Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
President
Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill became President of Oxfordshire Youth in 2007, when her father the 11th Duke of Marlborough stepped down from the post in favour of his daughter. Blenheim has been a supporter of our work for over 60 years since the 10th duke became President of the Oxfordshire Association of Boys Clubs as we were known in the 1960s. We are very fortunate to have Henrietta’s continued support and involvement.
Mike Watkinson MBE
Vice President
Mike has made a tremendous contribution to Oxfordshire Youth. In 1974 he became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and remained in post for 30 years. He is responsible for many major achievements including: massively expanding our support to other youth organisations, The A Team and the Van Project which were innovative mobile projects bringing physical activities and information to young people in rural Oxfordshire, creating the Community Sports Leader Award and introducing mobile youth clubs using an adored double-decker bus! Since stepping down as CEO, Mike has been an invaluable source of support as a trustee, and at various times as a treasurer, helping to steer Oxfordshire Youth at board-level. He has given five decades of dedicated service and Oxfordshire Youth is proud to have him as its Vice President.
Jodie Lloyd-Jones
Chief Executive Officer
In my leadership I am committed to deep system change in order to break down barriers and better the lives of young people. I am extremely dedicated to and passionate about youth work, youth voice and equality. In addition to my role as Oxfordshire Youth’s CEO, I am also Vice-Chair of the Children’s Trust in Oxfordshire, Chair of the Children and Young People’s Forum, Co-chair of the Charity Leaders’ Forum and a member of the Thames Valley Police, Violence Reduction Unit strategy board.
I am a keen runner and have completed many challenges including a 100k ultra marathon. I have two children and love to travel and be outdoors as much as possible.
Emmy O’Shaughnessy
Deputy CEO and Director of Innovation and Growth
I combine my personal experience of the care system with two decades of work in the voluntary sector. My career has involved targeted youth work in care-homes, pupil referral units and with young women survivors of exploitation as well as community arts design for regional and national youth programmes, fundraising, and most recently being a charity CEO.
I love music, theatre, reading, creative writing, time with family, walking in nature, meditation and early morning kitchen discos with my two boys.
Catriona Venters
Head of Finance and Property
I am a seasoned finance professional with a pivotal role in financial planning and forecasting. My commitment lies in transparent and collaborative reporting to all stakeholders. My passion centres around robust cash management, recognising its critical role in efficiently utilising funds to control and strategically plan for the successful execution of OY’s business plan.
Outside of my work, I take immense delight in baking and manage a sweet treats and wedding cakes business with my daughter. I love exploring the countryside with my dog and trying my hand at D.I.Y projects to see what I can create – apart from a mess!
Harriet Leach
Head of People and Culture
In my role as Head of People and Culture for Oxfordshire Youth, my job is to look after our staff team. I focus on recruiting our amazing people and I help to make OY a great place for everyone to work. Ensuring all our employees are able to access learning and development opportunities relevant to professional and personal ambitions is a really important part of my job. I also lead on seeing that OY lives out its organisational values as an employer by focusing on staff wellbeing and thinking about inclusivity, supporting our team members with everything they need to do their jobs well.
Outside of work, my passions are travelling, cooking and spending time in the countryside with my family and dog.
Natalie Petryszyn
Head of YPSA
I have 16 years voluntary sector experience in a variety of areas from sexual health, substance misuse and criminal justice, through to youth work, probation, prisons, homlessness and mental health. I am extremely driven, work well under pressure and love supporting others. I have over 10 years experience in operational management and take pride in supporting teams and services to make positive changes and deliver innovative projects and services.
In my spare time I enjoy visiting the gym, walking my two dogs Peggy and Olive and spending time with family and friends.
Tracy Blackstock
Head of Youth Development
In my role, I have strategic oversight across all of Oxfordshire Youth’s youth skills, youth voice and youth sector support programmes, including large scale events and high-quality learning and development for the sector. I have over 20 years’ experience in the design and delivery of community programmes and specialise in high-level relationship building and advocacy with partner and donor organisations.
In my spare time, I am a judge for ‘Jack Petchey’s “Speak Out” Challenge!’ which is funded by Speakers Trust, and I enjoy boxing sessions three times a week.
John May O.B.E.
