Loretta became the 46th Master of Clare College on 1 October 2021. Prior to taking up this position she was First Church Estates Commissioner from 2017-2021. In this role she was a member of the Church Commissioners' Board of Governors, the General Synod of the Church of England and the Archbishops' Council, and chaired the assets committee which is responsible for managing an investment portfolio of about £10 billion. Before that, from 2010-17, Loretta was Chief Executive of Christian Aid where she oversaw responses to natural disasters, refugee crises and hunger and famine emergencies and led long-term development work and advocacy on major issues affecting the world’s poorest people, including climate change.

Loretta is a lawyer by training who began a career in financial regulation in 1990. The first Head of Enforcement Law, Policy and International Cooperation for the Financial Services Authority, in 2004 she became Chief Executive of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The 2007-8 financial crisis made this a role of critical ethical and political importance, as she oversaw the payment of over £21bn to victims of bank and other financial failures. In recognition of her exceptional contribution, she was awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honours list of 2010.