Meet the Board

Amanda is an experienced senior leader with over 30 years in the highly regulated financial services sector, specialising in strategic operations, governance, and developing high‑performing teams. As an Operations Director and former Board Director, she has worked collaboratively across multiple leadership groups to strengthen organisational culture, embed robust governance, and enable people to work more effectively together.  

A passionate advocate for the role of physical activity in improving wellbeing, Amanda has been instrumental in expanding opportunities for young people to be active. She founded Hertford junior parkrun in 2018 and now serves as a parkrun Event Ambassador, supporting the creation of new events across the county, including at The Mount.  

Amanda brings a strong commitment to inclusion, community engagement, and creating environments where people feel they belong. She is motivated by the belief that sport and physical activity can transform lives and strengthen communities, and she is proud to contribute this perspective as an Independent Member of the HSP.

Debbie Ryan is a strategic HR Director, Non-Executive Director, and now leadership coach with a career defined by clarity, integrity, and impact. She has held senior roles across multiple sectors and geographies, often joining organisations at critical inflection points, whether during business and cultural transformations, turnarounds and delivering exponential growth.  

Debbie’s expertise spans the full people agenda with a focus on maximising the value of the workforce while ensuring a culture where employees can succeed, grow and thrive. As a Non-Executive Director, she brings independent challenge, cultural insight, and strategic clarity to boards navigating complexity and change.  

She is passionate about sport and the difference it can make to people’s lives, especially for women and girls. She is now the Chair of one of the largest youth football Clubs in England, in addition to her grassroots roles in netball. Additionally, she is a mentor for Sport England’s funded Leading the Movement, which supports leaders to confidently and successfully drive the change needed to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity.   

As a recent addition to the Executive Board, Gobi’s sporting involvement has been ongoing since his early days at school. As a Para-Swimmer at the regional and national level in his younger years, he transitioned to the competitive world of Para-Badminton.

Gobi has vast experience in sports competitive pathways and knows the attributes required to succeed. Starting from the grassroots and club level, he has gone on to represent and captain England at International level.

His achievements include a European Championship Gold medal and a World Championships Silver medal, and he was also an Olympic Torchbearer at the London 2012 games.

With fellow Para-badminton players Martin Rooke and Meva Singh Dhesi, he helped form an inclusive badminton club – Herts Toppers – who compete in an able-bodied league.

Undeterred by health issues, Gobi has overcome these hurdles and continues to compete at the highest levels of Para-Badminton.

Off the court, Gobi encourages youngsters and the disability community to join the world of Para-badminton for both social and competitive play and is a trustee of the Anders Disability Badminton Charity (ADBC).

He is also taking steps towards launching an inclusive badminton venture, “Empowerment Badminton”, alongside other partners.

Hester Hearn is a freelance communications professional with extensive experience in high performance sport – having previously worked with organisations such as the British Athletes Commission and the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Hester previously worked as Director of Marketing & Communications at the English Institute of Sport, joining the EIS in 2005 after several years working in communications and sponsorship roles within the corporate sector. She holds a BSc in Sports Science and is also a former lecturer and has been a proactive member of the Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership Board since June 2016. Hester is also a trustee of St Albans City Youth FC.

Hester’s knowledge and experience of both the private and public sector, and her engaged and supportive approach is much valued by the HSP Team and the wider Partnership.

Hester was elected Vice Chair in September 2018 and is the Board champion for EDI and Marcomms.

As a member of the Herts Association of Cultural Officers (HACO), Hilary is an ex officio member of the Board, representing Hertfordshire’s local authority Chief Officers for Sport, Leisure and Culture.

As the Head of Partnerships and Community Engagement at Hertsmere Borough Council, Hilary has extensive knowledge and experience of the public sector and the important role played by local government in support of the local sports and physical activity infrastructure.

Hilary was instrumental in establishing the Arsenal Football Club Section 106 arrangements with Hertsmere Borough Council which sees an extensive community programme delivered by the football club, as well as funding for the council’s sports development service.

