About us

I joined the Jon Egging Trust as CEO in November 2024, and it is an absolute privilege to lead this extraordinary organisation and contribute to a mission that truly changes lives.

Having worked directly with thousands of young people and families, I know all too well that many young people are denied the support and opportunities to succeed. I am passionate about ensuring that, regardless of socio-economic background, location, or experience, every young person has the opportunity to thrive, develop, and pursue their dreams.

Since 2011, I’ve dedicated my career to supporting young people through STEM programmes. I have managed large-scale national initiatives, including the STEM Ambassadors programme and the European Space Education Resource Office in the UK, as well as establishing Destination STEM.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed the life-changing impact of individuals and organisations working tirelessly to support young people. However, despite these efforts, systemic issues persist. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds still face significantly worse outcomes and fewer opportunities—a reality we must address.

The Jon Egging Trust plays a vital role in tackling these challenges. With its national focus on equipping young people with aspiration, motivation, and confidence, JET is uniquely positioned to lead meaningful change. By expanding the Trust’s reach and impact across the UK, we can help break down generational barriers and create brighter futures for the young people who need it most.

My role within the Trust is twofold: 1) to manage and advise on its financial and business decisions, ensuring the internal mechanisms are in place and the external partnerships are nurtured, and 2) to lead on the communications delivery and media strategy that translates our core values, enabling us to support and reach as many young people as we can, for as long as we can.

I became a Patron of the Jon Egging Trust in 2014 and am proud to represent its ethos and its work. The charity quite simply focuses on leadership, confidence and team work, the things that the military is really good at.

I am proud to have been a patron of the Jon Egging Trust since 2013; during that time I have been delighted to have witnessed and supported the charity’s growth and it is my ambition to continue to endorse the work of the Trust and its strong and natural links with the military.

I am absolutely delighted to be a Patron of the Jon Egging Trust. Having grown up in Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles, I witnessed many of my friends, young kids and teenagers, fall into a wayward lifestyle, many of whom did not recover from it – if only an organisation such as the Jon Egging Trust existed then, to provide hope, guidance and confidence.

As a Partner in a global professional services firm, over the last 20 years I have enjoyed engaging with many interesting and talented colleagues and business leaders all over the world. The nature of my business means that we recruit and train many young people. I have seen the great benefits of a challenging, broad and commercial experience and I want to inspire other young people to have the chance to enjoy these benefits through their own lives.

In 2012, I founded the Jon Egging Trust (JET) in memory of my late husband Flt Lt Jon Egging, to help young people who are struggling in life to overcome adversity and realise their potential.

At its heart, JET is about teamwork, leadership and developing students’ aspirations for the future. Through Jon’s experiences as an officer and pilot in the Royal Air Force, and my role working with young people at the British Museum, we both saw the transformative impact of providing young people with access to inspirational role models and supporting them to develop essential life skills; experiences which underpinned my vision for JET.

In 2012, I worked with JET’s trustees to develop our three-year Blue Skies programme; a high-impact methodology which has been refined by the JET team over the last 12 years and is now a well-regarded best practice model for developing social and emotional skills (the foundation for all learning) in order to change young lives for the better.

In my roles as Chair of Trustees and then CEO, from 2012-2024, I led the strategic direction, development and national expansion of JET’s vital work. I was keen to ensure that JET not only thrived as an organisation but that we became a trailblazer for best practice in the field of early intervention youth support.

Now, as a proud trustee, I continue to support the charity as an ambassador and work alongside the board and the JET team to provide top-level strategic guidance, champion the importance of high-quality fundraising, and ensure ongoing best-practice governance.

Young people are our future, yet in the UK today one in three young people are living in poverty and as a consequence are often just ‘getting by’. At JET, we believe that every young person should be supported in the fullest way possible to build their confidence, helping them to engage with learning and achieve a bright future. My dedication to JET’s work remains absolute, supporting JET’s talented team and our brilliant new CEO, to reach out to as many young people as possible, and continuing to advocate for JET becoming a go-to charity for government and the education sector in the future – helping to shape a fairer society for all.

