Taniya Bandopadhyay - Trustee
Taniya has over 9 years of work experience in human resources, managing diverse workforce and designing strategic people programmes to increase employee engagement and involvement. Over the years, she has developed a strong passion to help people and achieve corporate objectives. Taniya has participated in several CSR activities for various causes. The desire to give back to the society and make a difference in the development of young talent urged her to seek for this role with Oarsome Chance.
As a trustee, Taniya is committed to supporting the organisation’s values and mission, as well as implementing projects that will benefit people and co-workers.
When Taniya is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and reading.
Neil Budgen - Trustee
Neil is easily bored and cannot resist a challenge which probably explains why he walked out of school one morning and took the first job he was offered. However, Neil wasn’t wired to work for others, and went on to start, buy, merge, and sell 14 business operations both in the UK and New Zealand.
Neil has been an active member of several business organisations and served several terms as Chair of the Hillingdon branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and was branch representative to the FSB London Policy Unit.
Neil’s commitment to recycling his knowledge and experience as a volunteer includes mentoring over 45 business owners and a team of five year 11 students who won first prize in a national Health and Safety competition. Neil also assisted with the ongoing restoration of the world’s oldest working steam driven heavy lift ship, the Hikitia, in Wellington NZ for the duration of his 10 years in NZ.
David de Kretser - Trustee
David is a finance professional with a career spanning 30 years; he retired from the position of Head of Office with Brewin Dolphin Winchester and prior to that was a director of multiple private companies.
David is also a Member at a local, Southampton based school and has a particular focus on the youth education sector and social enterprise. David provides leadership and management support to the charity with the aim of making Oarsome Chance more effective in achieving their mission of supporting young people in Hampshire.
A passionate advocate for helping individuals find and fulfil their potential, David became a Trustee with Oarsome Chance in 2022.
Simon Mortimore - Trustee
After "not doing very well at school” and in the time before the Internet and mobile ‘phones, Simon started his career journey as a reservation agent in an airline call centre. This provided the opportunity for him to find his passion, which is helping organisations use information to make decisions to deliver what they do effectively and efficiently.
Built across many countries in both the public and private sectors, his experience has been in the airline, software, marketing, business services and healthcare industries. Before returning the world of self-employment his last role was as a member of the leadership team of one of England’s 11 ambulance services.
He has always been passionate about helping people find a path in life for them to achieve their potential when traditional routes do not work.
Simon met his partner over 36 years ago at evening school and has lived in East Hampshire for over 20 years. When time allows his other loves are: social history, flying (he holds a private pilot’s licence), and supporting Brentford FC where he has been a season ticket holder for many years.”
Gil Robertson - Trustee
Gil is passionate about the power sport has to really make a difference to young people’s lives. She has been involved in the sport, and more recently sport for development sector for over 20 years and brings experience from different areas across the UK, including Havant, Portsmouth, Dundee, Birmingham and London.
Having worked alongside education and other teams supporting young people Gil has seen first hand how sport can enrich learning in a positive environment.
Having not attended university at a younger age, Gil has recently completed an MA in Sport Development & Management at Solent University.
Graham Whitehead - Trustee
Graham has many years of experience working at a senior level in the charity and education sectors as well as a thorough understanding of the challenges of working with young people with very high needs.
Graham has been a CEO of five charities, and he has worked within the SEND field and now runs his own consultancy
Neill Young - Chair of Trustees
Neill brings a wealth of experience from his work in the voluntary sector to Oarsome Chance. During his career Neill has been in supporting a variety of beneficiaries including, children and young people, the victims of crime, those needing support with debt advice and people affected by cancer. He started his career as a journalist before moving into marketing and fundraising roles in the charity sector. For three years Neill was the Cabinet Member for Education and Children Services at Portsmouth City Council.
He is currently studying a MSc in Voluntary Sector Management at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes Business School in London. Neill lives in Portchester with his partner.