Dr Saphié Ashtiany

Iranian by background, Saphié Ashtiany has mostly lived and been educated in the UK.  She is a recognised expert in equality and employment law with a deep passion for the arts and a strong belief in their importance in our society.  She splits her time between arts organisations and those committed to social justice, working with a wide variety of organisations, ranging from the UN High Commission for Refugees to a major city law firm where she was the Head of the Employment and Equalities group. She has been an Equal Opportunities Commissioner, a director of Channel 4 Corporation, a director of the Oxford Playhouse and director and chair of the Equal Rights Trust.

She is currently a director and trustee of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and on the advisory council of the Welsh National Opera. She is also a trustee and chair of the Nationwide Foundation, which works for decent affordable secure homes, and a director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which works to eliminate destitution and economic precarity.