Jackie is an Occupational Therapist with experience of working with children and adults with physical, sensory, cognitive and postural difficulties across a range of settings; and has been course director teaching undergraduate and postgraduate therapist education in the UK, Ireland and USA. She has worked as a clinician in industry influencing product design and manufacture in mobility related assistive technologies. She now holds a joint appointment as a Reader for research in Ulster University, and Head of research and development for nursing, midwifery, and allied health professions in the Southern Health & Social Care Trust supporting clinicians to carry out clinically relevant healthcare research. 

She is passionate about enabling people to live their lives to the fullest, advocating for inclusive and universally designed environments. She promotes co-design with service users, and the adoption of the principle of ‘nothing for us without us’ in all of our work. She is particularly interested in using assistive technology to enable individuals to live the life they want to live. 

She hopes to bring her research and clinical skills, knowledge and understanding of health and social care service delivery, and her networks locally, nationally and internationally, to support the work of Cedar.