Joining the BRC has allowed me to work on some of the biggest political issues of recent times, including Brexit (pre and post withdrawl), Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis. Managing a small team, I oversee our communications, including press, social media, member comms, speech writing and our reputational risk work. I also run our media training and regularly act as a spokesperson on key issues (>200 interviews to date).I have overseen a fourfold increase in the BRC's media footprint to ~75,000 pieces of coverage a year (including ~5,000 pieces in national newspaper & broadcasters per year). I regularly work with the Today Programme, BBC News, Sky News, 5 Live, and have built very strong relationships with retail, consumer, business and political journalists across the UK's national press. I ensure our key messages visible in the media, as well as to our members and other stakeholders.In my time at the BRC I have generated:- Over 400,000 pieces of coverage, including 25,000 pieces in national press/broadcast- Over 40 appearances for BRC spokespeople on the Today Programme- Over 10,000 media enquiries- Appearances in dozens of national front page stories- Countless changes to Government policy to support the retail industryI also regularly work closely with our Government relations team, helping develop comprehensive external affairs strategies to meet our lobbying objectives. I hold key relationships with Government departments including with Defra and the FSA. I have also been out to meet MPs and Spads, developing key relationships with UK policy-makers. I hold our key relationships with a number of Government departments, including Defra and the FSA.

Supporting the strategic decision making process for the Albion Street Community Charity, including the running of its charity shop and distribution of grants and funds for local projects.

Biomedical research plays a vital part in the development of the medicines many of us rely on. I wanted to use my communication skills to share this simple message. Through innovating public-facing campaigns, media engagement, and communication guidance for members, I helped to shape the industry approach to animal research communication.I acted as spokesman for the organisation in over 40 TV and radio interviews. This experience also helped me develop and deliver training modules to over 100 university, charity and industry staff on crisis communication, media strategy, debating in public, and social media. I supported members with their crisis communication, writing several communication guides in use by over 40 universities and 100 charity press offices.

In 2008 I was awarded the Michael D. Hayre Fellowship in Public Outreach by Americans for Medical Progress. I moved to the US and set up an organisation, Speaking of Research, aimed at improving public understanding of biomedical research. I built a website, presented in lecture halls and boardrooms up across the US, and built up a committee of volunteers. My written communication skills were put to the test through hundreds of blog posts written over my tenure.Over the next ten years I built an organisation that has influenced the global debate around animal research. We gained coverage in national TV, radio and newspaper outlets in the US and UK. Our letter to US Today, calling for greater openness, was signed by 600 scientists, including four Nobel Laureates. I helped to coordinate pro-science demonstrations in the US and Italy.I also learned a lot about web development and SEO. I built the Speaking of Research website from nothing, into a giant learning resource which received over 700,000 views a year and includes over a thousand articles.When I left Understanding Animal Research to move into Corporate Communications I decided, ten years on from founding Speaking of Research, that it was also time to move on from there too - handing over the reins to a committee of dedicated scientists.

I benefited from supportive upbringing, a great education and fantastic teachers; as a result I was fortunate to go a top university with promising career prospects. Yet, parental wealth remains the biggest determinant of a child's academic success, and this simply should not be the case. I joined Teach First to do my part to understand the mitigate this systemic problem. Over three years, I taught Maths, Economics, Philosophy and Business to students aged 11-18 at Quintin Kynaston Academy, an inner-city London school where around half the students were eligible for free school meals. I collaborated with fellow teachers to create new schemes of work, and developed a programme aimed at encouraging bright students who lacked confidence to apply to top universities.Teaching taught me a lot about educating and supporting adults and children, and I've used this experience to improve the way I deliver talks, training sessions and more. But most of all, teaching taught me about resilience and perseverance. There were days when getting kids to sit down felt like an achievement, but resilience is what got me up the next day with a drive to accept nothing less than a packed day of learning for every student.

Based on my campaigning work at university, I was invited to Washington DC as the Michael D. Hayre Fellow in Public Outreach. In this role I travelled around the US - to pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutes - explaining the benefits of being open and honest about the role of animals in medical research. Supported by AMP, I founded Speaking of Research, which I ran for ten years before handing over the reins.