Sally has more than seventeen years experience as a senior trade union official, latterly as general secretary of the Association of University Teachers (AUT). Since June 2006 she has been joint general secretary of UCU.
She was elected general secretary of the AUT in 2002 at the age of 36.
Sally had previously been appointed an AUT assistant general secretary in 1995 at the age of 30.
Prior to joining AUT Sally was an assistant general secretary of the Nationwide Group Staff Union (NGSU), having been appointed in 1991.
Her first job in the trade union movement was as a senior research officer with the financial trade union now known as Accord, and before that Sally worked as an Information Officer at the University of Sussex.
Her many roles since joining AUT have included being the union's lead negotiator on pay and pensions, presenting the union's views and policies to ministers and select committees in parliament, responsibility for industrial relations, merger negotiations with NATFHE, the union's finances, equalities issues, training, campaigning and legal and membership services.
Sally holds a number of positions outside the union and is now in her third year of representing AUT and now UCU on the general council of the trade union congress (TUC).
Her duties include being the TUC's spokesperson on international issues.