Jo has extensive experience in the public sector, working for the NHS, Health & Safety Executive and Nuclear Installations Inspectorate before joining the Environment Agency in 2016. Jo took up her role as the Environment Agency’s first ever Chief Regulator in April 2024 – leading the team to enable modern, future focused and effective regulation by providing influential technical leadership across the totality of EA’s regulatory activities. Previously, as Deputy Director and Head of Radioactive Substances and Installations Regulation, Jo led on high-profile projects, including Nuclear New Build, Nuclear Legacy and Waste, Radioactive Source Security, regulation of EPR (Environmental Permitting Regulations) at a range of industrial sectors, Local Authority Unit, Control of Onshore Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH), decarbonisation (hydrogen and carbon capture) and supported a wide range of government plans and strategies. During the last 9 years, Jo has also undertaken a number of senior EA roles, including as Chief Scientist, where she led the Chief Scientist's Group to put strong science and rigorous analysis at the heart of EA's work to create a better place for people and wildlife and to support sustainable development - through research, innovation, evaluation, data analysis and reporting and horizon scanning. She also led a review of EA’s regulation and subsequently set up the team that works to improve EA's regulatory resilience for the challenges facing us now and in the future