We are delighted to welcome Sara Fernandez and Estella Wild to our Board of Trustees, who both bring their knowledge and experience in the voluntary sector, across mental health and social action. Their enthusiasm and ability will enable OCF to succeed in reaching the next stage of its development, as well as supporting our aim to broaden the skills base and diversity of our board.
Sara graduated from Merton College in 2009, where she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After university, she stayed in Oxford and grew the Student Hubs network, which runs volunteering and social action programmes in the higher education sector. She received a Cranfield Trust scholarship to complete an Executive MBA at Cranfield University, where she developed her vision to grow social action across Oxford City. She now leads the Oxford Hub, a place-based charity that brings people and organisations together to address inequality and build a better city. Sara is passionate about diverse trustee boards and has served as a trustee at Student Minds and Age UK Oxfordshire. Sara was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire in 2020.
Estella is a frontline manager within the Response Recovery Campus, a service which supports people with severe and enduring mental health issues on their journey of recovery and integration back into the wider community, following psychiatric admission or as a means of support to avoid admission into psychiatric hospital. She has 10 years’ experience in the voluntary sector, primarily working in mental health and housing settings, alongside a number of voluntary roles including volunteering with Tandem Befriending Service and Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis. She holds a degree in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford. Estella has joined OCF through the Oxford Hub Trustee Programme.
Sara and Estella join at a time when OCF is actively seeking more trustees, as well as a new Chair of Trustees. Nick Case took on the role of Interim Chair when John Taylor stepped down as Chair in March 2020. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic refocusing OCF’s priorities to responded to support local charities, in July 2020 the Board asked Nick to continue as Chair until early 2021. Nick will continue as an OCF Trustee once a new Chair is recruited.
OCF is committed to creating a more diverse board of trustees and welcomes applications from all sections of our community. Trustees are appointed for a term of three years and will be part of a trustee team that values peer support and personal development.
Meet our current Board of Trustees and patrons