Daphne O'Connell

Development Director

Management

Daphne joined Summer Fields in 2011.  Prior to this, she had worked in the Development Department at Merton College, Oxford where she was responsible for the Annual Giving programme.  In her early career, Daphne worked in the Arts and held positions in marketing at The Bloomsbury Theatre, The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and The Royal Opera House.

At Summer Fields, Daphne is responsible for the school’s fundraising and alumni relations. In recent years she has successfully completed two capital campaigns raising a total of approximately £6 million.  150 Years and Beyond, saw the completion of the Salata Pavilion in December 2015. The Next Chapter saw the completion of a new library in April 2021, a complete refurbishment of the school Chapel, new state-of-the-art equipment for the Design Technology Suite and the repurposing of the old library into two modern classrooms and a new learning support department. Daphne is currently working on her third campaign, Soaring Futures to raise £10 million for transformational bursaries. In 2020, Daphne launched an exclusive online community for Old Boys and Friends of Summer Fields enabling them to reconnect with friends and colleagues and stay in touch with all the latest news and events. 

Daphne studied French and History of Art at UCL and holds a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

In her spare time, Daphne enjoys spending time with her family, going to the theatre, visiting art galleries and experimenting with textiles and art projects of her own.  She has two grown-up sons and lives with her partner in West Oxfordshire.