Kate Hawley

Kate Hawley lives in Newcastle with two young children and her American husband, Scott. She was inspired to get involved in public and patient involvement caring for her best friend who passed away from a rare form of mouth cancer in her early thirties, leaving two preschool-aged children behind who are now Godchildren to Kate and Scott. As part of this cancer journey, Kate's friend lost the use of her voice, and so the ability for Kate to amplify the patient 'voice' is even more poignant. She is now quite experienced in patient and public advocacy, sitting on numerous NIHR panels to assess PPIE input into funding applications and being part of Patient Advisory Groups in Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, NICE, NHS England and Great Ormond Street Hospital. She has recently been elected as a Governor to the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust. Outside of her health advocacy, she is a senior manager for the Forestry Commission and spends her time leading on government grants for woodland creation and management in Northumberland and Yorkshire.