As Executive Director at Changing Lives Laura leads services for women and employment, with responsibility for projects across the North and Midlands. She is driven by the commitment to ensure that quality and growth is led by listening to the people who use the services and experiences of our staff, to meet the needs of people with severe and multiple disadvantage in our communities. Laura sees her role as providing a connection to policy makers, building influence across strategic and political landscapes.
This takes her into the world of institutional advocacy and system change, while building close connections with a wide range of partners – especially as Women’s Specialist on the RR3 advisory group for Ministry of Justice and Chair of the Women’s Network Forum. She sees creativity and innovation as imperative for the sector to thrive. This means exploring diverse opportunities for business development including social investment, the arts, building cross-sector consortia and national partnerships.