Meet the Team

Tess McCay, our Executive Director, and Helen Arlett, Mentoring Project Coordinator, work together to support our mentoring projects. Tess focuses on matching mentors with mentees, ensuring the right fit for meaningful and impactful relationships, while Helen ensures each project is well-supported and stays on track, providing ongoing assistance to both mentors and mentees throughout the journey. Together, they create a strong foundation for successful mentorship and professional development for charity leaders.

  • Executive Director

    Tess brings to her role at Charity Mentors Oxfordshire wide-ranging experience of working with the voluntary sector as well as expertise in managing cross-cultural teams and projects. 

    Tess has over 30 years’ experience in the global education sector, having founded and managed a successful language and intercultural training business. She has lived and worked in many countries and speaks a number of languages, including French, German and Italian, and she is currently learning Arabic.

    In 2016, alongside her professional work, Tess began volunteering on the advice team of local refugee support charity, Asylum Welcome. After qualifying to provide specialist immigration advice under the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (now the IAA), she joined the staff to manage a series of local authority-funded projects.  These involved training and leading volunteer teams to support refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants to access legal advice, asylum support, educational and volunteering opportunities, and healthcare.  Last year, Tess set up and managed a mentoring project to help Syrian refugees to engage with employment and to integrate more effectively in the local community.


  • Mentoring Project Coordinator

    Helen, originally from Oxford, moved to London to pursue a 17-year career in publishing, working across religion, tax, and education sectors. She spent 13 years at Pearson, focusing on educational books before taking voluntary redundancy in 2018 for a career change.

    Helen then became Office Manager at Travelodge's head office, overseeing 400 employees and managing the building's refurbishment. Since 2015, she's lived in Steeple Aston with her two children, serving as Welfare Officer for her son's football club.

    Currently, Helen is Office Manager at Gresford Architects Ltd in Oxford, managing a team of eight architects specializing in sustainable residential housing.