Executive Officers
Chief Executive - David Brown
David is EPA CEO, DfE System Leader and has served nearly 40 years in education and the public sector since he graduated in Economics from Cambridge University.
David was one of the first Executive Headteachers in the UK after his inner-city school became the top mixed school in England for progress, and he went on to specialise in resolving challenges for schools and trusts. Ofsted graded him as an ‘excellent’ headteacher and ESFA described him as an ‘experienced specialist in turning around Trusts’.
David was Director of Children’s Services & Education (DCS) in one of the 20% most deprived areas of England and was the first leader to have been an Executive Headteacher, DCS and MAT CEO. He has been a National Education Adviser and a Visiting Professor, and he now writes, and coaches on leadership.
Chief Finance Officer - Sarah Anderson
Sarah joined EPA as the Chief Finance Officer in September 2022 and is a Chartered Management Accountant. Sarah was previously Director of Finance and Operations at Oxford High School. Sarah has a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University and trained at Grant Thornton.
Director of School Improvement - James Bird
James has worked in education for nearly 30 years. His career has included work in medical education, teacher training / research, local authority adviser roles and primary education. Since 2014, he has combined work at Oxford Brookes with being Director of School Improvement at EPA.
Interim Director of Strategy - Kirsteen Roberts
Kirsteen worked for the John Lewis Partnership for the majority of her career, ultimately as MD John Lewis High Wycombe before moving to project manage delivery of new and refurbished department stores. Following a career break, Kirsteen joined the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education with a focus on supporting MAT's to grow and building the pipeline of new free schools. More recently, Kirsteen has worked as a consultant supporting MAT's and local authorities in delivering significant change and liaising with the Department for Education.