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Norma Austin Hart
Norma was a councillor in the City of Edinburgh Council for ten years, until 2017, where she had responsibility for culture and sports services. She was also lead councillor on the introduction of the Living Wage and helped to secure Living Wage Employer status for the City of Edinburgh Council, one of the first local authorities in Scotland to achieve this award. Before becoming the lead of TSDG, she was the director of Austin Hart Project Management, her own consultancy and training business.
Claire Brown
Claire joined as Operations Manager in 2016. Prior to this, she worked in academia at the University of Glasgow and then as a National Project Manager developing and managing projects for the Scottish Government's health department. Claire is accountable for our engagement, volunteering, and digital inclusion work and coordinates our thematic forums. She supports our work with Community Planning and Health and Social Care Partnerships and deputises for the Chief Executive in her absence.
Jane Stanistreet
Senior Engagement Officer
Jane is our Senior Engagement Officer and heads up our Engagement Team, which supports third sector organisations across the region to pursue their aims through effective training and dedicated support. Jane has a wealth of experience within the third sector and spent more than 15 years successfully assisting the sector to access European Union Funding. Jane is passionate about community development, maximizing funding opportunities and leads on our training and support services for the sector.
Niomi Brough
Senior Engagement Officer (Health and Social Care)
Niomi is our Senior Engagement Officer focusing on Health and Social Care and brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the subject, having joined us from a leadership role within the social care sector. Niomi is passionate about the development of health and social care, in particular ensuring that quality support is offered to individuals in receipt of support and their carers, friends, and family, through partnership working and relationship building.
Tracey Saunderson
Engagement Officer (Health and Social Care)
Dumfries-born Tracey has almost 25 years' experience in corporate communications across the UK. She has worked in a number of sectors including local and national Government, country sports, the Police, social housing and the NHS. She will assist with third sector engagement focussed on health and social care. As well as her professional experience of these services, Tracey brings personal understanding as the parent of a young child with additional needs.
Selina McMorran
Engagement Officer
Selina is our Engagement Officer for Annandale and Eskdale and works with third sector groups on a wide range of subjects including governance, funding, constitutions, and organisational development. She supports organisations requiring support and advice and helps volunteers to discover opportunities to match their interests and skills. Selina is also the main contact for our Children and Young People Forum and is responsible for communicating with the forum members to keep them informed.
Joanne Stewart
Engagement Officer (Funding)
Joanne joined us after moving back to her hometown of Dumfries and working for a local charity for two years, promoting carbon literacy in schools. She works alongside the Engagement Team to provide information and expertise about funding opportunities available to the third sector in Dumfries and Galloway. She also provides support to third sector organisations in applying for these funds. Joanne is committed to community development and helping the third sector to thrive.
Alan joined us towards the end of 2018, after almost 25 years working in media across the region, including the editor's position in both newspapers and magazines. He has led on the introduction of the new database within TSDG, the development of this website, and will continue to help increase both the profile of the organisation and that of the wider third sector. Alan also sits on the board of Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival and is a volunteer coach at youth level with Greystone Rovers.
Daniel Allan
Information and Communications Officer
Daniel is our Information and Communications Officer and has worked for Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway for eight years. He has a background in computing and uses that expertise to maintain the organisation's IT structure, including the database that helps drive the everyday work of staff and is an integral part of our websites. He also helps the Communications Manager to publicise the third sector in Dumfries and Galloway across all our channels.
Ann Gordon
Volunteering Officer
Ann has worked for over 25 years in the charity sector, including posts with UNICEF, Marie Curie and latterly the RNLI as a Senior Community Fundraising Manager looking after volunteer groups across Scotland. She has extensive experience in volunteering both professionally, as well as over 35 years as a volunteer herself. Ann's role is to provide support to volunteer involving organisations and individual volunteers across the region and to take forward the organisation's Volunteer Strategy.
Sharee Rennie
Employability Manager
Sharee has experience in Employability Services within Private, Public and Third Sector organisations for over 20 years in Dumfries and Galloway. Her primary focus will be to work with and support key stakeholders to increase capacity and capability of the sector to deliver quality employability opportunities. Through partnership working, we will support the aims of No-One Left Behind.
Emma Bowden
Digital Inclusion Research Officer
Emma joined the team in August 2021 through the Dumfries and Galloway Council INSPIRE graduate programme as our Digital Inclusion Research Officer. Her primary focus is the successful conduction and rollout of TSDG's digital inclusion primary research project - the first project of its kind in Dumfries and Galloway. Emma also helps assist in other technological areas within TSDG, including digital skills/digital inclusion funding and she is passionate about digital access for all.
Peter Boyle
Peter has worked in the not for profit and charity sectors for almost 20 years. Most recently, he was an operations manager for a mental health charity and has experience of volunteer management and in leadership roles in charities, providing support to the health and social care sector. Peter manages the Business Support Team to ensure that back-office functions support the front-line work delivered by Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway.
Rachel Muir
Business Support Co-ordinator
Rachel joined the Business Support Team at the beginning of 2022 in the new role of Business Support Co-ordinator. Hailing from Victoria, Australia, Rachel has been very happy to call Scotland home for the last eight years during which time she has held a range of management, administration and customer-facing roles in the tourism and events sector. Based at our Dumfries office, Rachel supports core business activities by providing administration for our Finance and HR functions.
