How did you become involved with adoption and Adoption UK?

I am an adult adopted person raised in a family of four children where three of us were adopted, each of us being brought into the family at birth.

I have an interest in supporting the emotional wellbeing of adopted adults as they move through the various stages of their own lives and begin to build their own relationships and families – from navigating identity formation, to dealing with familial dynamics inherent in adoption journeys.

I am passionate about advocating for policy enhancement that promotes adoptees' rights to personal health data, while also providing adults subjected to forced adoptions (and their immediate family members or descendants) with the appropriate support.

Any specific skills or areas of expertise relevant to the work of Adoption UK?

I work closely with the leadership teams of large international corporate entities on operational strategy and process efficiency, and I have a keen interest in change management and behavioural science and the application of these areas in commercial contexts.

I currently sit on the Advisory Board for BARBRI Global as the company seeks to promote greater social mobility within the legal profession. My role is to help open doors, create partnerships, and connect the company with key corporate stakeholders. I have also held roles on the advisory boards of Maanch - the first global impact platform to facilitate funding to worthy projects using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - and The Legal Forecast - a not-for-profit peer to peer organisation run by early-career professionals who are passionate about disruptive thinking and access to justice.

I love making connections and aim to do so many, many times as part of my role with Adoption UK.

How do you want to see Adoption UK develop over the next five years?

Over the coming five years, I hope to see Adoption UK provide a dedicated support service for not just adopted children, but for adopted adults as well so that this community can receive support for the unique challenges that they face at various stages of their lives.

By identifying, studying and acknowledging the needs to adult adoptees throughout every age and stage of their lives, Adoption UK can provide support across all elements of the adoption lifecycle and proactively provide assistance and support.

I would also like to see Adoption UK build and maintain closer ties to the business community through corporate partnerships and collaborations, fostering mutual support and leveraging resources for greater societal impact.