She was the first Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, serving for two terms between 2002 and 2009, and was a member of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council 2008–2012.
She was a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life 1998–2003 and was elected as the first female General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 2011–2013.
[1] Brown left school at age 15 to work for a small insurance company, later returning to Stevenson College to get her Higher examinations through evening classes.
[6] Brown was a member of this consultative steering group which reported to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Donald Dewar, in December 1998.
[14] In June 2002 a cross-party selection panel nominated Brown to lead this service, with Presiding Officer David Steel having the casting vote.
[17] On taking up the ombudsman post she stepped down from her university position and from the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
[19] She led the team that wrote Right First Time, a report that was published in June 2011, advising that the decision-making processes used by public bodies generally needed to improve.
[27] She was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for public service.