Our Team

Dea Merkaj is the Head of Education, Training & Employment (ETE) at Aspire. With over 11 years of experience in youth services, she has dedicated her career to helping young people—particularly those facing complex challenges—access opportunities to thrive.

Her background spans frontline support, programme development, and strategic leadership, all driven by a deep commitment to empowerment, inclusion, and long-term impact.

In her role at Aspire, Dea leads the organisation’s efforts to design and deliver high-quality education, training, and employment pathways. She works closely with partners, employers, and community stakeholders to build tailored support systems that meet the diverse needs of Aspire’s clients. Dea oversees service delivery, develops innovative programmes, and ensures that every person Aspire supports has the tools and confidence to move forward in life.

Nicci was most recently the Director for Early Intervention at the Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, a position she held for six years. In this role, she led strategic, partnership and operational plans for early intervention and targeted support. Starting her career in housing and benefits, Nicci has also been a Regional Director for Family Action, led delivery of the Troubled Families programme and held strategic roles in community safety, working closely with partners like health, probation and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Nicci has considerable experience of commissioning and delivering services to support people with challenging circumstances and complex needs. She has a genuine commitment to co-design and production to ensure that people and communities have access to the support they need when they need it. Nicci offers an impressive track record of supporting organisations to deliver effective impactful services and attract and secure funding for new initiatives.

Jessica has been on her Aspire adventure since 2018. Initially within the Trailblazer Project, through supporting the establishment, and delivery of, Aspire’s own Homelessness Prevention service to, most recently, extending her oversight to all Housing and Homelessness Prevention services at Aspire. Our accommodation focuses on progression support – enabling our residents to grow their confidence and abilities and to embrace options and opportunities to move on to safe, secure and stable lives. Jessica also works in collaboration with The Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance in our collective provision of Homelessness prevention and Housing First. Jessica has spent 10 years working in services offering support to overcome exclusion.

Justin, who joined Aspire in 2021 to lead finance, human resources, information technology and facilities, loves using his skills and experience to bring value and continuous improvement into the third sector.  He is a Chartered Management Accountant, holds a Masters in Business Administration and has over twenty years experience working in both commercial and non commercial environments, including ten years in one of the UK’s leading international charities and an extended period volunteering outside the UK, with a Christian charity, focussed on supporting breaking the cycle of poverty caused by leprosy through the provision of healthcare and schooling.

Christina has over 20 years experience of employment support, at Aspire and in her previous employment with DWP. She has worked at Aspire for 7 years and has led on the programme delivery of all Youth Service activity, including creating employment and training opportunities for young adults. Christina is now responsible for all Aspire Education, Training and Employment programme delivery to include Get Connected, Restart, Social Prescribing and Aspire’s core ETE team. Christina is also the senior manager with overall safeguarding responsibility.

Richard Dick is the Chairman and CEO of Lucy Group Ltd, which was established in 1812 as an iron founder and now has 1500 employees with a turnover of just under £200 million. Richard joined Aspire’s board of trustees in 2018 and brings considerable commercial experience, local business contacts and a passion to tackle homelessness.

After training as an accountant with PwC and a spell with the International Accounting Standards Board, Hugh spent 20 years in investment banking and general management with S.G. Warburg before becoming a bursar at an Oxford college and then director of finance at a leading school. He has been a trustee of many charities including those involved with the arts, urban regeneration, international development, sport, men’s health, survivors of human rights violations, and grant-giving, and remains engaged in a range of voluntary activities.

William Powlett Smith is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, retiring in 2008 from Ernst & Young LLP after 25 years as a partner where he led the Anglo-German business development practice and subsequently the health sciences team. He then held two non-executive appointments with private companies and taught on the undergraduate programme at St Clare’s, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. For fifteen years (including five years as Chairman) he served as a trustee of Cecily’s Fund, which helps educate orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. He was a founding trustee of Charity Mentors, Oxfordshire which provides strategy mentoring for non-profit making organisations. In September 2016 he was appointed Chair of Northern House School Academy Trust, and until 2023 he was Deputy Chair of Prior’s Court Foundation, a residential provision for young people with complex autism.

Chris Blackburn recently retired as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Oxford Brookes University Business School where he had spent three decades in a variety of academic and managerial roles. Prior to his career in Higher Education, Chris worked in marketing communications and advertising  with major organisational clients such as Unilever, Colgate Palmolive and Associated Newspapers, covering a range of well-known brands from breakfast cereal through beer to banking. One of his early clients was the housing charity, Shelter. In addition to his role at Aspire, Chris also acts as a review panel chair and institutional mentor for the European Foundation for Management Development which accredits international university business schools. He is also a qualified personal development coach.

Clare qualified as a nurse in 1994 and has received her long service award for 35 years of work in the NHS. During her career, Clare has worked in the Emergency Department, Bullingdon prison, as a team leader in Health Visiting, and as a consultant for the Department of Health on a violence reduction initiative in emergency departments, part of the cross-government tackling knives action programme. Clare has presented violence reduction work methods at numerous conferences in the UK and has published an article on violence reduction in emergency departments using the Cardiff model. Clare completed her MSc in Public Health in 2016, with a focus on the impact of Domestic Abuse on health outcomes, and now works as a health improvement practitioner for Oxfordshire County Council Public Health Directorate, where she supports the work of commissioning Domestic Abuse services. Through her career, Clare has balanced her professional commitments with volunteering for Simon House homeless hostel, various nursing roles, weekend foster carer for children with disabilities and as membership secretary and coach for the falcon canoe and kayaking club.  As a trustee for Aspire, Clare brings skills in strategic working, commissioning services, identifying gaps in services, identifying unmet needs, and partnership working.

Helen, born and raised in Oxfordshire, has built a distinguished career in the recruitment industry over the past 17 years. Her professional journey includes significant roles at AirTanker, where she played a crucial part in supporting the company’s growth, and at Oxford University, where she led recruitment for senior appointments and spearheaded an ambitious apprenticeship strategy to support young people entering the workforce.

More recently, Helen co-founded Intake Talent, a recruitment company dedicated to supporting the next generation of talent. She is now focusing her time on assisting organisations in recruiting skilled workers and navigating the apprenticeship landscape. Helen’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social mobility aligns perfectly with Aspire’s mission.

As a trustee for Aspire, Helen brings a wealth of recruitment and HR expertise. She is dedicated to supporting Aspire’s efforts to tackle the root causes of poverty and social exclusion, helping individuals build better futures for themselves and their families. Helen is delighted to contribute to Aspire’s mission and enhance its impact on the community.