She is keenly aware of the gender dynamics at play in conflict and in peace and has studied the role and contribution of women and military masculinities in Counter Insurgency Operations and the British Army.

She has almost 30 years of service with the British Armed forces and worked with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on several occasions including in repatriating UK citizens during the Icelandic volcanic eruption and during the planning for the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

During 2014, she initially worked with the United Nations as an Intelligence Planning Officer in the Democratic Republic of Congo and later in the role of the UN Force Commander's Child Protection and Gender Field Adviser.

Following this experience, in May 2015 in a special training workshop for the female military officers (32 officers from 24 countries attended) conducted by UN Women, in association with the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in India she gave a lecture stating: "As militaries are male-dominated and the majority of the leadership is male-dominated... a young woman thinking of this career may be put off because there doesn’t seem to be an infrastructure in place to support her".

Her approach also represented the United Kingdom's binding adherence to enhance its presence internationally to prevent sexual violence in conflict and wider issues relating to gender dynamics; this policy is integral to the United Kingdom's "National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative" (PSVI).