John May

John May OBE DL has been a Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire since 2018. He is part of the Lieutenancy team focused on Cherwell and is the Lieutenancy’s link to villages around Bicester and Kidlington. He holds the Lieutenancy’s youth organisations brief for the County.

John is a campaigner, storyteller, teacher, youth worker, independent diplomat, writer, and broadcaster, who has spent his career working with and for young people in the UK and around the world. However, he trained first as an actor and then as a teacher. He went on to work with children and young people in a variety of situations, ranging from schools in suburban England to refugee camps in Uganda. He became a headteacher at 28, going on to develop a reputation for regenerating underperforming institutions.

In education, nationally, John has since been the Education-Director of Business in the Community and Chief Executive of Career Ready and Young Enterprise.  He helped found both Career Ready and teacher training programme ‘Teach First’. John was a recipient, in 2008, of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, in recognition of his dedication to enterprise education.  He has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton in recognition of his work in non-formal education and learning.  And in 2020, John received an OBE for his services to young people.

John has taken on a variety of roles in the charitable sector. He has served as non-executive director of UNICEF and was the Secretary General of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation for 11 years, leading the development of the Award worldwide. He has also been Vice Chairman of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. John is a Trustee of the Marine Society and Sea Cadets and, within Oxfordshire, is a Trustee of the Scouts and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Oxfordshire Youth.  He is also a Stonewall Ambassador and a volunteer with Charity Mentors Oxfordshire.

Professionally, John is currently the Chief Executive of Cats Protection.