[9] She had previously been head of the East of England Development Agency (and presided over its abolition) and before that Chief Executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk.
After joining Birmingham City Council as an economic development officer, she worked on some of the biggest urban regeneration projects in the country.
During this period she also worked on major policy projects and public and private sector ventures while gaining her first master's degree in economics.
[11] She worked with senior civil servants on local government legislation, advised ministers and provided direct support to councils in the East of England on the modernisation agenda.
[13] She was awarded an honorary degree by Loughborough University in 2023 for her success and services in urban regeneration and local government, as well as her work that has championed equality, diversity and inclusion.