I am a strategic leader with experience of, and a passion for, advocating with communities and engaging decision makers to inspire positive change to benefit individuals and wider society. I am currently the Head of Communications and Engagement at charity Auditory Verbal UK which supports deaf babies and young children.

Three babies are born deaf in the UK every day and they are currently falling behind their hearing peers. But when they have access to early, effective interventions to develop language and communication, they can thrive. Auditory verbal therapy is an approach to developing listening and spoken language with a compelling evidence base and strong outcomes. However, less than 10% of deaf children in the UK can currently access it due to a postcode lottery of public sector professionals trained in the approach and no government funding.

I will seek to understand how effective advocacy and influencing can engage governments and decision makers to take action to ensure equal access to early support for deaf children, unlocking public funding to improve outcomes as well as social and economic benefits for health systems and wider society.