Emma is Chief Executive of the National Governance Association (NGA) - the leading charity for guidance, advice, research, and professional development for school governors, trustees, governing boards and their clerks. Emma is an accomplished writer and speaker on a range of school governance policy and practice topics. 

She has a particular interest in vision, culture and strategy; accountability; stakeholder engagement; disadvantage; ethical leadership; and diversity and inclusion and is author of NGA’s Chair’s Handbook. Prior to joining NGA in 2010, Emma was joint CEO of the Daycare Trust and before that, worked in a number of roles in the voluntary sector. 

She was a governor at a secondary school in Warwickshire for eight years. Emma was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours list for services to education.