Since retiring from her role as CEO of the Higher Education (HE) Statistics Agency, concerned with UK wide HE data capture and information provision, Alison has pursued a non-exec portfolio and undertaken consultancy as well as coaching and mentoring engagements. Alison is a member of the Bar Standards Board, responsible for the regulation and training of barristers and is on the Board of Study Group UK and Regent’s University London Ltd. She is the external member on Cambridge University’s strategic IS Committee. She has contributed to higher education at a national level, including the Jisc Board, HEFCE’s Leadership, Governance and Management Strategic Advisory Committee and eScience sub committees of the ESRC and AHRC research councils.

Prior to that Alison was on the senior executive of Bristol University as Deputy Registrar and Director of IS. She was Director of IT at Warwick University and Director of Computing for Goldsmiths College University of London. She began her career as an archaeologist and then moved to the British Museum’s computerization team and took an MSc at LSE in computing and management and then held a number of IT focused roles.

In 2016 New Year’s Honors she was awarded an OBE for services to Higher Education.