The Team
Adam Freeman-Pask - Chief Executive Officer
Adam took over running FRBC from its founder Steve O'Connor in 2023, and is focused on developing the strategy to deliver future growth and sustainability of FRBC. He works closely with the operational team and Board of Trustees to ensure that charitable aims and community needs are delivered.
Adam was previously an international athlete representing Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. He also help establish a rowing programme for children from deprived backgrounds in India, worked on the development of public services while at PA Consulting, and invested nationally into grassroots sport while at Sport England.
Alastair Horn - Boathouse Manager
Alastair first took up rowing in 1999 as a member of Staines BC. In 2003 his eldest, Matilda joined Eton Excelsior RC it was at this point he started coaching. Since 2012 he has been the DoR and Junior Head Coach at Eton Excelsior RC. He has coached junior crews to wins at the Fullers Fours Head, Pairs Head, Home International Regatta, National Schools Regatta, British Rowing Championships as well as Coupe de la Jeunesse and GB France match. For fourteen years he has seen how the sport transforms children’s lives and in many cases paves the way for their career choices. Having gone through the state school system in the North East, he has immediately bought into the FRBC’s mission statement.
Alastair continues to coach the Fulham Reach juniors as well as his role as Boathouse Manager.
Julia Philipson - Fundraising Manager
Julia has spent many days and early mornings along the riverbank watching her children row. Seeing both great state school and club rowing in action and experiencing first hand the difference rowing can make, she jumped at the chance to join FRBC! With a background in fundraising and a passion for communities, Julia is eager to make a difference to our charitable reach.
Justyna Nascimento - Finance Manager
Justyna has many years’ finances experience for local and international charities including British Ballet Organization and Chesterton’s Foundation. Before working in the charity sector, Justyna’s experience was in real estate as well as audit and accounting firms. She joined the team at FRBC in 2022 and is keen to help support and develop the finances and financial strategies of the charity.
Justyna lives in Fulham with her son and husband. She loves animals and promotes healthy living. She is a qualified life coach and a part-time student of a photography faculty at Morley College in Chelsea.
Will Hetherington - Head Junior Coach
Will started rowing at age 16 as he worked towards getting into the school first eight, similar to his dad - something that was often reminded to him! Will then continued his rowing while he studied sport science at Kingston University.
After several years training fulltime at Molesey Boat Club, Will turned his attention to coaching after working the Molesey juniors. An opportunity to help build a rowing programme at Wimbledon High Schoool enabled Will to gain experience working across different squads and create a competitive programme for the school.
Will has also coached in Australia at Sydney Rowing Club.
Will is excited to be leading the juniors at Fulham Reach and working with the various outreach programmes to inspire others to be a passionate about the sport that has given so much to him.
When not on the river, Will can be found drinking coffee or attempting to surf!
Imogen Walsh - Prisons Manager
Imogen took up rowing at university, a hobby that, after finishing her degree and working for a Scottish based development charity, then became a full-time occupation, as a member of the GB Rowing Team from 2011-2016. What followed was various coaching roles around the world, before deciding to use her coaching skills for a broader social and physical well-being objective. In 2019, Imogen joined FRBC to head up our prisons rowing project "Boats Not Bars”.
Amanda Wood - Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser
Amanda has over 10 years’ fundraising experience for local and regional health charities and understands the difference they bring to people’s lives and the wider community. Before working in the charity sector Amanda’s background was in primary education, teaching at schools in London and Buckinghamshire. She joins the team at FRBC in 2023 and is keen to combine her skills and experience to help support and develop the work of the charity.
Amanda lives in Henley-on-Thames with her three children where she enjoys walks along the river and relaxing on her on a yoga mat!
Joanna Lees - Booking Administrator
Joanna worked for an international trade association for nearly 20 years ending as the General Manager, responsible for the worldwide administration of its 4 offices and their respective companies as well as international contracts and training programmes of the organisation. Since then Joanna has provided Company Secretarial and general administration services to a number of small charities including the Jubilee Sailing Trust and CS Disabled Holidays. She has been implemented a new automated website and grant application system along with a database for CS Disabled Holidays in the last 12 months.
