Who we are
Our trustees are volunteers that live, or work, in Oxford, supported by one part-time coordinator.
Trustees are elected at our Annual General Meeting each November. We are always keen to hear from people who might like to become more involved.
CHAIR
Alison Hill
A former public health doctor, Alison wove cycling into her professional life by bringing together research and data about the benefits of active travel on health and wellbeing. She was on the board of Cycling England for its duration and chairs The Bikeability Trust. She was nominated as one of Cycling UK’s 100 women in cycling in 2019.
Honorary Secretary
Kathryn McNicoll
Kathryn plays a key role in our community engagement and outreach activities, by heading-up Cyclox stalls at various festivals and street markets around Oxford during the course of the year. She has been volunteering with Cyclox since 2014. Kathryn is managing the allocation of donated bikes for the Sanctuary Wheels project.
Treasurer
Ben Sawyer
Ben is an enthusiastic cyclist and cargo bike evangelist. He and his family ditched their car 3 years ago and replaced it with a cargo bike. Ben grew up in a cycling family and delights in passing his enthusiasm for cycling down to his two daughters. The oldest is 6 and cycles everywhere. Her 2-year old sister is already peddling around without stabilizers. Ben joined Oxford University Press in 2017 after 16 years of service in the Army.
Membership secretary
Steve Unwin
Steve has been riding bikes for leisure, sport, commuting and urban transport since childhood and was an early adopter of an electric assisted bike – of which he is a keen advocate. Steve helps run Wheels for All, a local project providing inclusive cycling facilities in Oxford.
Events Co-ordinator
Andy Chivers
Andy was a GP in Jericho until retiring in 2016. He has been a committee member since 2009 and undertook the role of Membership Secretary for ten years. Andy chairs the Attractive and Healthy Streets sub-committee, writes our monthly newsletter and helps to run stalls at various local events.
Jake Backus
Jake is Managing Director of Empathy Sustainability and the project lead for OxAir who are measuring air quality in Oxford from a human perspective (including cycling)! Jake is the founder of Oxfordshire Youth Cycling, a L2 British Cycling Coach and founder of the bike-friendly Common Ground Café.
Elise Benjamin
Elise is a lifelong cyclist and has been car-less since 1993. She was a City Councillor for 15 years, Planning Chair, and a cycling Lord Mayor. A community activist since the early 80’s, she was on Broken Spoke board member for 6 years before joining the Cyclox committee. She currently owns 4.5 bikes.
Ian Callaghan
Ian is a former Quantity Surveyor, wannabe urban designer, primary school teacher and cycle-bus conductor. A mountain biker who converted to utility cycling on moving to London from Yorkshire, he occasionally answers the call of the hills. Ian would like to see the transformation of cycle infrastructure (Going Dutch) to provide equality of access from ages 8 to 80. Ian chairs the Safe Connected Cycle Networks sub-committee.
James Dawton
James has been cycling since he was a teenager, largely as a utility cyclist and cycle tourer. He has been involved in cycle campaigning since the 1980s, first with CTC and Cycling UK, and later, with Cyclox. James feels that constructing good quality infrastructure is important to get more people cycling. Outside of Cyclox, he helps run the Oxford City group of Cycling UK.
Vision zero campaign manager
Clare Ferguson
Clare has been cycling since discovering the joys of freewheeling downhill as a child in Hampshire. Much later she volunteered at an East Oxford school teaching cycle training to several generations of Year Sixes. A researcher and community gardener, she now co-ordinates our Vision Zero campaign.
Jonny Ives
A journalist by trade and a roadie by inclination, Jonny lives in Headington Quarry and is an advocate for active transport, liveable communities, and the concept of the cargo bike as an essential element of urban life. Currently focused on the campaign for low-traffic neighbourhoods and delivering the daily bike bus safely to Windmill School.
Graham Smith
Graham formerly lectured in Architecture and Urban Design at Oxford Brookes and co-authored the influential manual Responsive Environments. He has a good knowledge of European practice in sustainable and active transport and in urban development. He was a Councillor for CTC/CyclingUK for six years, and helped realign policy regarding segregated cycling provisions being an objective.