Louise Shepherd, 1982

Louise read History at Clare and went onto a career in NHS management. Since 2008 Louise has held the position of Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and earlier this year was appointed Chair of the NHS England's National Children and Young People Transformation Board.

Who was your greatest Clare influence and why?

It's difficult to pin down just one person who influenced me whilst at Clare – the place was just full of inspiring people – students and academics - who were passionate about what they did and kind and generous in sharing their passion with others.  Of all my History Tutors, Paul Cartledge stands out in my memory for the way he brought Ancient Greece so vividly to life – I go right back to that college room every time I hear his voice on the radio! 

Musical life at Clare was also brilliant…what a privilege for the humble fiddle player I was to get to play with folk who would go on to be extraordinary musicians in their own right in later life: Margaret Faultless, Lesley Hatfield and Andrew Manze to name but 3.  They certainly inspired a life-long love of playing and being involved with music to this day.

Louise's Story

I chose Clare principally because it had the longest pedigree as a Co-Ed college in Cambridge at the time and because of its musical life.  It felt – and turned out to be – a beautiful and welcoming place, where I met many lovely, talented, fun people who would become life-long friends, not least my now husband of 30 years, Keith.

The academic pace was pretty frantic, and if much of the content is now a bit of a blur, I certainly learnt how to synthesise knowledge quickly from those extraordinarily long reading lists that landed every week and turn it into some kind of cogent argument that was invariably written up overnight before the weekly deadline. 

More than anything, the opportunity to mix with so many interesting and talented people was fantastic and inspiring, whether that was through music, sports, or in nights punting down the Cam to Grantchester with the cheapest fizz we could find.

I was never totally sure what I wanted to do with my life after Cambridge, other than that I did want to do something to help make a positive difference to people’s lives.  My Mother died of cancer during my final year at Clare, which, although a very difficult time personally, did eventually lead me into a career in NHS management, an institution both she and I felt passionately about.  That career has given me the privilege of working with incredible colleagues, patients and families, in particular, over the last 15 years, children and young people.  It has been the most extraordinary honour to have worked together to create the new Children’s Health Park at Alder Hey in Liverpool during this time and support colleagues who are making a real difference to children’s lives in the UK and around the world.

I have no doubt my time at Clare helped give me the personal confidence to undertake the roles I have over the years – but at the same time keep me grounded.  After all, I am still the same kid who got the punt pole stuck behind a shutter, sliding not too gracefully down it into the murky Cam in full view of a delighted crowd of onlookers.