Broadening your perspective: Niro Dahanayake on growing through trusteeship

For Niro Dahanayake, Legal Director at Warner Bros. Discovery, trusteeship has been a chance to apply her legal skills beyond the corporate environment while supporting a cause she has long cared about. 
 
Niro joined the board of Ealing Book Festival in 2024. The charity promotes the enjoyment of books, reading and writing across the borough, from its annual literary festival and local author showcases to school events, competitions and poetry workshops. 

Turning a personal interest into long-term impact

Niro’s connection to Ealing Book Festival began with a lifelong interest in reading and creative writing.

Having previously volunteered with school-based literacy charities, she wanted to become involved in a more strategic capacity and contribute over a longer period.

“I wanted to take on more of a strategic role in this space, with the ability to make a difference in the long term. Becoming a trustee felt like a natural next step,” she explains.

The timing also appealed. When Niro joined, Ealing Book Festival had successfully delivered its first festival but was still a relatively new organisation with significant ambitions for growth. That meant joining at a stage where trustees could play an active role in shaping its future.

As Niro recalls, the charity was “small but rapidly growing”, with a successful festival already behind it and ambitious plans for what came next.

Since then, Niro has seen the festival expand its reach and continue to develop its work with authors, schools and the wider community.

Legal skills that travel beyond the day job

Some of Niro’s contribution draws directly on her corporate and commercial legal background.  She reviews and drafts contracts with partners, consultants and venues, applies her knowledge of advertising and consumer law to the festival’s marketing activity and advises on the charity’s constitutional framework.  
 
While some of her contribution is technical, Niro believes the value that an in-house lawyer brings to a trustee board extends well beyond legal expertise. The role draws on skills she uses every day, including analysing proposals, identifying risks and finding practical solutions.

As she puts it, “as an in-house lawyer I am well prepared to analyse new scenarios and proposals, issue spot and assess potential risks, but also provide solutions and mitigations”, all of which are valuable in a trustee role. 
 
That balance is important. Trustees need to identify risk and understand their responsibilities, but they also need to help an organisation move forward.

The ability to assess a new proposal, identify potential problems and work towards a practical solution translates naturally from an in-house environment to the boardroom. Trusteeship has also reinforced for Niro how transferable those skills are beyond her day-to-day legal role.

Helping shape a growing organisation

One of Niro’s most significant contributions has been helping Ealing Book Festival redefine its charitable objects, which determine the organisation’s purpose and the activities it can legally pursue.

Following discussions with the board and management team about the festival’s future strategy, Niro redrafted the objects to reflect a greater emphasis on writing and the charity’s ambition to serve under-represented communities across Ealing. She then prepared the documentation for Charity Commission approval, which was granted.

Although the work was legal in nature, its impact was much broader. The revised objects have given the charity a clearer foundation for pursuing partnerships and funding opportunities that support its long-term direction.

She has also helped develop the organisation’s complaints procedure, bullying and harassment policy, and behavioural values framework, work that she says has been important in shaping its culture and reinforcing values of respect, inclusion and accountability.

It is a useful example of how legal expertise can influence much more than compliance. In a growing charity, good governance can help create the structures, culture and confidence needed to expand sustainably.

Leadership beyond the traditional career path

Trusteeship has also given Niro exposure to areas outside her usual professional remit. On the board, she works alongside people with experience across accounting, marketing, fundraising and other disciplines.

That has created opportunities to learn while also taking responsibility for decisions that extend beyond purely legal questions. “Professionally, becoming a trustee offers so many avenues for growth and leadership, outside of the traditional linear career path,” she explains. 
 
For in-house lawyers whose day jobs already require them to understand the wider business, trusteeship can take that development further: “You have real decision-making ability and that extends beyond purely ‘legal’ topics, so it’s great for developing a wider commercial mindset,” she adds. 
 
Niro also points to the confidence that comes from seeing familiar skills work effectively in a completely different environment.

Alongside learning from fellow trustees and formal trustee training, the experience has given her “confidence in the value of my legal skills, and their transferability outside of my specific in-house context.”

Treat trusteeship as seriously as any other role

For lawyers considering becoming a trustee, Niro’s advice is to approach the decision with the same care they would give to a professional move.

A personal connection to the cause matters, but it should not be the only consideration. As she puts it, “Approach trustee opportunities in the same way you would apply for a paid job.” 
 
That means thinking about the type and stage of organisation that will suit you, whether that is a small, growing charity or an established institution with a larger board.

It also means being realistic about the time involved and understanding the responsibilities of trusteeship before committing. 
 
Niro recommends speaking to existing trustees, drawing on people in your network with board experience and using resources such as the Charity Commission’s guidance to understand what the role entails. 
 
Once that due diligence is complete, however, her advice is simple: “Don’t let uncertainty hold you back. If you’ve done your research and found a role that fits, go for it”. It is a rewarding experience and a privilege to be able to put your professional skills behind a cause you care about. 
 
Niro’s experience at Ealing Book Festival shows what that can look like in practice. Trusteeship has allowed her to support a cause she genuinely cares about while applying her legal expertise in unfamiliar situations, contributing to the strategy and culture of a growing organisation and developing as a leader beyond the boundaries of her day job. 

Interested in becoming a Trustee? Join the Taylor Root Trustee Network to access opportunities, resources, and a community of likeminded professionals ready to make a difference.