Corporate Governance

My name is Alison Blight. I was attracted to Activate Learning primarily because my youngest son successfully completed GCSE and Electrical Installation courses at the City of Oxford College and later at the technology campus at Blackbird Leys. I saw how motivated the staff were; they  really enabled him to build important skills for a worthwhile career as a fully qualified electrician.

I felt I could contribute as a Governor using my career experience from the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office where I worked with large, complex organisations in health and social care.

In 2010 I was responsible to the Care Services Minister in the Department of Health reporting on adult social care across the South East. More recently I worked for social care directors in the region co-ordinating their response to Covid.

I understood from this work that further education colleges such as Activate Learning are vital to provide staff who have the right core values for caring work and who have been well trained.

In addition, I have an interest in mental health with 10 years’ experience as a Trustee and Chair of Restore, a mental health rehabilitation charity based in Oxfordshire.

My personal and professional experience is closely aligned to the values and aims of Activate Learning. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the organisation as a Governor.

Hello, my name is Lesha Chetty.

I currently lead the local government sector, arts, culture and heritage, and sports and leisure sectors for Mace Consulting, across the UK.

I wanted to work with Activate Learning as I feel really passionate about education and the role that we as a community have in educating others. I'm actually local to Oxford, and I think there's a real opportunity for us to actually integrate learning, training, and skills more in terms of what we're doing in the community and how we actually drive that message home.

Within the role that I do in the local government sector, my focus is really on social value. Skills and training are such a huge part of the way that we can actually transform places and communities, so for me, I feel really passionately about it.

My name is Katharine Horler and I became a Governor of Activate Learning in the summer of 2024. I spent 22 years as the Chief Executive of a charity that specialised in supporting young people and adults to transform their lives through education and training.  I stepped down from that role in April 2023 and now run my own business focusing on careers guidance consultancy, Executive Coaching, facilitation and mediation.  I balance all of my paid work with pro bono support for organisations such as the local hospice.  I’ve had lots of experience of Chairing organisations and being on Boards which I hope will be useful in my new role with Activate.

I am excited about joining Activate Learning and getting to know the students and staff better.  I worked with Activate in my previous role and was impressed by the culture of the organisation across all of its sites and the Learning Philosophy which is refreshing and inspirational.

I have a passion for young people, especially those who have faced challenges in life and have been fortunate to meet some truly exceptional young adults from whom I learnt an enormous amount.  I originally trained as a careers adviser and spent a number of years working with young people with special educational needs.  I look forward to applying this experience to my role as a Governor.

Hi, I'm Meheryar. I'm currently a manager at Ernst & Young LLP, delivering audit and assurance services to a number of clients, from start-ups to FTSE 350 and global businesses.

My experience is significantly technical, particularly in the reporting and auditing areas, as well as dealing with environments subject to high levels of change and helping teams navigate through evolving landscapes. I've worked with the company since 2014, having started a graduate program with Ernst & Young, following completion of a BSc in Accounting and Finance. I'm also qualified as a Chartered Accountant, receiving my qualification with the ICAEW in 2015.

I believe that being a governor will provide me with a unique opportunity and insight into the education industry, as well as being part of an organisation that contributes greatly to society. The ability to have an impact on the future of students has encouraged me to become involved with Activate Learning.

In my private life, my interests include both the automotive and aerospace industry. I'm a regular attendee of car and air shows.

Smitha is currently a finance manager at bp, delivering the commercial, financial and performance agenda for a business unit within Castrol. Her experience has almost always been in the business, taking part in key decisions to deliver strategic objectives.

Smitha was a Governor previously with a senior school, before joining Activate in Dec 2023. The opportunity with Activate has broadened her knowledge and experience in the education sector. She has always been passionate about education – in particular women’s education. As someone who is the first female to attend University in her family, she is deeply aware of the positive impact education can have on an individual’s life. And so, the Governor’s role is something she cares about deeply as it has the potential to influence the lives of young people. She hopes that her passion for education, life experiences and business & commercial knowledge will benefit the communities that Activate operates in.

Outside of Activate Learning, in my role as the Head of Digital Teaching and Learning, I focus on innovating education through technology. My entire career has been dedicated to education, particularly within the further education sector. I began as a teaching assistant before training as a teacher, working closely with young people experiencing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Supporting inclusive learning environments is deeply personal to me and remains a cornerstone of my work.

