Prior to entering the Legislative Council, Clohesy had an extensive career in social policy, service delivery and advocacy, culminating in her appointment as Deputy Director of People with Disability Australia.
She was one of six children raised solely by her mother before the social reforms of the Whitlam Government, a situation that greatly influenced her worldview.
In 1988 she was appointed Executive Officer of the Brain Injury Association of New South Wales[2] (formerly Headway NSW) and then, after a stint in the tourism sector she returned to advocacy work as Manager of Policy and Advocacy with People with Disabilities (NSW) in 1991.
She spent time in Adelaide where she worked as a social policy consultant while undertaking tertiary education and was a lecturer in the School of International, Community and Cultural Studies at Edith Cowan University while undertaking postgraduate studies.
In 2003, she returned to People with Disability Australia Incorporated and was appointed Deputy Director with responsibility for Human Rights and Advocacy in 2004, working particularly on the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.