Membership and Biographies
January 2011 Equality Advisory Group Membership Details
Chair:
Marsha Scott
Vice Chair:
Tim Hopkins
Committee Members:
Bruce Adamson, Scottish Human Rights Commission
Susan Anderson, Mental Health Act Facilitator, NHS Fife
Bill Gray, Fife Disability Trainers
Tim Hopkins, Equality Network
Bushra Iqbal, seconded from WESREC
Pramila Kaur, Scottish Inter Faith Council
Monica Lee-MacPherson, Reciprocal Exchange Network Development Officer
Alan McCloskey, Victim Support Scotland
Jim Sweeney, YouthLink Scotland
MEMBERS' BIOGRAPHIES
Chair: Marsha Scott, Principal Officer, Health Policy & Planning: Marsha is a feminist activist, researcher and practitioner and has worked against violence against women in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe for 20 years. She represents Engender (and Scotland) on the UK Joint Committee on Women, is the UK board member on the European Women’s Lobby, and the UK Expert delegate to the EWL’s European Observatory on Violence Against Women. She is a member of the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group on Men's Violence Against Women and Children and sits on the Women's National Commission's Violence Against Women subgroup. Scott is Principal Officer for Health, Policy and Planning at West Lothian Council, where she manages the Policy and Equality team.
Bruce Adamson, Legal Officer, Scottish Commission on Human Rights: Bruce is from Wellington, New Zealand. He has degrees in Law and History. He practised as a barrister and solicitor in Wellington before moving to Scotland in 2002. He qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2004 and in Scotland in 2006. Since 2004 he has been a member of Edinburgh’s Children’s Panel. He worked for the Scottish Parliament and then Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People before taking a position as the legal officer at the Scottish Human Rights Commission in October 2008.
Susan Anderson, Mental Health Facilitator NHS Fife: Susan joined the NHS in 1978 as a psychiatric nurse where she worked in acute and rehabilitative psychiatry. She is currently the Mental Health Act Facilitator for NHS Fife and her role includes facilitating and coordinating the implementation of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, in partnership with clinical and managerial colleagues, using knowledge and expertise on the legislation, and acting as a specialist resource for professional colleagues. In addition, she provides advice, training and support in all areas of legislation affecting mental health and learning disability services.
Bill Gray, Disability Equality Trainer: Qualifying through the Open University course in 1990, Bill established the Fife Disability Equality Trainers and now works with a wide spectrum of organisations in the public and private sectors. His training and facilitation work extends to special projects, such as the Portuguese Government’s evaluation of social services for disabled people and the introduction of disability legislation and reviews of service provision in this country. Bill is a Tribunal member for Social Security appeals, Vice Chair and founder member of Dunfermline Citizen Advocacy Initiative and Committee member and founder of Fife Independent Disability Network. Bill is a wheelchair user and a qualified Yacht Master, sailing his 30 foot yacht round the coasts of Scotland, Northern England and Ireland.
Tim Hopkins, legislation and policy worker of the Equality Network: Tim is the legislation and policy worker of the Equality Network, which is a national network in Scotland working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. The Equality Network currently comprises 350 LGBT and other groups, and 800 individuals, across Scotland. It works, alongside organisations operating in other equality areas, for equitable laws, policies and services from the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Executive and national policy makers in Scotland. Tim was also the Scotland representative on the Steering Group for the new GBCommission for Equality and Human Rights.
Bushra Iqbal, West of Scotland Regional Equality Council: Strategy and Policy Development. Her work with WSREC includes working with public body organisations in the development of their equality policies, community engagement activities, training and consultation forums. She is founder and Chair of the North Lanarkshire Muslim Women and Family Alliance. She promotes thedevelopment of Muslim families integration into the wider community. She is an Executive Member of the Muslim Council of Scotland and is also an independent advisor to Strathclyde Police. She is the founder of Monan Women’s Trust in Pakistan where over a hundred young girls and women are supported in their education and IT skill in a rural setting. She has worked with COPFS as an adviser facilitating and co-ordinating the community engagement, devising implementation strategy for the area, assessment of policy impact, staff training and case work advice in relation to Diversity and Equality in Strathclyde area.
Pramila Kaur, Scottish Interfaith Council: Pramila is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Interfaith Council. She has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and brings a wealth of experience in the areas of equality and diversity developed in the education and housing sectors and through her involvement in research, training, campaigning, policy development and management. She also supports the work of a number of external organisations through their Boards of Management, including: the Inter Faith Network for the UK; Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance; and Womankind Worldwide.
Monica Lee-MacPherson, Reciprocal Exchange Network Development Officer. Further details to follow.
Alan McCloskey, Head of Victim and Witness Service, Victim Support Scotland (VSS):Alan has strategic oversight and management of all Victim Support Services across Scotland. He helps ensure that VSS is at the forefront of criminal justice system and that the needs of victims and witnesses are fully understood at Government and at local level while delivering real benefits and measurable outcomes for victims and witnesses of crime in Scotland. He is responsible for the development and effective management of over 100 front line staff and over 650 volunteers. He works closely with senior colleagues and key personnel in external agencies to provide an integrated and effective service to people affected by crime. Alan has a public sector background. Prior to joining Victim Support Scotland in April 2005, Alan gained over 20 years experience operating in a range of managerial and business change positions with the Health and Safety Executive in Edinburgh.
Jim Sweeney, Chief Executive YouthLink Scotland: Jim has been the Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland since February 2006. Working previously in local government at a senior level in Community Learning and Development in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. A former chair of CLD Managers Scotland and a former Associate Assessor for HMIe, Jim is also Vice Chair of Young Scot and Scotland's Learning Partnership and a board member of John Wheatley College. Jim is passionate about supporting young people through their life transitions and is dedicated to fighting for sustainable funding for the Youth Work Sector.