I am a social worker by profession, passionate and unflinching, about the rights of people and their families, to be supported to access the services to which they have an entitlement, and to remain in their communities as active and valued citizens.  With a career spanning over 40 years, I have held several senior positions in both statutory and third sector settings, at local, regional and national levels, contributing to the development of national policy and operational delivery in the health and social care sector. I  currently work at regional level in NHS England and coproduction with people who access services, continues to be central to all that I do, upholding the principles  and values of  ‘nothing about us, without us’.

I live in the North West of England and confess that although I have held many interesting and diverse roles over several decades, I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.