Fiona joined Heritage Lottery Fund in March 2004, after a varied career in academia, motherhood, marketing and development.
Educated at the University of Edinburgh, her post-doctoral work (at the Universities of Yale and Wisconsin) and publications focussed on Slavery and Abolition. This involved extensive research throughout the UK, Ireland, France and the USA.
Following a career break, she became Appeals Manager at St Anne’s Shelter and Housing Action, Leeds, where she edited Housing and Social Exclusion (1998) and prepared evidence on homelessness for the government’s Social Exclusion Unit.
As Director of Development at Yorkshire Sculpture Park she was responsible for delivering several major capital improvements, including the award winning Visitor Centre. This involved securing and monitoring funding from a wide variety of sources as well as managing the delivery of the projects. “A poacher turned gamekeeper” she has also been involved with a range of fundraising and other charitable work, including serving as a Trustee for the British Red Cross (West Yorkshire Branch).