Meet the Team

Sarah Humphreys (She/Her)

Director of Sport & Active Wellness

s.humphreys@brookes.ac.uk

Sarah has recently joined the university as Director of Sport & Active Wellness overseeing the whole sport directorate and ensuring strategic delivery in line with the University's ambitions of seeing sport and active wellness provision placed at the heart of student and staff members' lives. Sarah has almost 30 years' experience of being involved in the higher education sport sector, and has been responsible for several institutions' development and success over the years, including Leeds Beckett University and the University of Nottingham in China.

She has experience in the full sporting pathway, from participation to performance, as well as facility management, operations and strategic delivery. She has also played an active role within British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) for many years, taking on various support and advisory roles, and helping shape sector-wide delivery. She is a strong advocate for sport and active wellness and the crucial role it plays in peoples' lives through its impact on mental, physical and social health.

Sarah Madden-Queralt (She/Her)

Deputy Director of Sport & Active Wellness and ECS Strategic Projects

squeralt@brookes.ac.uk

Joining Brookes in 2007, Sarah is now in the position of Deputy Director of Sport and ECS Strategic Projects. After covering a multitude of roles across the student sports programme, operations and commercial portfolio, Sarah became Deputy Director of Sport in 2016. Sarah covers a split role and also sits within the Directorate's Senior Leadership Team and oversees strategic projects aligned with the business objectives of ECS, primarily around people, culture and business improvement. Sarah also sits on the University's LGBTQ+ staff forum and is one of the Directorate's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion champions.

Marcus O'Dowda-Boswell (He/Him)

Head of Sports Development

mboswell@brookes.ac.uk

Marcus arrived at Oxford Brookes in November 2019 and is responsible for the Student Sport programme and other externally funded high-performance Sport schemes. He oversees the wide range of opportunities for students to take part in local, regional and international competitions for the university, having represented Great Britain in two sports himself through Youth and Student pathways [Taekwondo & American Football]. Marcus manages a cohort of 50+ staff, support practitioners and technical coaches with the same enthusiasm he displayed as an athlete himself.

Previously Marcus was a member on the university's Academic Board from 2021-2024, a co-opted member of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Education Committee (2023-24) and held the position of University Commissioner for the British American Football Association (BAFA) between 2019-2022. Marcus is Oxford Brookes' Staff Representative for British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), a member of BUCS' Advisory Group for American Football, and is the department's acting Safeguarding Officer.

Jamie Buxton (He/Him)

Operations & Compliance Manager

jbuxton@brookes.ac.uk

Jamie joined Brookes Sport in October 2014 as a Duty Manager. He has worked in the leisure industry for over 20 years having previously worked across a number of West Oxfordshire sites. Jamie took up the role of Senior Sports Manager in May 2019 and more recently moved into his Operations & Compliance role with responsibility for managing compliance across all of our Sports sites - this includes producing and updating risk assessments, COSHH assessments, A&I Investigations, site audits,training records and budget holder responsibilities to name a few. Jamie is also responsible for the line management of the Sports Manager team and the Customer Services Manager.

Richard Cole (He/Him)

Head of Climbing and Commercial Activities

rmlcole@brookes.ac.uk

Richard joined Brookes Sport in 1997, having previously worked in the outdoor industry as a climbing and mountaineering instructor.

Richard is responsible for the University’s Climbing Centre and commercial sports delivery and leads a large team of instructors and coaches who deliver a wide range of indoor and outdoor climbing and mountaineering courses. Richard has also led expeditions to the European Alps and the greater ranges of Nepal.

Emma O'Hara (She/Her)

Head of Engagement

eohara@brookes.ac.uk

Emma first joined Oxford Brookes in October 2019 as the Sports Coordinator within the Student Sport Team. After a brief role as Community and Inclusion Officer at the Berks & Bucks FA in 2022, she returned to Oxford Brookes later that year as Marketing and Engagement Manager. In her current role, Emma leads the Brookes Active programme and oversees events, as well as all communications, marketing and social media for Brookes Sport.

Drawing on her experience as a former Irish international hammer thrower and sports scholar at the University of Maryland in the United States, Emma is dedicated to creating an accessible, engaging and impactful sporting experience for the entire Brookes Sport community.

Richard Ormiston-Rees (He/Him)

Head of Brookes Applied - Fitness & Wellness

rormiston-rees@brookes.ac.uk

Richard joined Brookes Sport in January 2020 and brings over 13 years of experience in higher education sport. He currently leads the Brookes Applied strategic area of the sports strategy, helping students gain real-world experience in the fitness industry, while also overseeing the campus fitness and wellness spaces. Before joining Oxford Brookes, he spent six years at Oxford University Sport.

Richard's main sporting interest is Muay Thai, which he has been involved in for 20 years as both a competitor and coach. He has also worked as a personal trainer for 13 years.

Emma Fox (She/Her)

Finance & Systems Manager

efox@brookes.ac.uk

Emma started working for Oxford Brookes University in 2016 with her initial role working for the Estates & Campus Services finance team. In 2017 Emma moved to predominantly support the Centre for Sport. As part of Emma's role, she manages the financial budgets for the department with ongoing support to budget holders. Emma is also responsible for the management of the leisure software and its associated systems with ongoing improvements made on a regular basis.