© 2026 The ERD Connection. Registered Charity: 1203440.
Liz is the Lead Producer of the ERD Connection. She is passionate about the benefits arts and culture can bring to human beings and to the places where we live.
As a producer Liz gathers talented professionals and the required resources to deliver creative activities that have constructive outcomes and celebrate those that take part. She is committed to removing barriers to participation and including people who may be overlooked.
In 2020, Liz started what is now Stowmarket Youth Theatre, using the power of theatre to engage with young people. See more Here
In the past Liz has worked for organisations including BBC Television, ITN and Lewisham Youth Theatre. In 2018 and 2019 she was the Aldeburgh Festival Producer and Engagement Officer for High Tide theatre company. Most recently she has produced projects for the Food Museum in Suffolk and delivered “Jubilant!” for the Stowmarket Culture Group – a project involving 10 creative practitioners and 275 children and young people from 10 local schools culminating in a free mini-festival of their amazing art works showcased across town!
“Within a project, I enjoy balancing the needs of all stakeholders be they practitioners, participants, funders or audiences and aim to achieve positive results for everyone involved.”
Liz is a member of the Stowmarket Culture Group and a Trustee of Spinning Wheel Theatre Company.
Ivan was a founding member of Eastern Angles Theatre Company, based at the Eastern Angles Centre in Ipswich, and until recently their Artistic Director. He directed much of the company’s work as well as devising and writing many new plays inspired by East Anglia’s rich heritage. Notable projects include The Wuffings presented at Notcutts, Forty Years On, a three-year arts and archive project in Peterborough, Private Resistance, a play about World War II East Anglian Auxiliary Units, Red Skies, a putative meeting between Arthur and Evgenia Ransome and George Orwell, and Medieval Miracles exploring the drama and pageants of Ipswich and East Anglia. Ivan is Chair of East Anglian Traditional Music Trust, and helped form New Heritage Solutions which managed Eighth In the East and Harwich: Sanctuary and Surrender. He has an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Suffolk.
Graham is a creative artist, senior arts manager and cultural strategist. He began his career as an opera and stage director and writer running the successful new writing and music-theatre company, Major Road, for over 20 years whilst also working freelance for the National Theatre, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne, Sydney Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival and several regional theatres. He has served on numerous Arts Council and Government committees and authored/co-authored various publications. In 1999 Graham became Deputy Secretary General and Acting Chief Executive of the Arts Council of England (ACE) and was appointed CBE in the 2010 New Year’s honours list. He also spent many years as a Trustee on the Boards of the Royal Court Theatre and Diverse City.
Karen is a Suffolk-based Independent Creative Producer specialising in bid-writing, community engagement and the development of new plays. Before going freelance she worked for the New Wolsey Theatre, Red Rose Chain, the East Anglian Daily Times, Top That Publishing and Eastern Angles. During her 10-year stint at Eastern Angles she developed a keen interest in New Writing and small-scale touring. Most recently Karen has been working as Associate Producer for HighTide focusing on tour-booking and project evaluation. www.karengoddard.net
Lucy is a museum professional with 15 years of experience in collections and exhibition development. She is currently working for the Migration Museum and volunteers in her spare time at the Food Museum in Stowmarket. Previously, she worked as Suffolk’s Museum Development Officer, supporting Suffolk museums of all sizes with any questions they had, from governance, to public engagement, to recruiting volunteers. Before that she worked at the Imperial War Museums for more than a decade, including six years at IWM Duxford, linking up the American Air Museum redevelopment project with the expertise held by the many smaller airfield museums across the East of England.