I spent over a decade in the health related voluntary sector as a volunteer (including Trustee) and employee (including Chief Executive), before stepping into a variety of Patient and Public Involvement roles, mostly within the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), where I continue to act as a lay reviewer. I was an INVOLVE Advisory Group Member from 2010-2013, and have been a lay member of a number of national advisory bodies, steering groups and committees (including the organising committee of an international scientific conference and the REF2014).  I have presented at conferences, run workshops, written articles and designed and delivered training for researchers and patients. I have worked as an independent consultant in patient involvement/engagement for several years, is a member of the Health Foundation's College of Assessors, Trustee of Pharmacy Research UK, member of the NIHR Dissemination Centre's College of Raters, a lay reviewer for the BMJ and a member of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership's Service User Network.