Meet our new Trustee – Khushbu Goulden
We are delighted to welcome Khushbu Goulden to the Board. Khushbu, who lives in York, has very close links to St Leonard’s. Her sister in law, Natalie, was cared for by the Hospice in 2018. She was only 30 years old when she died of cervical cancer.
Khushbu said: “I’d never had first-hand experience of a Hospice so I was struck by how amazing the care was. Everything they did for Nat was incredible, even allowing her sister’s dog to come for a visit.
“When my job bought me to York in the summer of 2020, I really wanted to give back to the Hospice, especially with my background in healthcare. It was a no brainer for me to reach out to see how I could best volunteer.”
She originally started working with the Hospice in January 2021, as a co-opted member of the Service Development Committee, before being appointed as a Board member last month.
Originally Indian, born and raised in Spain, Khushbu has lived in the UK for the past 16 years. She graduated from Kings College, London, with a BSc (hons) in Medical Biochemistry and then went on to get her Masters in International Health Management at Imperial College, London. She also took a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics at York University.
She has gone on to gain a wealth of experience in both the public and private healthcare sectors, working at organisations including the World Health Organisation, NHS, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and KPMG, where she was a management consultant. Khushbu currently works in a commercial role at the pharmaceutical company GSK.
“I am passionate about healthcare and see myself as a future bridge between stakeholders that work for patients,” adds Khushbu. “I am not afraid to challenge organisational and cultural boundaries to help organisations innovate and ensure they are fit for the future.”
Married with one child and a baby on the way, Khushbu enjoys painting and board games in her spare time. She is also a keen SCUBA diver. As with her work, she is not afraid to take on new challenges in her personal life; once signing up for the Paris Marathon and only giving herself three months to train for it having never run before for girls’ education charity in India!
She also was part of ‘Team Nat’ who tackled the UK Three Peaks Challenge in memory of Natalie, helping to raise more than £30,000 for the Hospice.
Khushbu is now excited to be taking on her fresh challenge as a St Leonard’s Trustee. “It’s amazing! I am so honoured to be on the Board of such a fantastic organisation. It’s a great feeling knowing I will be helping make decisions to support the future growth of the Hospice, giving even more people the opportunity to access its amazing care and support.”