Sally Russell started out as an academic, first as a lecturer at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and later as Research Fellow at Imperial College, London.

She co-founded Netmums (www.netmums.com) in 2000, a community-based network for parents, now with over a million members across the country. Its success has been due to the focus on local communities and on providing support to families. She has been responsible for the development of online support services, including the creation of a series of courses for parents aimed at changing behaviours around relationships, healthy eating and parenting, and a service that has professionals talking to parents in a chat Forum.

She was a member of the Government’s Power of Information Task Force and the Cabinet Office Innovators Council and currently sits on the NHS Direct Innovation Committee