Anna Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham Royal Ballet. She is a white women with short brown hair. She is looking down and smiling. She wears red lipstick.

Williams is a trustee for the Young Vic and the Theatre Development Trust and has served on a number of arts boards

Changing Faces

Cardboard Citizens names new chair

Arts Professional
2 min read

Arts and social justice charity Cardboard Citizens has appointed ANNA WILLIAMS as chair of its board of trustees.

Currently interim CEO at Aesop Arts and Society, Williams previously worked at Birmingham Royal Ballet for almost 30 years across several roles.

She is a trustee for the Young Vic and the Theatre Development Trust and has served on a number of arts boards including The Drum Arts Centre, Bath Festivals and Culture Central.

Williams succeeds PRUE SKENE, who has chaired the London-based charity, which makes theatre with and for homeless people, since 2016.

Skene says leading the board has been an immense privilege. “Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand the incredible impact it has made with supporting people experiencing homelessness, providing not just a voice but a platform for change,” she added.

Cardboard Citizens has also announced METE AKKEMIK is joining its board of trustees. Akkemik is vice president in strategic business operations for Capital Group and is the current sponsor of its arts community for the Europe and Asia chapter.

Williams and Akkemik join seven existing trustees on Cardboard Citizens’ board.

The board of trustees is supported by two members’ representatives, elected annually by the charity’s 120-strong membership, who all have lived experience of homelessness, poverty or inequity.

Actor and writer SHAHAB AWAD and GORDON BOOKER JR, a member of the charity since 2010, have been elected as members’ representaitives for 2025 and will represent the views of members in all board meetings.