Claire relocated her family from England to Northern Ireland in April 2022, having fallen in love with the Province after many visits with her Partner, a local Portrush man, to see her in-laws and friends on the North-West Coast. Claire also has Irish roots and citizenship from her maternal Grandmother being born and raised in her early years in Dublin.
Claire has over 25 years’ experience across Field Sales, Marketing and Programme Management in Software, Telco and Retail organisations, having led direct teams from 11 people to virtual teams with as many as 30 contributors, across European and International time-zones (including China and Singapore), as well as leading cross-functional global teams working with her colleagues in the US.
Claire currently leads a global Commercial Operations, Sales & Delivery Enablement team at a Life Sciences company, where her team provides skills, tools, data and infrastructure to the business supporting its multi-million dollar professional service delivery operations.
Academically Claire attended local state schools in Berkshire, Leicestershire and then back to Berkshire, carried out work experience across her GCSEs and A-Levels at a well-known car manufacturer in Slough, and graduated from university with a First-Class honours business degree. During her time at university she also worked in a local restaurant to support her way through her studies. Taking a more on the job learning approach, Claire then joined a graduate programme, after leaving university, with a well-known high street retailer.
Claire is also a qualified Project and Programme Manager and holds a Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma as a post-graduate/MBA equivalent qualification.
Claire's love of politics was formed in 2009 when she was made redundant during the global crash. Having sought job seekers allowance, Claire headed to her local MPs Constituency Surgery to provide feedback on the welfare system and the inequality of it's allocation and management over time, sustaining unemployment vs enabling claimants back into work to support themselves, their families, their community and economy.
A political activist over the years, Claire has been a regular and familiar face on the doorstep, listening to residents and understanding their concerns. Claire was elected as a local Parish Councillor and was winning hearts & minds when she stood as a local council candidate in the ill-fated covid cancelled local government elections in 2020.
Outside of politics Claire has been a Non-Exec Director of a STEM Charity, and fundraiser and supporter for MacMillan and British Lung Foundation due to personal connections, and during her time at university volunteered for Age Concern driving local village members to and from their clubs, as well as helping with RNLI fundraising to fund a new craft in Hailing Island.
Claire is a passionate voice for others, enabling and coaching others and championing greater diversity and equality for all across our younger generations and women in the workplace. She has led the Women in Sales Enablement UK Chapter, Maidenhead Women2Win and Northern Ireland Conservative Women groups. She also believe in helping young adults to get access to STEM education and careers having launched a UK / International early-careers programmes in a prior role which saw her directly mentoring 26 apprentices across the United Kingdom and China.
When Claire has the opportunity to relax, she spends time with her partner, family and friends, is a walker, yogi and avid reader, as well as a novice knitter.
Claire firmly believes that nothing is to be achieved without putting people at the heart of the matter, and wants to see her local community and economy thrive, not just survive!
My 3 Priorities for East Londonderry:
- REINVIGORATION OF OUR HIGH STREETS I will work with our Levelling Up department to ensure our area receives more grants and funds, in addition to funds already allocated to Coleraine.
- BACKING NORTHERN IRISH FARMERS I will find more ways to help our entrepreneurial and heritage-based farmers create sustainable incomes
- AFFORDABLE HOMES I will strive to create affordable homes for locals, whilst enabling tourism to the area.
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