Meet the trustees

I’ve been a trustee since 2014, having come to know the Centre through my work with Zurich Community Trust (ZCT). I ‘retired’ after 35 years at Zurich in November 2016. Starting at Hambro Life, I worked for Allied Dunbar, Eagle Star, Threadneedle and finally Zurich - in customer services, investments, sales, marketing, governance…and charity, donating to, volunteering for and as Chair of Trustees for ZCT. I’m still a ‘retiree trustee’ for ZCT, also a trustee director of the Zurich UK pension scheme, a village cricketer in summer and a keen, but slower than I’d like, cyclist.

I have been involved in the Centre since 1984 when my Mum, Rosie Owen, started to use the Oxygen Chamber and I have been a Trustee since 2002. Being a Trustee for such an inspirational charity is a real privilege. As well as the “normal” Trustee jobs of keeping an eye on our services to Members and finances, I am the Safeguarding Trustee responsible for ensuring we follow best practice to protect Members from harm. I currently work full time at Nationwide Building Society but hope to reduce that as I am also studying for BSc in Nutritional Therapy with the aim of offering my services free to our Members in future.

My first real involvement with the Centre came in 2011 when I was asked to facilitate the creation of an updated business plan. As seems to be the case with everyone, I was struck by the amazing, supportive atmosphere and the range of therapies and activities that make such a difference to so many people. That, and the fact that a family member had been diagnosed with MS some years before, inspired me to want to do more, and I became a trustee shortly afterwards.Having worked briefly in banking and the oil business, and then for nearly 30 years in financial services, I joined Voluntary Action Swindon in 2015 and I am now the CEO there. Given VAS’s role as the ‘umbrella’ organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Swindon, this enables me to keep in touch with the Centre as part of my ‘day job’ too!

I’m passionate about helping others and contributing my little quota in making someone happy hence after my Master’s degree in Human Resource Management in 2010, I got involved in volunteering for the centre. I later became a trustee, in November 2012. Apart from the general trustee responsibilities, I’m also one of the trustees in charge of looking after our people (the members, volunteers and staff). I currently work full time as a Business Manager with NERC (NERC is part of UK Research and Innovation) but I’ve worked in various HR and Administration roles in the past.