Appointed 1 February 2022

Ms Cowley brings a wealth of experience gained in large, national and regional, health, social care and third sector organisations. She has held senior leadership positions, both as an employee and in a charitable trustee capacity, ensuring she brings a strong foundation in financial, business and operational planning, project evaluation and impact monitoring, amongst other expertise.

She is particularly skilled at developing partnerships across the voluntary and public sector, including the evolution of the VCSE Alliance as part of the development of Integrated Care Systems.

Ms Cowley is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beacon Vision having worked for the organisation since 2018, one of the region’s most established and well-known health and social care charities. She has bought many positive improvements to the charity and is passionate about making a difference to the lives of people living with sight loss across the West Midlands. In addition to her unwavering dedication to Beacon’s charitable objectives, she is committed to building long-term sustainability, actively seeking new ways to improve and develop increased integrated, cooperative and progressive health and social care systems to support beneficiaries.

Previous roles have included Deputy CEO of the Black Country Living Museum, where she implemented significant change programmes and oversaw complex funding bids and projects of national heritage significance. Ms Cowley has also been involved in complex projects during her time at organisations such as the RSPB and The British Horse Society, where she developed and implemented the charity’s national volunteer programme. A highlight from her earlier career includes a pivotal role in the redevelopment of the world’s first ‘skyscraper’ in Shrewsbury.

She is originally from Wolverhampton, having returned after completing her degree at the University of Liverpool. Her personal interests include a passion for farming and the countryside and horse riding.