The most complex of issues are crying out for the input of those closest to the challenges

What Rachel has been working on

Rachel is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), facilitator, and former nurse whose career has spanned clinical practice, healthcare improvement, leadership development, research, and coaching across the NHS, academia, and the voluntary sector.

After training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, Rachel specialised incardiac and respiratory care, holding clinical posts at Barts, the John Radcliffe Hospital, the London Chest Hospital, and the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust.

She later moved into healthcare improvement, contributing to a pioneering programme that reduced heart surgery waiting times before becoming Senior Nurse for User Involvement, where she led patient engagement initiatives and NHS survey responsibilities.

From 2009 to 2019, Rachel led Patient and Public Engagement and Involvement for the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Northwest London, supporting researchers, clinicians, improvement teams, and people with lived experience.

Leadership, Coaching and Collaboration

Rachel has written for healthcare journals and taught undergraduate and postgraduate students at Thames Valley University and Imperial College London, combining academic expertise with practical experience in research, improvement, and leadership development.

Before becoming self-employed in 2024, she served as Interim Head of the Co-Production Collective in Research at University College London and as Learning and Leadership Development Coach at National Voices, strengthening collaborative approaches to health and care improvement.

She also helped design and test Voices for Improvement, an innovative model integrating co-leadership, co-design, coaching, mentoring, and lived experience partnerships, while providing technical support to the Health Foundation’s Common Ambition Programme through National Voices.

Rachel holds an MSc in Health Education and Promotion from King’s College London. Drawing on leadership development, Co-Active coach training, and learning from Alaska’s Nuka System of Care, she helps people lead with compassion, creativity, inclusivity, and resourcefulness.