A senior adviser to international companies and non-profit organisations is joining the Board of Oxford Health as a non-executive director in the New Year.

Mohinder Sawhney is an economist who has extensive experience as an adviser to organisations large and small, including the World Bank, the Department for International Development, Diabetes UK, Hampshire County Council, and the Bank of England.

Mohinder, whose name is sometimes abbreviated to ‘Mindy’, is a speaker of Croatian, who has worked extensively in former Yugoslavia.

Earlier this year she completed her final third term as Chair of Revitalise, a charity providing respite breaks for disabled people and carers.

Oxford Health’s Council of Governors, made up of representatives of the public, service user and staff, approved the appointment.

Mohinder said:

“I hope to bring to bear my personal experience of growing up as a woman of mixed race, a first-generation Briton in an economically insecure, single-parent household.

“My work has been grounded in that understanding. I hope to act a trusted interpreter and guide between people on different life journeys so that we can create satisfying and successful joint endeavours”.

David Walker, Trust Chair, welcomed the new recruit:

“Mohinder’s appointment helps diversify our Board and we are sure to benefit from her wide knowledge of organisations, and how they change and improve.

“As we emerge from the year of Covid, we renew our efforts to move Oxford Health from good to outstanding. That will only happen if our staff are happy and feel the service we offer patients demands their maximum effort and enthusiasm.

“Mohinder will help us focus even more closely on developing and connecting the trust’s strategy and culture and values, as they are experienced and enacted by staff at all levels.”

Mohinder’s appointment, following the usual employment checks, is effective January 1, 2021.