Sarah has been a passionate supporter of small business and enterprise matters for over 20 years. As a former North East Policy Manager, her professional career has included representing the interests of SMEs at regional and national level, managing SME policy campaigns and successfully building key partnerships with political decision makers, business and community stakeholders. She previously founded a public affairs consultancy company, setting a new agenda within the industry as a social enterprise to help organisations better understand the impacts of complex political and policy environments.  Most recently Sarah has been responsible for managing an extensive portfolio of leadership and workforce development training, creating bespoke skills solutions for public, private and voluntary sector organisations. She holds a Master of Arts in Regional Development, formerly co-founded a women’s business network, is an active member of the business community and Trustee of Epilepsy Outlook.