Joanna is an animal lover and the proud carer of Daisy a very proud dwarf Chihuahua who will be attending the office occasionally. She is also a keen knitter, needleworker (sewing by hand and machine), embroiderer, including Crewelwork, silkwork, canvaswork and tapestry as well as enjoying horseriding and was a keen sailor.
Andrew Doughty - Coach
Andrew took up rowing in autumn 2018 at Fulham Reach Boat Club after been inspired by his son's love of rowing. With excellent coaching, he progressed quickly and within a few months of the Learn to Row course, was training in a single scull, joined the race crew, rowed a 42km Tideway marathon, competed in the 2019 Head of the River and won a pot at the 2019 Putney Town Regatta (2x Masters). By the end of 2019, Andrew began gathering qualifications for coaching, including powerboat licence, first aid and safeguarding. The pandemic interrupted progress so it took until 2021 to gain his British Rowing coaching qualification.
Andrew enjoys coaching adults and juniors and is also active with the charity's fundraising activities.
He is often found single sculling (in good weather only!), talking about pilates or dreaming of sculling from Fulham Reach to Richmond Lock.
Tracy Corbett - Coach
Tracy is passionate about all sport, and represented Wales as a Junior and Senior in lightweight rowing. In 2006 Tracy achieved a Commonwealth bronze medal in the ltw 2- , followed by 3 times gold medals at Henley Regatta and numerous National Champion and International wins in the ltw coxless 4-. In 2008 Tracy decided to switch her focus from rowing and concentrate more on road racing. In 2009, Tracy was lucky enough to join the first Rapha Condor Women’s race cycling team in London. The team of 8 competed Nationally and Internationally and 2 of the team went on to represent Great Britain alongside Olympic medalist Nicole Cooke’s Team in Belgium. Tracy is a qualified Level 3 REPS personal trainer / sports massage therapist / cycling / rowing coach with over 25 years of experience in the fitness world. A First-Aider and CRB approved.
Mark Starling - Coach
Mark began rowing in 1976 at Barn Elms Rowing Club. He has medalled at national level both in juniors and masters and also trialled for GB at J18. HIs career includes numerous domestic regatta and Head victories representing several clubs in the region.
As a coach, Mark has over a decade of experience teaching both juniors and seniors from entry level through to race preparation.
Mark is particularly aware of the difficulties facing young people from challenged backgrounds and is committed to helping those trying to change and improve their lives. The FRBC mission closely aligns with his own beliefs regarding rehabiliation and reform.
Deryn Esterhuyse - Coach
Deryn has a wide range of coaching and racing experience, ranging from school rowing through to high performance racing.
Deryn was awarded the 2019 Fulham Reach Coach of the Year - well deserved recognition of her enthusiasm and dedication to coaching the next generation of rowers.
Allan Munro-Faure - Coach
Allan has been rowing since the age of 12, firstly coxing at Eton Excelsior Rowing Club with his first tideway coxing experience at the mens eight head. Shortly after he rowed and was club captain at Windsor Boys School and Oxford Brooks. After university he joined London RC and represented them at Henley a number of times. Now a life member there, he mainly sculls but has also branched out into a fixed seat Thames cutter for the annual 26 mile Great River Race with the Tallow Chandlers for the last few years. He is an active sailor and sailing instructor as well as a powerboat 2 instructor. He started coaching 4 years ago with a strong desire to encourage and bring this sport to the reach of all.
Mel Brown - Coach
Mel has been heavily involved in sports since before she could walk. Wanting a break from martial arts and wanting to do something on the water as a part of a team, Mel entered the world of rowing as an adult in 2015 looking for a new sporting adventure in a team environment.
Diving head first into the Sons of the Thames Senior Squad, Mel has been lucky enough to race at Henley Womens Regatta every year in a variety of boats with some very inspiring ladies.
Previously coaching in kickboxing, boxing and horse riding, it was a natural step to coach rowing. Having seen FRBC develop and grow over the last few years, it was obvious to Mel that she needed to be involved, so that was the place to go.
FRBC gave Mel an opportunity to develop as a coach and a rower and she is passionate about providing that opportunity to everyone who stands still for long enough.
