'Walking will create more sustainable places'

My motivation for joining the Board of Trustees at Living Streets stems from my own lived experience of poverty. My early years were spent growing up on one of England’s most deprived estates. Like many post-war social housing developments, the estate was dislocated from the rest of the town by an impenetrably busy road and poor public transport links.

For too long, people in deprived communities have been forced to live with poor infrastructure and pollution. For me, social justice and environmental sustainability are two sides to the same coin – and making both a reality is what’s driven my career.

Over the last 20 years, I’ve been privileged to work with some great organisations including the UK Sustainable Development Commission, Oxfam and most recently as a member of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales.

Active travel, and in particular walking, is an essential ingredient in creating more sustainable places. For five years I was an executive director of Sustrans, where I led the charity’s work in Wales and established a new UK external affairs directorate.

I worked closely with Living Streets Cymru to campaign for a ban on pavement parking and the introduction of a default residential speed limit of 20 miles an hour. Together with Living Streets, I also helped create a new UK-level advocacy coalition (the Walking & Cycling Alliance) which successfully secured record funding for active travel in England.

In 2017, I won a bursary which enabled me to spend extended time in Copenhagen learning about how the city has successfully created an urban environment that works for pedestrians and those who wheel. I was also able to complete an executive course at Oxford University to explore and reflect on some of the more fundamental drivers of inequality, like race and gender, and how they impact transport policy and practice.

Since leaving Sustrans, I’ve developed a portfolio of freelance roles, including joining the board at Living Streets. It’s a fantastic organisation to work with. Led by an excellent chair, the board really focuses on the things that matter and strikes the right kind of balance between supporting and challenging the senior staff team. I’m struck by the diversity of board colleagues, not just in terms of characteristics and lived experience, but also in the different skills and leadership styles they bring to the table.

And of course, a charity the size of Living Streets is nothing without dedicated staff and volunteers. I’m always inspired by those who continually go above and beyond to make life better for pedestrians, which is why I’m proud to be a trustee of Living Streets.