Patrons

We have three main patrons at Derby Women's Centre:

Jo Brand

Comedienne Jo Brand has appeared on comedy panel shows such as Have I Got News For You? and QI. Her stand-up acts include themes of radical feminism, jokes about her weight and current celebrities. She became the first patron of Derby Women’s Centre in 1994.

In 1997, she staged a controversial ‘women only’ charity event at Derby Assembly rooms to raise funds for the Derby Women's Cenre counselling service (and the advice line that was running at the time). This was a big success in raising funds for DWC and increasing the charity's profile whilst highlighting the inequalities faced by women. 

Kavita Oberoi

Kavita Oberoi is Derbyshire’s leading female entrepreneur and the Managing Director and founder of Oberoi Consulting, an IT and Business Healthcare Consultancy business. She is a positive role model, particularly within the Asian community and was raised in a traditional Indian family. Infused with her mother's drive and her father's entrepreneurial ambition, she became the first woman in her family to gain a university degree and has continued to develop into the successful businesswoman that she is today.

Kavita is widely known for her involvement in Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire and credits this with inspiring her to become more involved with charity work. She is deeply passionate about supporting women to challenge barriers in the workplace and to break the "glass ceiling". As a result of this passion and belief, Kavita accepted the role of Patron of Derby Women's Centre in 2010. She is keen for the organization to continue its excellent work in addressing the soci-economic inequalities faced by women in the Derby area. Thanks to Kavita's patronage and her experiences on The Secret Millionaire (in which she made a generous donation to the Sisters with Voices Project), we are currently developing a service in partnership with other agencies to meet the needs of young women in the Derby area who are aged 14 and over.

Parween Warsi

We recently welcomed Parween Warsi of S&A Foods as a Patron. Stay tuned for a bio.