I read Classics at St John’s College, graduating in 1992. I took up rowing at St John’s and was in the Lent Headship crew of 1992 and the Fairbairn-winning crew of 1990, and, importantly, made life-long friends. I also received College Colours for swimming, and dabbled in waterpolo and even tried rugby once! I returned to St John’s in 1996 to become the first Development Officer and I set up the Johnian Office (alumni and development office), building it up over the next twelve years, and helping Johnians to remain engaged with the College and with each other, as well as raising funds to support the College’s activities. From 1998 to 2008, I was the Senior Treasurer of the Lady Margaret Boat Club, working closely with the student committee to ensure the successful running of the Club. In 2008 I became a Fellow and the Development Director of Christ’s College, responsible for the College’s fundraising and alumni relations programmes, and moved to St Catharine’s in April 2023. I have been a Governor of Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, and am currently a Trustee of Cambridge Sports Lake Trust as well as the Hawks and Ospreys Charitable Trust. I am pleased to be supporting the Ospreys as a member of their senior committee.
I read Theology at Peterhouse, graduating in 2018. Prior to coming to Cambridge I participated heavily in gymnastics, both as a gymnast and coach. Upon arrival, I immediately joined Cambridge University Olympic Gymnastics Club (CUOGC) and then joined the committee after my first year, first as Publicity & Performance Officer and then as President the following year. I hugely enjoyed my time as part of the club and wider sporting community at Cambridge and strongly encourage everyone to get involved with sport at all levels while here. I am now Head of the College Office at Clare College where I oversee our admissions, outreach, tutorial, and accommodation operations. I look forward to supporting the Ospreys and promoting women's sport within and beyond the University.
I arrived at Cambridge University with a B.Eng. (Metallurgical) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and read Materials Science at St John’s College, graduating with a PhD in 1993. I joined the Ospreys in 1989 after earning a swimming Half Blue and playing in the second CUWRFC Varsity match at Grange Road. I learned to row at St John’s. My catch on the water improved more than my catch on the rugby pitch (not difficult!) and I decided to trial for CUWBC. I rowed in the 1990, '91 and '93 Blue Boats, the 1991 and ’92 Lady Margaret Boat Club May Headship Crews and National Championship winning crews in the UK (1990) and Canada (1993). After graduating, I worked as an engineer in various industries for many years collecting a few more initials after my name (CEng, Eur Ing, EWE) until deciding to take a career break to raise my children. Over the years I have coached more Lady Margaret Boat Club crews than I can count and I continue to coach at the club, mainly the women’s 1st VIII. While I was a student, sport provided a much-needed balance to academic pressure and allowed me to make many life-long friends. I enjoyed it enormously. I can see that sport is equally, if not more important, to Cambridge students today and I am pleased that I am able to be part of that in some way. Sport remains an important part of my life and I am very aware of the many benefits of staying active, especially for women, as one gets older. I am very happy to continue being part of the Ospreys as a member of the senior committee and look forward to helping them support women’s sport for students and beyond.
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Debbie worked in venture capital before becoming an Official Fellow and Bursar of Girton College. She served in this post for 26 years, retiring in 2020. She is now a Life Fellow of Girton College and does occasional consulting work as well as acting as a trustee for three local charities, including the Hawks and Ospreys Charitable Trust.
During my PhD at Newnham, I rowed for the Lightweights in 1992 and 1993 (winning both, and being part of the clean sweep in 1993). After a post-doc in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, I was a Lecturer in Archaeology in Durham until 2004 when I returned to work in Cambridge. I’ve been Admissions Tutor at Newnham since 2009, and from 2016-2023 was Director of Admissions for the Cambridge Colleges. I’m now back at Newnham full-time, where I’m also Financial Tutor and Deputy Senior Tutor. I’m a strong advocate for women in sport, a member of the University Sports Committee, and am pleased to be able to support the Ospreys as part of the Senior Committee.
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