Meet Alison Chambers

YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL, BUT MAYBE YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT ALL AT ONCE.”

We sat down with Non-Executive Director and Vice Chair, Alison Chambers to talk about her career-to-date and her role at NWAS since joining in 2019. But what we gained, was so much more.

From taking career risks, to being a strong leader, to always remaining value-driven and how after decades of walking the career path (or sprinting down it in her case!), Alison has one clear, important message on maintaining a balance, re-charging and making choices that are right for you.

Alison first qualified as a chartered physiotherapist in 1985. In the mid-90s, she took on her first academic post at the University of Salford, as a lecturer in physiotherapy. Alison then spent the next two decades at various universities across the country, working across development, employability, health, social care and setting up a department of Allied Health Professions. Alison did all this while raising two young sons.

Before we start to bang the drum insisting working mothers really can “have it all”, Alison has some learnt advice. She says:

“I work with many people and always look to encourage a balance. Whether you want to climb the career ladder or stay exactly where you are in your role or you want to make more time for your family or wellbeing, or you want to manage it all in one go, it is completely up to you, it is your choice, your happiness. Never allow anyone else to tell you that the choices you make, aren’t the right choices for you.”

She continues: “I once went on a leadership development programme where I had to create a vision board of what my ambitions, goals and priorities were. Cutting images out of magazines, I loaded my board with so many different ideas and right in the centre, I stuck down a picture of a chimpanzee mother with her baby. This image of a mother was the most important part of that board, because family and children are to me, more important than anything. In a career-driven world, some people find that quite shocking, but balance is key. I’m extremely proud of where I’ve got to in my career but I’m most proud of the time I have given to my family, always making them my priority.”

Both in her role and personally, Alison is interested in being more involved in the trust networks, having been to a few meetings by the newly launched Women’s Network in the last few months. She says: “It’s important to say that finding the right balance is for everyone, not just women, not just working mothers. I have of course resonated with a few young women on leadership programmes, where I try my best to be real using my own experiences. I am not a hero, my skirting boards are not as clean as I’d like but putting my ‘whole self’ forward matters, it keeps me grounded and I hope encourages others to work on getting the career, work and home balance that works for them.”

As Alison’s first non-executive role, she praises Chair Peter White for his support and guidance, she says : “I’ve learnt so much from watching Peter in board meetings and as a boss he’s up there with the best of them.”

Attracted to the role through her previous Allied Health Professions background, Alison felt as though she “already had some affinity with NWAS and is determined to give something back.”

She continued: “Being a non-exec is a privilege, you get to work with great people, our role is to ask good questions, hold the executive to account and probe and seek assurance on behalf of the people we serve. There is no doubt that we are living in challenging times, I’m proud of everyone in the NWAS family and proud to be part of it. We can all make a difference and I hope I do.”