Dr Carol Sweetenham (Chair of Trustees) Expand Dr Sweetenham is a founder member of Aspire, and has been Chair of Trustees since 2014. She is a senior civil servant with a long track record in government and experience in local government, the voluntary sector and the European Commission.
Lesley Pollock Expand Lesley has been a solicitor in private practice since 1980, and working in Oxford since 2008. She is a director of Freeths LLP which is a national law firm. In her current role, she is head of charity property and head of residential property in the Oxford office, but also has over 30 years previous experience as a commercial property solicitor. She is a member of the Charity Law Association. Lesley has previously been a charity trustee for various charities, including a Housing Association, and has been a member of Aspire’s board since 2010.
Rose Rolle-Rowan Expand Rose has worked in local government for 9 years and prior to that worked in the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. Her background is in economic development, working with disadvantaged communities to support them into employment. Rose currently works as a manager for Oxfordshire County Council in the Organisational Development team in Human Resources. For Aspire, Rose leads on HR matters on behalf of the board for example supporting senior staff recruitment, encouraging a performance management culture, and acting as a sounding board for senior managers on HR issues. Rose also liaises with our external HR service provider on behalf of the board as required. Rose has been a member of the board since 2011.
Gareth Nixon Expand Gareth has been working in the digital sector in Oxford for over 20 years. He is the Managing Director of Global Initiative, a local digital agency working in digital health, education, and more recently, community projects. He brings knowledge of digital strategy and engagement, but only recently joined Aspire in 2018.
Richard Dick Expand Richard Dick is the Chairman and CEO of Lucy Group Ltd, which was established in 1812 as an iron founder and now has 1500 employees with a turnover of just under £200 million. Richard joined Aspire's board of trustees in 2018 and brings considerable commercial experience, local business contacts and a passion to tackle homelessness.
Mick Blowfield Expand Mick has four decades of experience in international development, much of which has involved helping build, fund and manage socially and environmentally oriented enterprises in poorer countries. He has a wide range of geographical and sectoral experience as well as first-hand knowledge of the different governance and organisational structures that help social enterprises thrive. He brings a mixture of theoretical and practical experience having helped develop types of social enterprise, and also being a senior academic at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and was Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Wolverhampton University. He is a published author on the role of business in society, and has advised a number of large companies in Europe and North America. For Mick, Aspire is the kind of organisation that can not only draw on his experience, but one that addresses his concerns about how to assist disadvantaged people. He has a special interest in tackling issues faced by people who experience mental illness, homelessness and special educational needs, and how these can be addressed through effective organisational strategies.
Emma Radley Expand Emma is Director of Fundraising and Communications at Winston’s Wish, a national charity supporting children, young people and their families after the death of a parent or sibling. She comes with over 15 years of fundraising experience in healthcare, education and, for the last four years, a children’s charity.
Paul Staines Expand Paul has recently joint the Board of Trustees and will play a role as our housing specialist, assisting us as we expand our role in this important area. Paul has worked in housing for local authorities in Oxfordshire for over 25 years covering both homelessness, housing advice and affordable housing development. He is currently the lead officer for delivering both accelerating planned housing development and additional affordable housing as part of a Deal between Oxfordshire councils and Government.
Hugh Richardson Expand After training as an accountant with PwC and a spell with the International Accounting Standards Board, Hugh spent 20 years in investment banking and general management with S.G. Warburg before becoming a bursar at an Oxford college and then director of finance at a leading school. He has been a trustee of many charities including those involved with the arts, urban regeneration, international development, sport, men’s health, survivors of human rights violations, and grant-giving, and remains engaged in a range of voluntary activities.
William Powlett Smith Expand William Powlett Smith is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, retiring in 2008 from Ernst & Young LLP after 25 years as a partner where he led the Anglo-German business development practice and subsequently the health sciences team. He then held two non-executive appointments with private companies and taught on the undergraduate programme at St Clare’s, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. For fifteen years (including five years as Chairman) he served as a trustee of Cecily’s Fund, which helps educate orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. He was a founding trustee of Charity Mentors, Oxfordshire which provides strategy mentoring for non-profit making organisations. In September 2016 he was appointed Chair of Northern House School Academy Trust, and currently he is Deputy Chair of Prior’s Court Foundation, a residential provision for young people with complex autism.