I originally trained as a teacher and taught a variety of age groups at various schools and colleges over 15 years. After bringing up my three children, I re-qualified in 1998 as an Occupational Therapist – the most recent post leading a community team of Physiotherapists, Nurses and Occupational Therapists. In 2008 I made a further career change and took up the post of Head of the Disability and Learning Support Service at the University of Birmingham, supporting staff at the University to ensure that young people with disabilities are able to fully access their studies.

I have been a keen supporter of JET for over ten years, having first seen Emma interviewed on TV as she ran the Great North Run for the first time in the name of JET in September 2011. Her story and the way she described her passion to further Jon’s ambition by inspiring and helping young people had me captivated. I worked with one of the early Blue Skies programmes in Wiltshire and was bowled over by the young people I met – the change in their personalities from the early exercises to the final presentations was extraordinary, making it clear how JET could truly make a difference.

I have served in the RAF for over 25 years, having flown different fighter aircraft at home and abroad, including an exchange tour with the USAF. I have completed various ground tours in the UK and Washington, DC, all of which sharpened my strategic outlook and taught me the importance of personal connections to bring about meaningful progress. I continue to serve, having most recently finished a two-year tour as the Station Commander at RAF Lossiemouth, which was the most enriching and rewarding experience of my career to date. I am settled with my wife and two young daughters in northern Scotland, on the beautiful Moray coast. My interests extend to pretty much any outdoor activity, but my real passion is football, both playing casually and supporting Everton; neither display much quality at the moment, but I enjoy them immensely!

I aim to add the personal and professional experience I have gained so far to that of my fellow trustees to help keep JET growing and enhancing its impact, whilst retaining its close connection with the RAF.

A background in broadcast journalism and now working in the charity sector, overseeing communications and fundraising for an anti-slavery charity, I’m passionate about justice and fairness.

So many of the young people JET serves are by nature on the margins of society. The chances they have in life are not fair compared to those from much more affluent families and communities.

The team at JET though are making an extraordinary impact. That’s not just my word, evaluations of our work demonstrate it – so too the stories of the individual young people we serve. That’s why I am privileged to be on the Board of JET – using my skills and background to try to make a difference.

I have had the privilege of leading and influencing higher education for over three decades, holding senior executive and board-level roles that have shaped institutions and supported individuals in achieving their full potential. My passion lies in driving meaningful transformation, fostering innovation, and ensuring that education remains a force for positive change.

During my tenure as CEO and Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, I led strategic initiatives that prioritised student experience, academic excellence, and societal impact. Now, in my role as anExecutive Coach and Consultant, I am dedicated to helping leaders across different sectorsnavigate challenges, enhance their leadership skills, and drive lasting impact within their organisations.

I am deeply committed to my work with the Jon Egging Trust, where I proudly serve as a Trustee. The charity’s mission to support young people in developing confidence, resilience, and career aspirations resonates deeply with me. I am passionate about using my experience to empower future generations, helping them overcome barriers and build pathways to success.

Outside of my professional commitments, I enjoy photography, walking, travel and learning about the world and different cultures.

My professional life as a Chartered Accountant has mainly been spent in industry advising owner-managed businesses to help them navigate the strategic, financial and governance decisions they face in the pursuit of business goals.

Alongside this, I have, from my early twenties been involved, as a volunteer, trustee and non-executive director with organisations and charities that have worked and supported children and young people from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds. I am therefore aware of the link between low educational attainment and economic disadvantage and of the rise in that inequality in recent years, due to a range of factors such as Covid, an increasingly insecure housing sector and the recent cost of living crisis.

For those reasons, the work of the Jon Egging Trust resonated with me, and I am proud to act as a trustee.  I hope to use my experience in support of the important and impactful work they undertake. I am impressed by how the values of inspiration, teamwork and leadership underpin the trust’s work and how the commitment to the long-term support of young people aims to equip them with the confidence and motivation to engage with education and to establish and work towards their future goals.

Outside of my professional commitments, I relax by spending time outdoors, particularly walking and gardening. I also enjoy music, attending live performances whenever possible and singing with a local choir.