Her council’s ‘We Can She Can’ women and girls project, funded as part of Sport England’s Community Sport Activation Fund programme, has attracted regional and national interest for the way it engages with hard to reach groups and optimises use of local spaces, including local parks.

Joe is an experienced senior leader in sport, physical activity and community development, delivering strategic change, partnership growth and social impact. He is currently Head of Workforce Development and Transformation at EFL in the Community, the charitable arm of the English Football League, supporting a national network of 72 Football Club charities by strengthen capability, leadership and workforce to deliver a collective social value of £1.42b a year.  

As former Chief Executive Officer of Stevenage FC Foundation, Joe brings extensive experience across governance, workforce development, programme delivery, and place-based impact having led complex projects across several key social issues. His work is grounded in collaboration with a variety of key stakeholders in Hertfordshire and beyond, with a particular focus on creating inclusive opportunities and pathways into sport and physical activity.  

A University of Hertfordshire alumni, Joe began his career in sports development at Hertfordshire FA spearheading their work on young leaders and introducing futsal to the county. This work has seen Joe go on to now lead the delivery of over 20 England Futsal international events.  

Joe is passionate about supporting system leadership, tackling inequalities in physical activity, and ensuring that sport plays a meaningful role in improving lives across Hertfordshire.

Jon has worked in both the public and private sector in senior manager roles within the IT sector, an Agile Delivery Manager and Cisco engineer/Software developer with a diverse skill set with experience ranging from digital product development to IT project management and business analysis.

Jon coaches cricket at various Hertfordshire schools promoting exercise and healthy living to include all ages and abilities. He is currently head coach at North Mymms Cricket Club, at the University of Hertfordshire and a lead coach with London Schools Cricket Association. Cricket is a sport Jon has loved playing since he was a child and being able to introduce and help those in the local community to play sport has given him great satisfaction. Jon has won multiple accolades including Hertfordshire County, Sky Sports and also Welwyn Hatfield Borough Cricket Coach of the year. Jon has been playing at North Mymms Cricket Club for over 30 years and still represents Hertfordshire County team.

Jon has tirelessly raised money for improved facilities for his local community club and in 2021 Jon received a Civic Award from Welwyn Hatfield Borough for his work within the community.

Jon was honoured to be invited to join the Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership Board and is looking forward to helping them achieve their outcomes

Mervyn has, for many years, worked in both the public and private sector in senior management roles with the responsibilities of looking after management teams and the associated budgets and development plans. He is currently the CEO of a National Patient Support Charity. In addition, he has over thirty years of experience working in the charity sector as a volunteer. More recently, these roles have also encompassed child welfare and safeguarding responsibilities.

Mervyn started as a volunteer with St Alban’s City Youth FC – currently one of the UK’s largest community clubs, with around 110 teams. His first role was as a Team Manager, moving on to various committee roles and then as Club Chairman. In 2001 the club became a registered charity to assist with its ever-growing community role, and Mervyn took on the position of Chair of Trustees. Mervyn stood down as the clubs Chair of Trustees in 2018 and 2023, and became the Clubs Hon President.

In recent years, Mervyn has project-managed several of the club’s major developments, including Highfield Park (11 pitches) and the Nicholas Breakspear School 3G all-weather pitch.

On a county level Mervyn has been an executive board member of the Herts Sport and Physical Activity Partnership for the past eight years and has held the positions of both Vice-Chair and Senior Independent Director.

Mervyn was appointed Chair of the Partnership in September 2018 and is the board champion for Safeguarding.

Rhys brings a strong commitment to place based community investment at Peabody, with a particular focus on tackling deprivation, reducing isolation and improving wellbeing within local communities. Through his professional work, he champions collaborative approaches that empower young people, support older residents and create meaningful connections across diverse groups. 

Alongside his strategic advisory roles with charities Leys CDI and Fearless United, Rhys is actively involved in grassroots sport as a coach at Fullerians RFC, where he supports player development, inclusion, and participation at a community level. His combined experience in community development and grassroots coaching strengthens the Board’s ability to deliver accessible, safe and life enhancing activities. Rhys is passionate about helping the organisation create lasting, inclusive impact and a strong sense of belonging for all Hertfordshire residents.