Leo Malim - Coach
Leo has been rowing from the age of 13 and enjoyed considerable success winning the Schools Head, National Schools Regatta and the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley. He also represented England at the Anglo French match and GB at the Coupe de la Jeunesse. Leo has a real passion for sharing his love of rowing and coaches across the spectrum at FRBC.
Yewande Adesida - Coach
Yewande started coaching rowing in 2017 as part of the Henley Stewards’ Charitable Trust Scholarship, after transitioning from rowing herself for six years. While coaching, she has worked predominantly with junior athletes of different levels who have taken to the sport for the first time or achieved medals at Brit Champs.
Alongside this, Yewande completed a PhD investigating the use of wearable technology in sport, bringing in her experience from rowing and cycling (the sport she now competes in).
Having become involved with Beach Sprints the year prior, in 2023 she coached the juniors on the GB team, which included GB's first gold medal in the discipline. Now at Fulham Reach, she is keen to spread awareness of the format and encourage participation from different backgrounds.
Paul Gray - Coach
Paul is an experienced coach who was a late starter to the sport of rowing having learnt in his early 40's, but he quickly got hooked and now spends as much time as possible on the river. Paul enjoys passing on his love of rowing to newcomers, particularly those who wouldn't normally have access to this wonderful sport.
As well as coaching at Weybridge Rowing Club and Fulham Reach, Paul is active on the Masters racing circuit where he occasionally even snags a win!
Darla Matthews - Coach
Currently studying Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, Darla learned to row at Latymer Upper School when she was 13. Having won medlas at Schools Head of the River and National Schools Regatta, she went on to compete and win gold for GB at the U16 Anglo French match. In her third and final attempt, she won the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.
Darla is now training and competing at Thames RC in Putney, alongside her studies and coaching at FRBC.
Darla also likes to paint watercolour landscapes in her spare time.
Tim Koch - Coach
Tim has spent much of the last thirty years on the Thames, either rowing, sculling, coxing or coaching. Off the water, he is a rowing historian, writer, and photographer, covering events such as the University Boat Race and Henley. He is a former Captain of Auriol Kensington Rowing Club and he organised Hammersmith Regatta for over ten years. In his time at Auriol Kensington, Tim safely taught a very large number of people to row on the demanding waters of the tidal Thames, something that he now does as part of the Fulham Reach team.
Loren Boles - Coach
Loren started rowing at Putney High School at 13 and ended her final year there as the club captain. She is now rowing at Imperial College where she studies Medicine.
Loren started sculling and then learnt to sweep row at school, also doing some coxing while injured. Loren has competed at National Schools Regatta as well as Henley Women's Regatta multiple times. In 2021, she represented her school at Henley Royal Regatta in the new junior women's 8+ category and in 2023 she won the women's 4- at Henley Women's Regatta.
Andrew Eames - Coach
Andrew is a Henley finalist and Cambridge Trial Cap who has been coaching for many years at Tideway Scullers in Chiswick. His crews have won medals at National Schools and he was responsible for running the club's Alec Hodges Sculling Courses for a decade. It was in that capacity whilst trying to facilitate bursaries for the less privileged athletes that he first came to admire FRBC's ethos of "Rowing for All".
Pheobe Campbell - Coach
Phoebe first started rowing at her school in Australia when she was 12. She moved back to the UK in 2013, and went on to win the junior women’s single at Henley Women’s Regatta and represent GB at two World Rowing Junior Championships. She continued rowing at university, winning an Ivy League and National Championship for Yale, and after graduating, won a silver medal for GB at the 2022 World Rowing U23 Championships.
She is now coaching at Fulham Reach alongside racing with Thames Rowing Club, for whom she won the Pair’s Head in 2023. She is in her final year of law school and is set to commence her training contract with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in August 2024.
Tom Roberts - Coach
Tom has been rowing on Thames for many years and has enjoyed competing in local and national events. He now focusses on coaching alongside his photography studies.
Tom also enjoys origami and collecting antique coins.
