Born in 1964, Anna went to school in Cambridgeshire and trained to be a teacher in Reading before moving to Leigh near Wigan. She spent six years teaching in a special school where she fell in love with the potential for technology to transform the lives of children with complex needs and moved on to the position of Manager of the ACE Centre in 1997. This Centre provides services for children and adults with little or no speech or who are not able physically to write, to communicate using technology and Anna established the organisation as a charity in 2001.
Since 2009, in addition to her ACE Centre role she has worked on a part time basis as the National AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Coordinator, a post created in response to a review by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP. Supporting the former Communication Champion for England, Jean Gross CBE, Anna has developed a model of provision for the Government to ensure that anyone who needs a communication aid and support will get it. In 2012, Anna’s charity took over the running of its sister centre in Oxfordshire and has established the charity as a truly national organisation providing its services across the country.
Anna now lives in south Manchester with her husband and has two children, Jake and Molly. To relax (!), she loves playing tennis, reading and working on their allotment. Anna was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2013