Announcing Extant’s Operations Lead

Extant are delighted to announced that Summaya (Sammy) Musani has been appointed as our Operations Lead and starts their role in October 2026.

Our Artistic Director, Dr Maria Oshodi says: “We’re thrilled to welcome Sammy to the team as Operations Lead. This is an exciting time for Extant, and this role will be the first time that we have “co-piloted” a role. Sammy will be sharing the responsibility to deliver the operational side of the organisation with our sighted Operations Director, Ian Abbott. This co-piloting model is another example of organisational innovation that Extant has developed. We’re looking forward to Sammy learning about and understanding the intricacies of Extant, how it works now and how it needs to work in the future by working alongside Ian before taking on the role solo from the beginning of April 2027.”

Sammy embodies what it is to be a global citizen. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she has a strong background in community service, voluntary sector leadership, and lifelong experience of visual impairment. Skilled in nine languages, Sammy immigrated to the UK in 2023 whereupon she expanded her skill set to include community engagement, operational excellence and a structural understanding of disability laws within the UK. Sammy harbours a deep dedication to access for all and a commitment to drive change. Sammy lives with her partner in Oxfordshire and enjoys thrilling activities such as sky diving and ten-mile walks. She is an adventurous spirit who would try anything new just to experience it and is always on the lookout for her next challenge. Her latest personal goal is to complete a wing walk… much to her partner’s trepidation.

She says: “As a child, my first introduction to the theatre was… not being able to see it. At the time, I was too embarrassed to ask for better access, but I have come a long way since then. Which is why I’m ecstatic to join Extant at this time of radical change within the organisation. Extant has a remarkable track record of reimagining disability as a strength and access as something that should naturally flow outward from the inception of an idea rather than being tacked on as an afterthought. In short, if Extant had been operational when I was a child, I would have never felt left out of my first experience at the theatre. Which is why I look forward to supporting the organisation as we work together to deliver accessibility in the way it matters most – radically and unapologetically.”

September 2026