Chair of trustees
I’m a campaigner, storyteller, writer, broadcaster, teacher, urban cyclist, occasional long-distance runner, habitual
chocolate cake eater and mischief-maker, and Chief Executive of the UK’s largest feline welfare charity, Cats Protection. I have spent my career supporting and leading voluntary, educational and charitable organisations in the United Kingdom and around the world. A strong supporter of Oxfordshire, I did my teacher training at Brookes, and have been involved with supporting young people in the county for more than thirty years. I became Chair of Oxfordshire Youth in 2023.
I believe in great youth work and the positive impact it can have on young people’s aspirations and achievements. I know that this happens by listening intently to the voice of young people, using their views of the world. We must be working with them in genuine partnership, treating them with respect, helping them develop stronger relationships and collective identities, respecting and valuing differences, and promoting equity and inclusion – all things that Oxfordshire Youth has done in the past and will continue to do.
Fiona Clarke
Deputy Chair of Oxfordshire Youth
I was Managing Director of the Educational and Children’s Division of Oxford University Press and then Managing Director of Egmont Books UK. Later, after studying philosophy, I became a magistrate, and worked as a consultant for youth and enterprise charities. Having worked on curriculum development and qualifications for the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy which supports young people to gain qualifications while running their own businesses, I put my skill set to good use at WorldSkills UK, Next Gen Skills Academy and the Combined Cadet Force Association. My hobbies include books, travel, tai chi, and my grandchildren.
Kate Riddle
Trustee with Safeguarding Responsibility
A trustee with Oxfordshire Youth since November 2020 I am the lead for safeguarding and Chair of its Safeguarding and Quality Impact committee. I started as a student nurse in London in 1980, working in community health services as a health visitor before moving to Oxfordshire with my family in the late nineties to work as a health nurse in schools. I moved into safeguarding services and then senior nursing leadership roles within Community and Mental Health services with oversight of training, supervision and quality governance plus working with partner agencies such as social care and education.
I am still a registered nurse and my current role is Head of Service for community hospitals providing inpatient rehabilitation for older adults. Outside of my career, I spend time with family, gardening, walking our dog and on long distance walks along national trails with friends.
Izzy Dharmasiri
Trustee
I am currently studying Political Science and International Relations at the University of Birmingham.
A passionate believer in the power of youth voice, I bring with me a wealth of experience from my time as a spokesperson for Girlguiding UK and as a British Youth Council Delegate.
Emma-Jane Hampsheir-Gill
Trustee
A doctoral student based in Oxford and passionate about youth social action, I bring a professional background in higher education supporting disabled and disadvantaged students to Oxfordshire Youth. A strong advocate for the importance of volunteering, I am the National Youth Participation Lead for St John Ambulance and an #iWill ambassador responsible for co-creating the national ten-year Vision for Volunteering. In my spare time, I can be found ice-skating, reading, or working on my latest crochet project.
Francesca Lee
Trustee
I am an experienced corporate and commercial counsel with extensive experience in working for well known firms including Shell, Barclays and BT. My current position is senior corporate/commercial in-house lawyer at Westfield Europe Ltd. with responsibility for its corporate social responsibility and community engagement matters. I am a previous Chair of Refugee Rights Europe and a mentor for sixth form students and continue to mentor business managers at Westfield and sit on the steering committee of Stronger Together which tackles modern slavery in supply chains. Married with two children, I enjoy opera, theatre, travelling, reading and cooking for friends and family.
Sam Lloyd-Jones
Young Trustee
Outside of work, I am a practicing druid and an enthusiast of ancient history, the occult, and all things wonderfully nerdy.
Craig Pinkney
Trustee
I have two decades of experience as an international gang exit strategist, transformational speaker, training facilitator, mediator, mentor and filmmaker. This experience means that I advise bodies such as The Premier League, the National Youth Agency, The Children’s Society, Police and Crime Commission Office, U.K. Violence Reduction Units and the Ministry of Justice in Jamaica.
I hold a master’s degree in criminology and don’t have much time for hobbies as I’m currently studying for a PhD in Social Sciences at Birmingham City University, as part of my mission to bring about change. I’m very proud of my work as C.E.O. and the driving force behind SOLVE: The Centre for Youth Violence and Conflict, and SOLVE Housing where I lead an organisation providing OFSTED-registered, nurturing environments in which children are free to grow up safely.