Governance

The Board of Directors are made up of annually elected members of the community, who donate their time on a voluntary basis. Our Directors offer a breadth of knowledge and bring a diverse range of experience, including community engagement, management, fundraising, governance , and finance together with an overriding commitment to promoting access to justice.

With backgrounds in public, private and voluntary sector, our Board members are active across the wider community brining experience of homelessness and addiction, disability and equality, young people’s rights in the care sector, suicide prevention and poverty and exclusion.

Our Role

Taking responsibility for overall governance, financial management and strategic direction of LSA, our Board of Directors ensures that we have a clear strategy that is in line with our vision and values. For the period 2020 – 2023, our Directors are working on the development and implementation of five strategic priorities:

  1. Addressing the effects of poverty, disadvantage and discrimination.
  2. Promoting Human Rights and equalities.
  3. Strengthening communities.
  4. Providing high quality legal information and education.
  5. Influencing Policy and Practice.

The Board normally meets six times per annum to ensure that all decisions are in accordance with our charitable objectives, and to execute due diligence in line with the provisions of The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and other relevant legislation. Sub-Committees of the Board meet in alternate months between Board meetings to provide more detailed consideration of matters as designated by the Board of Directors.

Board of Directors

Barry Levine is an academic in the Social Work field.   His background includes family social work, addiction services, HIV and AIDs, supported accommodation, homelessness and young peoples’ rights in the care sector.

Cinzia’s career spans 25 years in senior risk, compliance and legal roles within highly-regulated industries.  Her background is as a dual-qualified lawyer, with both in-house and private practice experience, as a Risk Director in industry, and as a strategic Privacy, Risk and Compliance consultant to Boards/C-suites in all sectors.   Committed to upholding fundamental rights, and recognised for her expertise in Data Protection and Privacy, Cinzia is currently appointed as a Data Protection Expert to the Council of Europe.   She has previously served on the Marie Curie Scottish Advisory Board and the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board, also sitting on its Audit and Risk Committee.

Kathleen has worked as a solicitor for over 30 years. Her commitment is to access to justice with expertise in employment and discrimination law alongside many years of practice in the field of immigration and asylum law. She has worked across all sectors. Currently employed as a legal supervisor within a University Law Clinic she supports student volunteers to deliver legal services and enjoys teaching and nurturing new lawyers. She also continues as a solicitor acting for trade union members. Kathleen is an accredited mediator and has a particular interest in health and disability issues. She works with Allied Health Professionals and employment support workers to enhance their knowledge of employment and discrimination law alongside the benefits of using mediation skills in the workplace to promote the recruitment and retention of those with long term health conditions.

Evelyn has more than 35 years’ experience working in advice and funding related roles with a range of public and third sector organisations including University of West of Scotland, Scottish ESF Objective 3 Programme and The National Lottery Community Fund where her most recent role was Head of Communications and Engagement. Evelyn has served as a trustee with several local and national organisations and is committed to community empowerment and social justice. 

Garry has worked in homelessness and related services for 12 years and is currently working with a third sector policy organisation. He has worked with some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people in a variety of roles including a law centre, local authority and several national charities. He has particular interests in housing, homelessness, addictions, mental health and law centres as a movement across Scotland.

Grant has over 20 years’ experience in governance having served on the boards of several Housing Associations, most recently Horizon Housing Association. Through his work with the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL) and his role as a Disability Qualified Tribunal Member for The Ministry of Justice/Independent Tribunal Service since 2008, Grant is committed to working to overcome poverty and discrimination for those living with disabilities. He has also worked as a freelance disability consultant providing a range of research, training and consultancy services, most recently delivering Disability Equality Training for UBER partners 2018-2020.

Linsay has a background in Law with an LLB in Scots Law and an LLM in Human Rights Law. Linsay has worked for many years in grassroots organisations, working to support minority communities to tackle discrimination and increase equality and equity. Linsay’s current role is Head of community engagement and development for MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development). An organisation that works to tackle Islamophobia across the UK by supporting engagement with politics, media and wider civic society. Linsay sits and has sat on a range of boards and committees, all of which have had a focus around supporting minority communities and increase social justice. 

Peter has worked in a range of senior roles across the financial services industry and is recently retired. Throughout his career, he sought out opportunities to advocate for fairness and equality, including working within the Diversity and Inclusion programme at Lloyds Banking Group. From 2016 to 2019, Peter worked as a Project Manager for Welfare Reform Mitigation with Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS). In that role he supported a variety of stakeholders, including Scottish Government officials, to ensure compliance with financial and governance requirements. Peter’s expertise lies in risk management, governance and stakeholder engagement.

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