OUR BOARD
Tresor Bukasa
Jill McKinney
Jill is the Director of Delivery and Skills at Sunderland Software City, a Tech Ecosystem Development organisation supporting the growth of the digital and tech sector. Jill has spent over 10 years working across the digital skills landscape, focusing on bringing industry and education together across the North East to create a strong, sustainable talent pipeline.
Alongside this, Jill sits on the Digital Skills Council, where she represents regional drivers for innovation and change, helping ensure skills strategies reflect the real needs of employers, learners, and the wider digital economy.
BOARD CHAIR
Paul Long
Paul is a founding member of MBD, an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation.
Since 1997 he has written, produced and directed over a hundred indoor, outdoor and online projects for a variety of settings. His work has appeared in theatres, galleries, festivals, historic houses, high streets, shopping centres, museums, castles, parks, basements, …. you name it.
As CEO, Paul has led MBD's transformation into an immersive media production company. Paul persistently pushes MBD to the boundaries of the Arts and Culture sector. Away from the office Paul enjoys food, films, and family (or any combinations of the above).
Paul is a research fellow for University of Leicester's Institute for Digital Culture, and industry fellow at Aston University. Paul speaks at conferences and evenyts as an advocate for the role of new technology in the arts.
BOARD MEMBER
Tresor Bukasa is an experienced migration specialist with a strong background in crisis and post-crisis settings. He brings extensive cross-cultural experience and a deep commitment to community development, having worked across multiple international sectors supporting people affected by conflict, displacement and humanitarian need.
A former airline pilot, Tresor holds an ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot Licence) and later transitioned into humanitarian and migration work. He has a master's degree in International Relations and an MA in Human Rights from Teesside University. Tresor now serves as a Service Manager with the British Red Cross, where he leads support services for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable communities.
BOARD MEMBER
John Girkin
BOARD MEMBER
John Girkin is Professor of Biophysics in the Department of Physics at Durham University. Before returning to academia, at Strathclyde University, John worked in industry developing the air puff tonometer for measuring the pressure in the eye and so has experience in both the industrial and academic sectors. His research is in developing optical instruments and he brings this physical science insight, technical expertise and experience to the Southpaw team.
His initial contact with Southpaw was in 2017 when he was involved in an Institute of Physics award to undertake interactions on “The Physics of Dance”. Here the physics of dance moves, and expressions, were discussed with cohorts of dance students with Southpaw. While in Scotland he ran the “Helensburgh Saturday Orchestra” a charity to encourage young amateur/beginner musicians to play together in an orchestra in particular leading successful funding applications to enable the Orchestra to grow and employ professional orchestral musicians as tutors on Saturday mornings. He has also been involved in various displays during Durham’s Lumiere Light Festival.
John brings the experience of applying for funding, from a wide variety of sources, and delivering complex projects which cross traditional disciplines both scientific and artistic.