The Team
The people powering the movement.
How Project RED‑D Came to Be
Over coffee and conversation, Project RED‑D was born — sparked by a shared concern between two leaders in athlete and dancer care: Pippa Woolven (founder of Project RED-S) and Karen Sheriff, former Head of Healthcare at The Royal Ballet School.
Karen saw the same risks that athletes face showing up in dancers — but without the same recognition, infrastructure, or support. And she knew something had to change.
With a background in elite dancer health and a drive for cultural change, Karen launched Project RED‑D — a movement created for dancers, with dancers, and led by a coalition of experts who believe dancers deserve more.
Meet the Executive Director
Karen Sheriff is a physiotherapist and healthcare leader with a deep commitment to changing how the dance world understands and supports energy availability.
Before founding Project RED‑D, Karen led The Royal Ballet School’s 28-strong specialist healthcare team, supporting 240 full-time students. Her work focused on prevention, injury recovery, and performance — with REDs support at the core.
Karen’s leadership is grounded in evidence and collaboration. She’s worked with academic leaders at Queen Mary University of London, St Mary’s University Twickenham, the University of Essex, and the NGO Podium Analytics.
Her mission? To help institutions go beyond awareness — and embed change
Our Core Team
Suki McConnon
Programme & Research Manager, Project RED‑D
Suki McConnon is Programme & Research Manager at Project RED‑D, where she leads the development of PRD’s educational resources and toolkits, coordinates impact research, and drives strategic growth through partnerships and funding opportunities.
A former professional dancer graduating from the English National Ballet School, she performed with the English National Ballet and around Switzerland as a freelancer. Suki brings the invaluable 'lived experience' of REDs to her role, combined with exceptional academic credentials, including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in pre-clinical medicine, medical sciences and musculoskeletal sciences from the University of Oxford, as well as a masters in performing arts medicine from UCL.
Suki has co-authored publications on performing arts medicine, delivered lectures on dance science, and worked in management consulting, giving her a unique blend of research expertise, strategic insight, and deep understanding of the dance world.
Suki is passionate about using her personal and professional experience to help shape meaningful cultural change in dance and to support dancers’ long-term health and performance as part of Project RED-D.