mission to encourage people of all ages to make art part of their everyday lives. Harsha works actively with schools, museums and community organisations, delivering workshops and participatory sessions that use Madhubani art to engage audiences with creativity, heritage and wellbeing.

Harsha is seeking mentorship to deepen her understanding of museum learning and pedagogical practice. While she has developed valuable experience through freelance projects with schools, museums and community organisations, she has not received formal training in museum studies or learning officer roles. She hopes mentorship will help her bridge this gap, enabling her to design workshops that align more strategically with museum learning objectives, audience demographics and collection themes.

By gaining a clearer and more systemic understanding of museum learning—from programme design and curriculum alignment to evaluation—Harsha aims to strengthen and refine her practice. This will allow her to better customise her work for different institutions and maximise the impact of sharing the expressive, meditative and cultural value of Madhubani art with wider audiences, ensuring her approach is both sustainable and supportive of the goals of cultural heritage organisations.

Kafayat Adegoke is an independent creative whose work spans visual arts, performance art and music with a focus on amplifying diverse narratives within the arts and cultural sector. Her practice is informed by her lived experiences as a creative with disabilities affecting cognition and access, bringing a unique perspective to her artistic output and leadership approach.

Kafayat is at a pivotal stage in her career, seeking to transition into sustainable leadership within the arts. She is committed to deepening her knowledge of the wider arts and cultural landscape while gaining the stability and expertise needed to mentor and develop young creatives at scale. Her goal is to diversify her artistic practice, maximize the value of her creativity, and confidently leave a mark on the sector through impactful leadership.

Her advocacy extends to promoting inclusivity, challenging ageism, and amplifying marginalized voices, particularly for young people, queer communities, and those with unseen disabilities. By participating in this mentorship programme, Kafayat aims to build a resilient platform, learn from peers’ successes and failures, and craft a realistic long-term vision that ensures adaptability and relevance in a rapidly evolving industry.

Kafayat’s work reflects a dedication to broadening the creative narrative, inspiring equity, and fostering a more inclusive and vibrant arts community.

[Portfolio link: https://kafayatadegoke.art/]

Liezl De Wouters is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer and the Founder and Artistic Director of Dew Dance, a Buckinghamshire-based dance company dedicated to bringing high-quality contemporary dance to local communities.

Originally from South Africa, Liezl began her dance training in contemporary and jazz at the Broadway Dance Center in New York before continuing her professional development in the UK through the apprentice programme Elevate with Springs Dance Company. Her background is distinctive—having first trained and worked as an engineer before transitioning into a career in the arts, bringing a unique perspective to her creative practice.

Alongside her choreographic work, Liezl has performed with several companies including Infusion Physical Theatre, E33 Dance Company, and Alauda Dance, performing at festivals such as Brighton Fringe and Wandsworth Arts Fringe. She has also developed her choreographic voice through formal training, completing a Level 4 Diploma in Choreography mentored by Cirque du Soleil artist Rick Tjia.

In 2022, Liezl founded Dew Dance to create thought-provoking contemporary dance theatre while expanding access to dance across Buckinghamshire. The company produces performances in both traditional and unconventional spaces—from museums and gardens to community venues—and runs workshops and outreach programmes that encourage participation, wellbeing and connection through movement.

Through her work as a choreographer, performer and community arts leader, Liezl is committed to building opportunities for local artists and fostering a thriving creative network in the region, using dance as a powerful tool for storytelling, collaboration and community engagement

https://www.dewdance.co.uk

Millery (Millery.Design) is an artist, designer, and community-focused creative whose work spans murals, workshops, graphic design, and large-scale interactive festival installations. Always drawing as a child and painting on walls as a teenager, creativity has been a constant thread through Millery’s life. Today, that passion manifests in building immersive artworks, facilitating hands-on workshops, and encouraging others to discover their own creative potential.

After graduating from Camberwell in London with a degree in Graphic Design, Millery has gravitated toward projects with a positive social or environmental impact. Past work includes creating signage for Buckingham Edible Woodland and Transition Town MK, running school workshops that produce giant collaborative fabric murals, supporting community cob-building projects, painting bedroom murals for children, and designing and publishing environmentally themed booklets. Each year Millery also builds a giant human nest sculpture for festival-goers at the Green Gathering in Wales.

Alongside artistic projects, Millery co-founded The Rolling Oats, a mobile refill shop promoting low-waste living. Developing the branding, marketing, and website for the business provided an opportunity to combine creative practice with entrepreneurship.

Millery now works as an Art & Design Technician in a local school, where problem-solving for students and teaching practical creative skills supports both the next generation of makers and the continued development of personal artistic practice.

People are the driving force behind Millery’s work. Whether teaching a child a skill they’ll carry for life, building collaborative artworks that bring communities together, or transforming spaces through colour and creativity, the goal is always the same: to spark connection, joy, and a shared sense of possibility.

Rachel Young is an emerging creative professional with a growing interest in cultural communications and audience engagement within the arts. Currently working as Box Office Coordinator at Garsington Opera, she has gained valuable experience in the day-to-day operations of a major arts venue since joining the organisation in 2023. Her role spans front-line Box Office work alongside managing key projects such as dress rehearsal ticketing and OperaFirst, the company’s education outreach programme, providing her with insight into how audience development, education, and operational planning intersect within the cultural sector.

Rachel studied English Literature at University of Exeter, where she developed a passion for writing, before completing a Master’s in Popular Music at Bristol University**. Her academic background reflects a long-standing enthusiasm for music and performance, having grown up singing in classical and theatrical settings. A voice disorder ultimately redirected her career path away from performance, but this turning point led her to discover a new passion for supporting the arts behind the scenes and facilitating participation and access to creative experiences.

Alongside her role in opera, Rachel is developing an independent creative practice that combines writing and digital content creation, with a particular focus on accessibility and wellbeing in the arts. Drawing on her own experiences navigating barriers within a competitive industry, she hopes to build a platform that encourages more open conversations around creative careers, identity, and resilience.

As a mentee on the programme, Rachel is at an early stage in exploring her leadership potential within cultural communications. She is keen to strengthen her connections within the Buckinghamshire cultural community, expand her knowledge beyond the opera sector, and develop the confidence and skills to shape inclusive cultural narratives. In the longer term, she hopes to build a portfolio career that supports artists and organisations through thoughtful communication strategies while also sharing research, content, and potentially workshops that champion wellbeing and representation in the creative industries.

Tim Yorke is the Director of Heart & Soul Hub CIC, based out of Wycombe airfield. As a former fireman who’s dealt with trauma, the organization was setup and is dedicated to supporting adults recovering from mental illness, helping them rebuild confidence, learn new skills, and rediscover a sense of purpose through music, arts, and community engagement.

Tim is passionate about creating a venue that is both a thriving community hub and a versatile space for hire. He is seeking mentorship to strengthen his leadership skills, avoid common mistakes, expand his network, and support the development of the Heart & Soul Hub building within the community. Since welcoming referrals earlier this year, Tim has focused on growing participation despite the challenges of a smaller group, ensuring the hub becomes a central point for creativity, learning, and connection. His ultimate vision is a music and arts venue that fosters inclusion, wellbeing, and opportunity for all.

http://www.heartandsoulhub.com