Board member since 2021

Name of the candidate: Katie Paterson
Job title: Head of Strategy
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Citizenship/origin: Scottish
Artistic/geographical experience: Global

Name of the organisation / festival: Edinburgh International Festival
Membership category: Individual Festival
Country of the organisation / festival: United Kingdom
Festival art disciplines: Multi-genre performing arts
Annual turnover: £13.000.000
Number of visitors per edition: 124.000

Motivation: Having completed one term of service as a board member for EFA, I have a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities the organisation is facing and am really keen to continue to play a part in shaping its future as a board member.

At the point of my election in 2021, we were only just returning from Covid and beginning to plan a new phase for the association. I have greatly enjoyed being part of the discussion as to how we do that and to consider how we grow our membership and serve and the support the wide-range of festivals and associations that make up EFA.

As a board, we have worked hard to consider appropriate governance for the organisation. With my background and experience in supporting a significant governance reform at the Edinburgh International Festival, I feel I have a lot to contribute to this area and would like to continue to be able to do so through being part of the board.

In my role as Head of Strategy at the International Festival, I work across all areas of its operation and have an understanding of the work required to uphold our social responsibilities as well as our artistic ones. The Edinburgh International Festival is regarded as a world leading organisation but to retain this position we must consider our commitments to people, place and planet. We invest a lot of time considering the wider impact of our choices and actions and I can bring this knowledge and experience to EFA through my role as board member.

As a membership organisation, EFA is dependent on the annual income from subscriptions and this is a key revenue stream that we have to continually work to sustain and grow. As a board member, I will continue to help the EFA team to identify and approach potential new members from the Festival network.

I genuinely enjoy being part of the EFA Board. In my role as Company Secretary at the Edinburgh International Festival, I support our own Board of Trustees but through my role at EFA, I have been given the opportunity to take a seat at the other side of the table. It has been a great learning experience for me and I would be delighted to be able to serve for a further three years if re-elected.