Trustees’ Week: Career Spotlights
Welcome back to Trustees’ Week, the time of year to celebrate the incredible people who work behind the scenes to guide our charity and champion our students. Our Board of Trustees brings together an extraordinary range of professional backgrounds, life experiences and specialist skills to help Homefield thrive.
To mark Trustees’ Week, we wanted to share the inspiring career journeys of a few of our dedicated trustees, highlighting the unique paths that led them to governance.
David Jackson
Role at Homefield: Designated Lead Trustee for Safeguarding & Chair of the Teaching, Learning & Assessment sub-committee
David’s career path is a wonderful example of how trying different paths can lead you exactly where you are meant to be. Leaving school at 16, he initially trained as an apprentice electrical engineer in the local steel industry before returning to education to complete A levels and a degree in Applied Physics. After working in medical physics and training as a teacher, David taught Physics to secondary school students with learning difficulties. He then transitioned to become a residential social worker with adults who had learning disabilities, which ultimately drew him back into further education. From there, he became Head of Disability Support at Loughborough University and later Director of Student Services and Marketing at Leicester College.
“I think as well as picking up transferable skills, my message would be that it’s okay to try something to see if it’s for you – you can always move on if it’s not, but the experience you gain will always be useful. Sometimes, finding out what doesn’t suit you helps you to move towards something that does.”– David Jackson
Nicola Beer
Role at Homefield: Trustee – Teaching, Learning & Assessment sub-committee
Nicola is currently the Head of Digital Inclusive Curriculum Enhancement at Oxford Brookes University. Having worked in higher education for nearly 15 years, Nicola has held diverse roles centred on supporting others to innovate within their teaching and curriculum design. Passionate about making learning enjoyable through technology and creative tools like Lego or Play-Doh, Nik’s core focus is co-creating curricula alongside students so everyone feels their course is tailored to them.
Parminder Khaira
Role at Homefield: Trustee – Finance & General Purpose sub-committee
Parminder is an experienced finance leader with over 25 years of cross-sector expertise and a proven history of driving growth. Having supported corporate, private equity and PLC businesses, Parminder has held senior leadership roles at major organisations including Avon Cosmetics, Volkswagen, Holland & Barrett, DFS and currently at M Group.
Thank you to David, Nicola, Parminder and all our wonderful trustees for giving their time, expertise and passion to support our community!
Want to learn more about our board? Visit the Meet our Trustees page on our website to read about all our current members and the skills they bring to Homefield.
