Barbara has worked in widening participation and outreach for over 15 years and is committed to ensuring groups under-represented in higher education, particularly care experienced students, have opportunity to make informed choices about their future and to realise their potential. Barbara is Senior Project Manager for widening participation collaborative partnerships at Newcastle University including Realising Opportunities (RO), an award-winning, national partnership of English research intensive universities. In 2020, Barbara undertook a nine-month secondment acting as Newcastle University’s Head of Recruitment and Widening Participation and therefore has a first-hand understanding of the challenges faced when embedding institution-wide strategies for under-represented groups and the success this approach brings.