Position:
Associate Director of Inclusion
Company:
Barts Health NHS Trust
Bio:
Bernadette is the Associate Director of Inclusion for NHS Barts Health. Prior to this role, she many Government departments and agencies, including, Ministry of Justice, Home Office, HM Treasury, Legal Aid Agency, Cabinet Office and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
She is a strategic and progressive HR professional with depth of knowledge, insight and expertise in Diversity and Inclusion culture and practice. She has a proven track record of leveraging substantial leadership capability and business acumen to shape and embed innovative strategies that promote accountability and engagement in diversifying talent pipelines and driving cultural transformation.
For 5 years, Bernadette co-chaired a multi-award-winning cross government race network; she is a pivotal influencer and trusted partner to senior leaders across a range of sectors. She has a proven track record of engaging with employees at every level, reaching hearts and minds and supporting people to be the best that they can be. She is also a Different Woman Ambassador and actively advocates for a more inclusive gender agenda, amplifying the voices for women of colour.
She provides training, facilitates organisational discussions, and delivers keynotes on Diversity, inclusion, organisation cultural change, leadership, employee engagement, wellbeing, and various other aspects of how to create a thriving workforce.
In 2020 Bernadette won the Workplace Hero category in the national investing in Ethnicity Awards for championing and driving race equality and inclusion across the Civil Service. In 2021 she won one of the prestigious “We are the City” Rising Star Champion awards and in June 2021, Bernadette was awarded an OBE for services to Diversity and Inclusion.
Bernadette is a contributor to the publication Still Breathing and featured in SHE2’s first publication, Wonder Women – redefining leadership in the world of work.
Bernadette has been a Community Governor at a local infant school for over 18 years and volunteers at athletics/sports events such as 2012 Olympics, 2017 World Athletics and 2022 commonwealth games.