Sarah Barley-McMullen

Sarah Barley-McMullen is a former Senior Lecturer and University Diversity and Inclusion Lead who retired reluctantly in 2022 due to Long Covid. She is founder of Be Longing for Change Consultancy, working when well enough to support charities and communities to embed inclusion and celebrate diversity.

Living with complicated Long Covid, Sarah takes a solution-focused approach to challenges and advocates strongly through her charity and trustee roles. A former Stonewall Role Model, she is the founder and Chair of Trustees of the award-winning Pride in Belper, which she leads with her wife Helen to champion local inclusion and community engagement. She also serves as an Associate of the National Youth Agency, is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an NIHR Reviewer.

Sarah is a Lived Experience Partner for the Post Covid Clinical Society. She is also a Patient and Public Voice Partner for NHS England’s LGBTQ+ Sounding Board and her local ICB, working with their Engagement Team to address health inequalities and promote inclusive practices in primary care. She also volunteers with Long Covid SOS, contributing to social media, blogs and public speaking.

Her contributions to publications on Long Covid and health inequalities appear in leading journals, and her work has been recognised nationally, including as a finalist in the Patient Experience National Awards (2024). 

Sarah lives in Derbyshire with her wife Helen and their dog, Steve, and faces life with a healthy sense of humour.