Perteghella is a former university lecturer and a former school governor.[3] From 2006 to 2012, she was a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University. She has also worked as a curator of community arts projects, published research in literary translation and been a principal tutor at the University of Warwick, a contributing artist and researcher at King's College London, and an associate lecturer for the Open University.[4][5]
According to her Register of Members' Interests, she stood down as a Director of Environmental Policy Consulting following her election, and worked as an Associate Lecturer at the Open University.[9]
Personal life
Perteghella is married to Dr Bruce Horton, who is an environmental economist, and they have three children together.[10] She lives with her family in Welford.[1]
Despite having lived in the United Kingdom for 30 years, Perteghella was not permitted to vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum as she was not a British citizen at the time. She cited as her inspiration for entering politics her "feeling of being (quite literally) disenfranchised [which] was, through engaging with politics itself, transformed into a sense of empowerment".[11]