Our people

Coming from a varied professional background in mental health work, combined with 6 years as a Resolution Officer with the DWP, I joined AdvoCard in 2013 as the Welfare Reform Worker where I provided individual advocacy for people who had been affected by welfare reform. I then went on to lead the Community Team at AdvoCard before taking up my current role as Operations and Development Manager.

I am passionate about advocacy and really believe in the value of the service that we offer to people who would otherwise struggle to be heard. I am also lucky to lead a professional and supportive team who make my role so much easier.

I moved to Edinburgh in 2013 and it has gradually started to feel like home although everyone says I still haven’t lost my accent. I love the festivals, especially the Christmas one, and can’t wait to see everything back up and running again. When not working I like swimming, both indoors and outdoors at Portobello Beach.

Having worked in independent advocacy for 15 years, and been aware of the importance of independent advocacy for almost 30 years due to family connections, I have experience at all levels, from administration to frontline service provision, service lead and most recently Policy & Development Manager at East Ayrshire Advocacy Services.

Passionate about human rights, challenging inequalities and empowering people to have voice, I am also Chair of the Board of Trustees of White Ribbon Scotland, Scotland’s campaign to engage men in preventing men’s violence against women and girls. In my spare time I can be found cycling in the hills around Glasgow and beyond.

I have worked in independent advocacy for over a decade, although I have been a human rights advocate for as long as I can remember!

My passion for independent advocacy was first ignited when I joined Angus Independent Advocacy as a Citizen Advocacy Development Worker in 2012, taking on the role of Manager and then CEO. I have done some 1:1 advocacy and have been a Citizen Advocate (voluntary) for a number of years.

​​Outside of work, most of my time is spent adventuring with my two little boys, my husband and our Springer Spaniel. If I get the chance I enjoy yoga, love to bake/cook and have recently become a bit of a DIY enthusiast.

Following a paradigm shift from an early background in financial and business administration, I have had an extensive career in professional health care and well-being settings. Central to all of these positions, whether at management level or coal face interactions with clients, empowerment of the individual has been key to my work. I have been a strong proponent of advocacy since a very early age and have many related life experiences as both a user and provider of such support.

I am very proud to have been party to the development of formal advocacy in Scotland since the mid-1990’s and for the past 25 years have been privileged to work in Grampian alongside many dedicated people from all backgrounds and across all sectors who share my values and unswerving passion for advocacy.

Collectively, and in no small part, these people have ensured that under the banner of Advocacy North East, independent advocacy has thrived in Aberdeenshire and I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to lead the organisation throughout this time – and for the past twenty years as the Chief Executive Officer.

I am delighted to now have the opportunity to offer my personal and professional experience and knowledge to the board of the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance in support of the on-going success and growth of independent advocacy.

Sam joined Equal Say in 2001 after being motivated to help change human services after learning about institutional care for people with learning disabilities. Having attended the group and self-advocacy course ’Partners in Policymaking’, Sam was appalled to learn about the Eugenics movement and history of warehousing people with learning disabilities in large institutions away from population centres.

Glasgow’s long stay hospital was Lennox Castle hospital, the hospital where no one was sick. Equal Say was founded as part of the closure programme and tasked with helping give a voice to those men and women who had been incarcerated, sometimes for decades.

The hospital closed its doors for the last time in 2003 and is now demolished and redeveloped as housing and sports grounds.  However people with disabilities still struggle to have their voices heard and we continue to represent a wider group of people today.

As a parent to a man with labels of severe and profound Sam remains committed to advocacy for people who need support to live full and inclusive rights.

Advocacy is needed as much today as it has ever been and serving on the Board of SIAA is one way to contribute to supporting and defending independent advocacy, now and in the future.

With over 16 years’ experience in independent advocacy, I am passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.  I joined The Advocacy Project in 2009 as an advocacy worker and then went on to lead our Engagement and Involvement service supporting service users to be involved in directing the services they receive.  I then became an Operations Manager and in 2023 was successful in appointment as Business Director.  Being hard of hearing, communication is my other passion.  I am accredited Talking Mats ad Easy Read trainer, have BSL level 3 and Makaton level 2, communication is everything.

Tracey has worked in the social care sector for over 25 years where she managed a range of social care services across several policy areas including justice, problematic substance use, homelessness, children, young people, and mental health. Her more recent senior roles have driven improvement and quality assurance through service review, re-design, organisational change and strategic development and implementation.

Tracey has worked in the University of Glasgow, Scottish Government and in Human Rights before her current post as Chief Executive Officer at Scottish Recovery Consortium. She is a member of The Promise Oversight Board, Chair of the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA), Independent Chair of Argyll and Bute Alcohol and Drug Partnership and Vice Chair of the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum (CJVSF).

Until my recent retirement I was the Chief Executive of Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross, and had been in this post for nearly 15 years until 2022. In my past career I worked in the social care field for over 35 years in a variety of roles starting in a local authority, but for the majority of time in third sector mental health and independent advocacy organisations. My experience has included working in areas such as residential accommodation, supported housing, community support, day services and independent advocacy. The roles I have held in my career included front line work and a variety of management roles of organisations and area management for geographical areas.

I am Professor of Mental Health and Capacity Law and founder and Director of Edinburgh Napier University’s Centre for Mental Health and Capacity Law and Centre for Mental Health Practice Policy and Law Research. My areas of research and expertise are mental health and capacity law and related international, European and national human rights. I’m currently an Executive Team member of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review and was previously an adviser to the Independent Review of Learning Disability & Autism in the Mental Health Act.

As an experienced professional advocacy practitioner, I have a client-led, evidenced-based, person-centred and outcomes-based proven records in the delivery of independent advocacy service to vulnerable individuals affected by different legislations and or otherwise discriminated against as defined in The Equality Act 2000. I have empowered individuals to express their views, wishes and choices by exercising their human rights to equal access and equal opportunities or other rights. I endeavour to add values to, promote and implement the strategic outcomes of the SIAA with skills and competencies acquired in my 11 years providing independent advocacy support both instructed and non-instructed.

As an asylum seeker with 2 toddlers, I have enjoyed the human rights enshrined in both UK and Scottish legislations.
Fully aware of the stigma, prejudices, and inequalities, I am a committed human rights enabler or defenders.
I am mother of 2 young adult children.
I love recycling and repurposing – Charity shops.