Serving the Teesside Business Community | 11
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THE VOICE OF THE NORTH
EAST IS HEARD AND WE CAN MAKE THE RIGHT
CHANGES FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
The best part of my job is… meeting
inspiring women who are determined to
make a change. I love coming to work and
seeing the impact of sheer determination
turning lives around. People taking control
of their situation and especially women who
turn adversity into something positive. They
come to us with no expectation and in such
challenging environments, it’s amazing to see
how they can prosper with a little help along
the way. It’s a very rewarding job.
The biggest downside of my working life
is… seeing hardship and people who are
vulnerable. That’s never nice to see. We see
people who are in quite serious situations,
some are destitute.
Four words to describe me are… energetic,
driven, loyal and passionate.
My business mantra is… focus on your
moral compass and work hard to achieve it.
The advice I’d give to business start-ups
is… focus on a model of delivery.
The best business decision I ever made
was… taking a risk. I left a corporate job to
focus on something I really wanted to do.
I’d worked in international banking and the
airline industry in London before moving
to Middlesbrough 22 years ago. I didn’t
know what to expect, so I had to start from
a complete level playing field and re-train
myself. It was daunting at the time. I had a
specific set of skills, and I wasn’t sure how
I’d be able to adapt in a small conurbation
and within the different industries here.
But it was the best thing I ever did. I had
to look at what I’d achieved in the past so I
concentrated on social justice and completed
my Masters in criminal justice.
The worst business decision I ever made
was… not taking a risk. I worked in diversity
for 15 years and wish I’d left earlier.
If I could change one thing to help my
business it would be… to influence national
policy on things like accommodation for
women who are fleeing domestic violence.
We’re not there yet but it’s one of the things
we’re aspiring to achieve, I want to make
sure the voice of the North East is heard and
we can make the right changes for our local
communities.
My tip for Tees businesses is… create the
right partnerships around you, develop a
good model that works and always be willing
to diversify.
When I was at school, I wanted to be…
an ambassador for the government, working
overseas