Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE has been announced as the first Chair of new cross-sector charity OKRE, an organisation that creates collaboration between the research sector, entertainment industries “and those with lived experiences” to create new ideas and content “to expand people’s understanding of the world.”
OKRE offers those working in entertainment, research, and social impact “four areas of opportunity” including “ access to a network of experts across the sectors, curated events, resources, and funding. ”
Thompson brings extensive experience in communications to the role and has advised corporates, public sector organisations, educational establishments, and government in championing equality, diversity, and inclusivity in the workplace.
Building on work in the Wellcome Trust, a UK research-based charitable foundation from which it emerged earlier this year, OKRE is already collaborating with organisations including Brown Girls Doc Mafia, an organisation that advocates for more women and non-binary people of colour in the documentary industry.
Other organisations that OKRE is currently partnering with include Cannes Festival, Unbound Philanthropy, an organisation that seeks to build “an immigration system rooted in justice”, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation that aims to improve the “natural world” and strengthen community bonds.
Other members joining the OKRE Board along with Thompson include Laura Clare, Director of Communications EMEA, Instagram. Existing members include Philomena Gibbons, Interim Director, Culture & Society, Wellcome Trust. The Board of Trustees sits alongside an Advisory Board, including recent double BAFTA Award-winning creative Michaela Coel.
Iain Dodgeon, Director of OKRE, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Yvonne and all the new Trustees and Advisory Board Members to the OKRE family. Over the past year, we have developed and started to deliver an ambitious range of activities, the impact of which we are already seeing. Working together with all the board members, it’s exciting to see where the next 12 months will take us.”
Thompson added: “I am delighted to be joining such an exciting global charity within the entertainment space with such a challenging agenda for change and betterment. I look forward to leading this change in any way I can with its eclectic and talented team in pursuit of our impacts and objectives.”
To learn more about OKRE, click here.
