Sue began her career in 1979; having trained as a social worker for Hertfordshire Social Services, she began working closely with the Occupational Therapists and rehabilitation service. During this time, she became involved primarily with the population experiencing visual impairment, offering support and advice. She developed her fundamental knowledge and skills, training at the National Mobility Centre in Birmingham, learning braille, daily living skills, anatomy of the eye and ear, teaching and psychology. This was the start of a long career in the mobility service, working for Bucks County Council; Sue covers the entire county and her knowledge and experience is vast and unrivalled.

Sue works closely with individuals with sight loss and hearing impairment, their families, schools and colleges providing a range of support and advice and this gives her insight into a broad range of settings and their practices.  Sue is incredibly motivated, energetic and hands on, delivering practical support within everyone’s environment, such as teaching service users with sight loss to use public transport, to planning individualised care plans and supporting service users to navigate support services and funding. She is especially skilled at engaging all ages from birth upwards and is often seen creating learning opportunities such as her innovative work with a community farm.

Alongside her mobility role, Sue ran Mares Community Farm charity, from 2012 to 2022. Here she worked closely with youngsters with a range of learning disabilities and with the youth offending scheme. She has also been a fosterer for Bucks County Council and if that is not enough, has been involved with animal rescue for the last 25 years with the RSPCA. 

Sue began supporting BNU in 2016 when she began delivering sessions to the ODP students; these sessions explored sight loss and related conditions. Importantly the students were advised how to interact with the visually impaired receiving perioperative care and how to overcome perceived barriers. Sue always makes these sessions fun and interactive, she brings a range of equipment, aids and eyewear that replicates specific eye conditions, allowing the students to get hands on and gain practical experience from the service users perspective. Sue is passionate about her work and is keen to support the university and students, by delivering exceptional learning experiences and skills that are transferable and applicable to practice.