Group Leadership Team

Just like many volunteers, I first started volunteering with the group when my son’s Beaver section were looking for additional help! I’d previously helped at another local group with my eldest which I’d really enjoyed, so l jumped at the chance and I’m so glad l did!

I have been a part of 1st Aylesbury since 2009, with Beavers for over a decade and then l had the fun of building a team of volunteers to open the first Squirrel Drey in Aylesbury in 2022.

My role as the Group Lead Volunteer is all about providing direction and support to develop our group and ensure its sustainability. I’m enjoying every minute and proud that I’m helping to create opportunities for young people and adults in my community.

I’m also an avid crafter and enjoy being part of a local yarn bombing group!

I joined 1st Aylesbury as an assistant section leader for Alder Beavers after I helped at their summer camp as a parent. I got the bug after feeling nostalgic of my scouting days with 1st Thame as a child and wanted to do my bit to pass that on to more young people.

From January 2023 I took the leap to restore the Gates cub pack after the leadership team and numbers had dwindled and became the new Akela. I was sad to leave the great Alder section but I am proud of what Gates has become in that time! We have lots of fun and adventures. We love badgework and focussing on scouting values, with a healthy mix of games and getting outside as often as we can. The leadership team is strong and the scout centre is always full!

Having been a Cub at Gates and a Scout at Disraeli for 1st Aylesbury, then a Young Leader and Section Assistant before leaving for Lancaster University, it was only natural to return to the Group after finishing my studies.

In April 2023, I joined as a Trustee and the following year I took on the Section Leader role for Rothschild Scouts, allowing me to give back to the community which provided me with so much growing up.

Whilst at University, I served as Social Secretary and, later, President of Lancaster SSAGO (Student Scout and Guide Organisation), and in 2015, I attended the World Scout Jamboree in Japan as a participant. The latter being something I hope we can empower our Scouts to achieve in 2027!

Outside of Scouting, I work as an Infectious Disease Statistician at the University of Oxford and am very passionate about sports and, perhaps surprisingly, the Eurovision Song Contest!