I started my adult nursing career in 1995 and later qualified as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, practising in the Health Visiting field. I have been working in higher education since 2008, joining Northumbria University in 2015.

Here at Northumbria University I have contributed to a range of provision in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, including successful programme leadership commended by the NMC for innovation and quality. More recently I enjoy success as Head of Subject in the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Well-being where I make a valuable contribution to academic leadership as part of the departmental management group.

Between January 2020 and July 2021 I was Director of Access and Paricipation for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences., where I led and collaborated on a range of faculty and university wide projects to improve access, participation and outcomes for under-represented students. In this role I developed key partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in the region (NERAP) and nationally (BECOME) which I continue to grow in order to develop my teaching, research and knowledge exchange impact.

In 2021 I was successful in winning a place on the Strategic Advisory Group for Teaching and Learning with Advance HE, where my extensive professional and academic experience contribute to the development of policy at national and international level. 

My research interests focus broadly on inclusion in higher education with particular emphasis on widening participation and the experiences of care experienced students in the education sysytem, using narrative methodology and Bourdieu's theory of practice.