Category: Education
She represents Custom House Ward in the London Borough of Newham. She was selected to sit on the Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee given her extensive mathematics teaching experience of almost 10 years.
She has taught in countries all over the world including Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Romania, Hong Kong, Beijing and Myanmar. During her teaching career, she has held leadership positions and gained two further degrees from the University of Oxford, Department of Education. Passionate about access to education for girls, she recently conducted research at the University of Oxford on the mathematical identity development of black girls in UK secondary schools.
Cllr Thelma ODOI
Cllr Thelma ODOI
She also sits on the Local Development Committee given her professional experience within companies including Goldman Sachs and HSBC as well as her experience in construction, property and urban regeneration. She was elected by over 100 people to be a community representative for the Custom House Regeneration Steering Group.
She began her political life by running for the post of Young Mayor of Newham. She held several political positions such as Campaigns Officer for London Young Labour, Chair of the West Ham Labour Youth Forum and Under 27 Years General Committee Delegate for Custom House Ward. Cllr Odoi was a member of Sadiq Khan’s mayoral campaign team.
She enjoyed competitive debating at the Oxford Union and the Oxford University United Nations Association. She went on to become the Distinguished Speaker Series Officer for the Oxford Women in Politics Society. She received the English Speaking Union Oracy Culture Award at the House of Lords on behalf of her school for developing oracy and public speaking skills. She won the Miss Eloquence Award at the Miss Ghana UK 2014 contest due to her engaging public speaking skills.
She has since been interviewed by BenTV, The GUBA Foundation and the Newham Recorder. She also enjoys being a ghost writer for a children’s book.