Professor Faye Ruddock

Professor Faye Ruddock DL is the Founder and Chair of The Caribbean & African Health Network and a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester. She is a clinician with extensive experience in nursing, maternity, public health, a researcher, and a national leader in health equity, anti-racist practice, and community centred system change. She serves as the Independent Chair of the NHS England North WestAntiracist Advisory Group for Nursing and Midwifery, where she strengthens standards, accountability, and workforce representation.

Professor Ruddock is Chair of Health Equity and Director of the Health Equity and Social Justice Institute at the University of Greater Manchester. Her earlier academic leadership centred on developing undergraduate and master’s degrees in nursing and a postgraduate master’s in public health. Her current work in Higher Education now focuses on whole scale equitable curriculum design, fair placement development, and evidence-based approaches that address structural inequity and improve access to high quality care.

She co-chaired the Diabetes UK Commission, shaping a community based and equity focused approach to prevention, early diagnosis, and culturally safe care. She also contributes to national work on equity in maternity and women’s health. She is Co-Chair of the Equity and Equality Maternity Programme in Greater Manchester, and was until recently the Chair for NHS North West Co-Production Maternal Medicine Network supporting improvements in safety, dignity, and outcomes for underserved communities.

Professor Ruddock chaired the first Black Cardiovascular Disease National AdvisoryGroup for NHS England. This work brought together clinical leaders, researchers, and community partners to address the disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease in Black communities and to strengthen national understanding of risk, prevention, and early intervention.

She is also the author of Decolonising Public Health by Praxis. Across all her roles, Professor Ruddock is driven by a commitment to dignity, justice, and the belief that communities often left behind must be central partners in shaping the systems that affect their lives.