Campaigns, Policy and Communications
WELCOME TO MY CORNER OF THE WEB. Here, you'll find out a little about me and my work - including some of the causes I have championed and organisations I have had the privilege of working with.
Please note that, while I aim to update the contents of this site as often as possible, this may slip when I'm particularly busy. And, of course, unless otherwise stated, any opinions, musings or random flights-of-fancy you find here (or across my social media) are all my own - and entirely independent of the organisations I represent now, or have represented in the past.
If you have any questions or need to get in touch, please feel free to contact me using the details below. Thanks for visiting :o)
My entire career has been dedicated to improving the public's health, fitness and general wellbeing - at organisations such as the Royal Society for Public Health, the Care Quality Commission, Central YMCA and Unilever UK. And, currently, I am working in consumer protection - helping to transform the public profile, inner workings and outlook of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.
With over 20 years experience working across policy development, media relations, public affairs, stakeholder relations and fundraising, I now consider myself an experienced and capable communications professional - who can be relied upon to bring infectious enthusiasm, good humour, dynamism and genuine creativity to every project I take on. I get particular pleasure from leading and developing teams and supporting the strategic growth of charities and non-profits.
Passionate at building the voice of organisations and raising the profile of key policy issues, over the years I have been responsible for a wide variety of innovative and successful campaigns, projects and other initiatives.
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During my seven years at the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) – as both Director of External Affairs and, later, as Deputy Chief Executive – I established the communications function from scratch and was directly responsible for completely transforming the media and political profile of the organisation – from what had previously been a fairly low-profile, inward-looking and largely overlooked membership body and qualifications provider, into a strident, opinionated and proactive campaigning organisation. Under my direction – and for the very first time in its long and distinguished history – RSPH became widely known for speaking out on often controversial issues, for regularly championing public opinion, for challenging traditional or institutional attitudes and for influencing legislation.
Throughout my time at RSPH, I was able to generate a constant stream of high impact, award-winning campaigns – including initiatives to tackle obesity, advocating for drug policy reform, raising awareness of gambling related harms and challenging vaccination misinformation, amongst many others.
This willingness to hold and defend an opinion and tackle issues head-on, ensured that RSPH rapidly became one of the most respected and reliable ‘go-to’ voices for news organisations in the UK and around the world – frequently eclipsing the best efforts of other organisations with far greater funding and many times the number of people. I remain extremely proud that RSPH spokespeople (myself included) became a familiar presence in the mainstream broadcast and print media, whenever public health issues were in the spotlight. And I have no doubt that RSPH will continue to build on that strong legacy, far into the future.
Before RSPH, I led the parliamentary and stakeholder relations team at the Care Quality Commission. And, at Central YMCA, I headed up a national campaign on ‘Body Image’, including establishing the ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image’ – which led to the formation of the national ‘BeReal‘ campaign. I also created a number of national health and wellbeing programmes, in partnership with the NHS, DWP and the Department of Health.
I have also led and advised on stakeholder engagement and public affairs in both the public sector, including the DVSA and Network Rail, and industry, at Unilever UK.
Outside of work, you can often find me in a gym or riding my bike, trying to keep fit! I also serve as a Trustee on the board of the People’s Health Trust – a national charity funded by the Health Lottery, supporting local people tackling health inequalities – and am Chair of its Policy, Research and Advocacy Committee.