With over 30 years of operational leadership experience in customer service and people development, I am deeply passionate about the power of learning and its ability to transform lives. Throughout my career, I have focused on coaching, mentoring, and supporting individuals to reach their full potential, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and personal growth.

As a former Regional Manager at Sky UK, I led a large team, placing a strong emphasis on well-being and mental health support, serving as the National Mental Health Champion. This role reinforced my commitment to ensuring that mental health and emotional support are integral to any learning or work environment.

I am a qualified trainer and have specialised in delivering courses in mental health first aid, suicide intervention and safeguarding, I am also currently studying towards becoming a therapeutic counsellor and hope to use all these skills in my new role.

Now, as a Governor at Activate Learning, I am excited to contribute to the strategic leadership of an innovative educational organisation with an inspirational learning philosophy. My goal is to help shape a positive learning experience that prioritises well-being and equips learners and employees with the skills and support they need for future success.

I joined Activate Learning as a governor in December 2020 and sit on the Search and Governance Committee and the Quality and Relevance Committee.

I am a board director of Innovate Surrey Ltd. (ISL) where I promote and advise on University of Surrey’s innovation ecosystem, which includes industry engagement, commercialisation of intellectual property, development of spinouts, spin-ins, start-ups and scaleups and investment funding. ISL provides oversight of the management of Surrey Research Park (innovation and research).

I was Chair of Surrey Research Park Advisory Board until recently when ISL was established.  SRP is the fourth largest research and science park in the UK with over 130 innovative companies based over 70 acres. The Park is part of the University of Surrey with crucial links on research, provision of work experience and jobs. Provision of skills continues to be a top demand of companies on the Park.

I was the chief executive of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership until the end of July 2022. At EM3 I worked with others to create the environment for businesses to grow and flourish across Hampshire and Surrey, securing over £250m to support innovation, skills and infrastructure improvements.

I have a passion for joining up people and initiatives and was the lead CE for Catalyst South, an alliance of six LEPs that championed the importance of the business community across the South. I was also the cluster lead for the four growth hubs supporting businesses in Hants, Surrey, Berks, Solent, Sussex and Brighton.

I have nearly forty years of experience of working with businesses and people to support economic growth, first in helping the long term unemployed to get jobs, then in work to support young adults get training and assisting business to start up, scale up and grow. I spearheaded the first skills strategy produced by the South East England Development Agency and championed work to get girls in schools interested in IT careers. I'm passionate about achieving greater diversity on boards and in teams. I was honoured to see my work on economic development across the South of England recognised when I received an OBE for the work in 2017.

I live in Oxfordshire and enjoy the local countryside and unwinding in my garden.

Hello, my name is James Voûte and I’m delighted to be a governor for Activate Learning.

I became a governor in October 2021 because I was motivated to make a difference to young people’s education and to help them succeed. I’m a sales and marketing leader in the publishing industry and have a strong professional interest in digital learning.

Since joining Activate Learning I’ve been greatly impressed by the passion and engagement of our staff and students, and the very high standard of facilities across our campuses. I’m also a link governor for the Activate Learning Education Trust, so I’m particularly focused on the performance of the seven schools in our portfolio.

Hello, my name is Daniel Willis.

I am the Group Contact Centre Manager at Activate Learning. My team look after customer enquiries via both telephone and email, alongside application processing received on our websites and in person.

In terms of my background, I have worked and studied at Reading College and Activate Learning since 2013 and have the unique advantage of having seen both sides of the organisation, as a student and as a staff member.

Alongside my day-to-day role, I am also the staff governor and have been in this role since December 2021.

I became a governor as I had a lot to give in terms of my perspective and experience, which I felt would be an asset to our governing body. From a personal perspective, I also wanted to gain further insight and understanding into strategic thinking and planning to help progress my career further.

Currently, I am still finding my feet in the role, but I hope to have real impact in the coming months with the potential of myself becoming a link governor for sustainability.

This will entail ensuring that we are meeting our sustainability key driver: I’ll be working with staff, students, and employers to make sure that everything we do takes into consideration the impact on our local and global environment.