The ME Association welcomes our new Associate Trustee, Tilly Robinson-Miles

The ME Association is pleased to welcome Tilly Robinson-Miles as a new Associate Trustee. Below Tilly introduces herself and explains why becoming an Associate Trustee is so important to her.

My name is Tilly Robinson-Miles and I joined the ME Association in December 2021, as an Associate Trustee, particularly to support the future trajectory of policy, social media and campaigns work.

I’ve been aware of and have had first-hand experience of ME/ CFS my whole life, having seen the debilitating impact of the condition for my own mother, combined with limited public and professional awareness and acknowledgement of the condition. I have experienced first-hand how invaluable the work of the ME Association is for people with ME/CFS but also their loved ones. I hope through this trusteeship I can support the organisation to continue to be an advocate and huge support for all whose lives are impacted by ME/ CFS.

I am a Geographer and a Social Scientist. People and their stories underpin all I do. I hold an undergraduate degree in Human Geography and a Master's in Food Security and Food Justice, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Over the past few years, I have worked in a range of ways to change the narrative around what constitutes food insecurity amongst older adults and the need to recognise the non-financial barriers to food insecurity, many of which transcend this social group and affect us all. I currently work for a Scottish charity, The Food Train, leading our policy work, as part of our Eat Well Age Well Project. We work to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition, amongst older adults, which is often preventable. I work to ensure policy recognises the social and wellbeing importance of food and that policy recognises the interconnected importance of food across government, as well as the need to see health beyond solely a medicalised model. I believe policy and policy change is an important means to protect and demonstrate commitment to supporting and valuing all.

I hope my personal experience of supporting a loved one with ME/CFS and my professional experience in creating policy change, will support the future of the organisation. I am looking forward to listening and learning and working with all at the ME Association.

Outside of my working life, I enjoy being in the outdoors, I am a keen rock climber, kayaker and love to make the most of the mountains and a brisk sea swim or beach walk close to my home in Edinburgh. I also love spending time with friends and family and reading a good book or listening to a podcast. A personal favourite is Jessie and Lennie Ware’s ‘Table Manners”. This centres on everything I love – sharing good food and conversation with good people.

You can find more about me and my work on my professional Twitter account – @trobinsonmiles