Louise Nickerson - Coach
Louise has been rowing competitively since 2007 and coaching all ages and levels of athletes for over 7 years. She was drawn to the sport by a love of water and stayed for the energy that surrounds rowing and being part of a crew. Her first UK club was Sons of the Thames, where she learned the ropes from some very talented and committed athletes. This experience highlighted the importance of role models and how much rowing with better athletes affects progression. The knockoff effect was the desire to do the same for other burgeoning athletes.
Aside from being generally obsessed with rowing and the mentality and athleticism required, she has a particular interest in masters rowing and spreading her love of rowing to juniors trying the sport for the first time. She coaches both at Fulham Reach and Westminster School. She was runner up for British Rowing Community Coach of the Year 2023 and is currently enrolled in the British Rowing Coach Development Programme.
Nick Marshallsay - Coach
Nick learnt to row as an adult and went on to win the Forster Cup at the Metropolitan Regatta and qualified or pre-qualified for Henley Royal Regatta for 7 years in a row in the Thames Cup, Wyfolds and Goblets, winning a few rounds along the way. As a veteran, he has won the Vesta International Masters Head twice.
Professionally he has worked in learning, training and coaching for over 20 years. Nick went to a comprehensive school, his children attend one of the founding Fulham Reach local partner state schools and he passionately believes in opening up the benefits of the sport to those not traditionally involved.
Outside of coaching, Nick is into bucket hats, dodgy single sculling and running, in an attempt to run a ‘BQ time’ to qualify for a second Boston Marathon (when not suffering from an almanack of injuries).
Momoka Ochiai - Coach
Momoka took up rowing at university in Japan, strongly attracted to the energetic team atmosphere. Before joining the rowing team, she did not know anything about rowing but gradually developed her passion through several years of training. She was lucky enough to get into the university's first quad and competed in national races. Alongside this, she was coaching juniors aged between 10-15.
In 2021, Momoka decided to come to the UK to study for a master's degree in law at the University of Glasgow and moved down to London after graduation. Now at Fulham Reach, she is keen to inspire other people to experience the joy and excitement of the team sport.
Momoka is also passionate about surfing and snowboarding!
Matthew Brett - Coach
Matt started rowing when he was thirteen due to his lifelong passion for watersports and instantly began to love the sport. In the five years he rowed for Latymer Upper School, Matt represented the school many times at events such as Fours and Schools Head, National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal in the Princess Elizabeth twice and in 2018 reached the Friday.
Having been a sailing instructor for 5 years Matt always wanted to have the opportunity to coach rowing and Fulham Reach is the perfect place for him to do that.
Elsa Deseilligny - Coach
Elsa began rowing at university and quickly ended up dedicating much more time to the sport than she did to her degree. She rowed in college VIII and IV, competing at head races such as WEHoRR and Tyne Head, and regattas such as Durham, Hexham, and York regattas. She also became a cox/coach for several successive novice men's IVs and loved it as much if not more than rowing herself.
Elsa has been working in finance since moving to London after university and also enjoys ballet, which she has been practising since she was 4.
Kai Kelly - Coach
Kai started rowing at 14 at Hampton School and currently continues to do so at the University of London Boat Club as a student at UCL reading natural sciences. He has competed at Henley royal and medalled in various events across the country such as British junior championships.
He is now coaching at Fulham Reach and hopes to help others enjoy rowing as much as possible!
Katy Brooks - Coach
It may have not seemed it at the time but Katy couldn't have been luckier to have had her bike stolen at university! As a life long cyclist, runner and fan of all sporting challenge events, she jumped at the chance to learn to row rather than join the cycling club and hasn't looked back.
Since then she has gained a wealth of experience of training and racing on the Tideway with local club Mortlake Anglian & Alpha where she is currently vice captain. Over the past five years she has competed with them at head races and regattas up and down the country including Henley Women's Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta qualifiers.
She is keen to share the joy of rowing with as many people as possible, whetevr twist of fate leads them to discover the sport!
Saami Tajeddin - Coach
Saami attended Latymer Upper School where he started rowing in 2014 and this quickly became his first and only passion. He continued for five years and competed in many races, with victories including Burway Head and Hammersmith Regatta. While he has retired from racing at the moment, he can still be occasionally seen flying up the Tideway in The Coaches Quad.
Saami has a keen interest in finance and interior design and currently studying at Bath University.