Co-Director of NCACE and The Culture Capital Exchange (TCCE)
Suzie Leighton is Co-Founder and Director of both the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) and The Culture Capital Exchange (TCCE), where she has been at the forefront of developing creative, equitable, and impactful collaborations between higher education and the arts and culture sectors.
With a career spanning leadership, strategy, and partnership development, she has led major national initiatives including The Exchange (co-funded by HEFCE and Arts Council England), and was a Co-Investigator on Arts Council England’s flagship Boosting Resilience project.
Previously, Suzie worked in dance and theatre production and management, and at Arts Council England as Senior Officer for Dance, including a secondment to the DCMS Select Committee.
She has extensive governance experience, currently serving as Independent Governor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Co-Chair of Jasmin Vardimon Company, and trustee of Duckie.
Deeply interested in how sustainable infrastructures for collaboration can be built, Suzie is committed to championing inclusivity, creativity, and co-creation, and to shaping environments where ideas can flourish and deliver meaningful social and cultural impact.