Our trustees

Bob Hopkins Treasurer

Bob is a retired Chartered Accountant and has been playing an active role in EEBP for over ten years now.

His interests include chess, golf, learning Italian, music, current affairs and current developments in science, and above all watching several sports, but most prominently football.

Emma Clements

Emma has worked in education for over 30 years, predominantly in East Sussex, with additional experience teaching at an international school in Rome, Italy. Throughout her career, she has been committed to creating opportunities that enrich children's learning and prepare them for future success.

Her involvement with the Eastbourne Education Business Partnership began in the late 1990s while teaching at Stafford Junior School, where she worked with her class on an Eastbourne in Bloom project. Since then, she has remained a strong advocate for the valuable links between education and the wider community.

Since joining Stone Cross School and becoming a Board member of the Eastbourne Education Business Partnership, Emma has been proud to see the school fully engage in a wide range of partnership events and initiatives. She believes these experiences provide pupils with invaluable opportunities to develop not only STEM knowledge and skills, but also the communication, teamwork, resilience and problem-solving skills that are essential for their future lives and careers.

Gillian Parfitt

Gillian has had a longstanding career within the hospitality industry, working in luxury hotels within the De Vere Group and also five star hotels in London and Switzerland.

For many years Gillian had her own restaurant in Eastbourne before joining the University of Brighton as a Senior Lecturer in all aspects of hospitality management, including food preparation, service, sustainability and the environment, finance and HR management.

She was the Course Leader for the International Hospitality Management programme and supervised students on their year-long work placements around the world. The benefits of learning in a real life environment, outside the traditional classroom, is one of the reasons Gillian became a Trustee of the EEBP, where the experiential learning that students gain from EEBP events working with local businesses is immeasurable.

Hansa Raja

With a background in nursing and extensive experience in the charity sector, Hansa has held senior roles developing services, managing projects, and leading teams of staff and volunteers.

Hansa is the Founder and CEO of Holding Space, an award-winning charity dedicated to providing parent peer support to families whose children and young people are navigating emotional and mental health challenges. She also works as a lived experience partner with The Charlie Waller Trust and NHS England.

Hansa frequently uses her lived experience to educate in schools and corporate settings, and has appeared on radio and television to raise awareness of the difference parent support can make to children and young people's mental health.

She also offers training and workshops to organisations and businesses, focused on changing workplace culture through understanding and supporting the needs of parents and carers, as well as working one to one with senior leadership teams and HR specialists.

Mandy Purdie

Mandy Purdie is the founder and director of Recruitment South East, bringing over 25 years' experience in recruitment and a strong understanding of the skills local employers need.

As a trustee, she is passionate about connecting education with the world of work and helping young people develop the confidence, skills and opportunities they need to build successful futures.

Peter Marchant

CEO of Cavendish Education Trust and Executive Headteacher. An experienced and successful coach, communicator and leader, skilled at teaching and learning, developing others, ICT procurement, and project and estate management.

Peter has a proven track record of school improvement in both primary and secondary schools, resulting in Ofsted outstanding gradings in all areas. The Cavendish School has received national recognition, being ranked in the top 500 schools.

He has chaired a number of boards within the education sector and sits on boards within the charity sector, and has reviewed and inspected schools in the private and public sectors in the UK and internationally.

Robert Cottrill

Chief Executive Officer of Eastbourne Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Hastings Borough Council.

Vicky Orbell

Vicky is the Managing Director of Business and Skills at East Sussex College.

She has over 25 years' experience in business development, sales, marketing and stakeholder engagement across the education and commercial sectors.

As Managing Director of Business and Skills at East Sussex College, Vicky works with employers and partners to support skills development, employability and economic growth.

Mina O'Brien Programme Manager

Mina O'Brien is Programme Manager for the EEBP, where she works with schools, employers and partners to create events that help young people develop the skills, confidence and experiences needed for their future careers.

She is also the founder of Ditzy Media, a Director of Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and one of the organisers of Eastbourne Carnival. Through her work across education, business and the community sector, she is passionate about creating opportunities that make a positive local impact.

Sue Whittaker Consultant

Sue has over 30 years' experience working within the CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance) sector. A qualified teacher, she taught maths for seven years at a secondary school in the north-east of England before retraining as a qualified Careers Adviser. Sue worked in various roles within a number of careers companies across the south coast of England, providing training, advice and consultancy to teachers in a range of schools and further education colleges to assist them with their careers education and work-related learning programmes.

Since going freelance in 2010 as a Careers Education Consultant and Quality in Careers Standard Assessor, Sue has carried out assessments in schools and colleges in East Sussex and other areas of the country. She also works closely with Eastbourne Education Business Partnership as a Consultant and has helped to plan and deliver the annual careers and employability fair, The BIG Futures Show, since its inception.