Sandra Wallace
Business Support Officer
Sandra has been part of our Business Support Team since March 2020 and is the first point of contact for visitors to our Dumfries office, both in person and by telephone. She provides administration support for the Senior Engagement Officer, Annandale and Eskdale, and Nithsdale Engagement Officers, as well as the Volunteering Officer and our Funding Officer. Sandra is also the contact for Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway when providing PVGs for other third sector organisations.
Assistant to Chief Executive
Natalie joined as Assistant to the Chief Executive in August 2021. Prior to this, she worked in Higher Education Professional Services management for 29 years, most recently with the University of Glasgow in Dumfries. Natalie has experience in the third sector as a former director and voluntary consultant with a local community development trust. She is the first point of contact for the Chief Executive.
Helen Keron
Helen has worked on community and third sector projects in the region since 2009. Her work chairing and then project managing New Galloway Community Shop and other projects has given her experience of community ownership, social enterprise, and community engagement. Helen is currently the Education and Community Engagement Officer for the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme and has volunteer roles with Glenkens Community and Arts Trust and New Galloway Community Enterprises.
John Dougan
John is a native of Stranraer but now lives in Dumfries with his family. He has worked both in the third and public sector and previously managed a drug rehab centre near Kirkcudbright. He has also worked for Alex Fergusson MSP, and as a councillor with Dumfries and Galloway Council. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Relationships Scotland Dumfries and Galloway, a charity offering family support, counselling, mediation, and child contact services, along with counselling for carers.
Alex Dickson
A retired police officer, Alex Dickson joined the Board of Trustees in March 2019 and has since been appointed Treasurer. He became Project Manager of Dumfries and Galloway Befriending Project in 2015 and is passionate about the positive impact the volunteer befrienders have on their young person's life and well-being. Session Clerk at his church he enjoys curling and is a qualified coach. Alex recently took up cycling and can be seen on local roads trying not to get in the way of motorists.
Christine Leadbeater
Christine joined the board in 2019 and has worked and volunteered with local and national organisations that provide support to those working with children and families. She chaired the Board of Smart Play and regional networks and forums that support service provision in childcare and family services. Christine currently works for Dumfries Toy Library and coordinates services delivered from the Family Centre Lochside and Early Learning and Childcare services provided at Playworks nursery.
Kim Dams
Kim is a new Scot living in rural Galloway. She is a board member of Scottish Rural Action, chairing the risk committee; and a director of DG Voice, a charity that gives disabled people across Dumfries and Galloway a voice and is on the board of Inclusion Scotland. Kim has a professional background in finance, risk, strategy, change management and compliance and has a passion for equality and human rights. She is engaged in her local community, keen to address rural issues, inequality and poverty.
Wendi Cuffe
Wendi lives in Ardwell and has worked with the Stranraer community for the past 25 years. She is a former employee of Dumfries and Galloway Council with Economic Development Services, managing community and capital projects to support the regeneration of Stranraer and Loch Ryan. Previously, Wendi was a community development practitioner with NHS and voluntary sector organisations. Since retiring in 2016, she has worked as an independent consultant with third sector organisations.
Kalpana Ratnam-Roarty
Kalpana is the chief officer at User and Carer Involvement, who work hard to make sure that people with additional support needs and their Carers have the right to live the life they choose. Kalpana moved back to Dumfries after a period teaching in Glasgow in additional support for learning where she specialised in communication and working with children who had profound and multiple disabilities. She is passionate about communication and human rights and enjoys reading, art and crafting.
Jo Cochrane
Jo has lived and worked in Dumfries and Galloway for over 30 years. Although Dumfries is now her base, her heart remains in the west of the region. Recently retired from her role as a strategic planning manager for children's services with the Council, she is keen to use her knowledge and experience on the Board to further support better partnership working for the Third Sector. On a personal basis, she is a keen advocate of disability rights and ensuring families get the right support.
Phil Stewart
Phil Stewart lives in Dumfries with his wife, Tracey. He is the Chief Executive Officer for Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service having previously been a Police Officer for 30 years and Work Experience Co-ordinator at Dumfries and Galloway Council. He is keen to develop partnership working to ensure that all those in need throughout the region get the help support and assistance they need to live without fear of poverty. He enjoys watching rugby, playing golf, and walking his dog.
Jason Railton
Jason was born and raised in Dumfries and Galloway, and worked as a Project Manager with Langholm Initiative for five years with a key focus on employability, rural poverty and digital inclusion. He has significant experience in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, partnership management and community development. He is currently Chair of OutPost Arts in Langholm, as well as a Trustee of Dumfries and Galloway Befriending Project. He now works as a Digital Inclusion Development Officer with SCVO.
Social Enterprise Team
Laura Douglas
Laura is an Innovation Leader who delivers strategic projects for the private, public and third sectors. She had a successful career with a Fortune 50 company in South East England for 12 years before returning home to Dumfries and Galloway to run her own company and embark on new adventures in the public and third sectors. Laura is passionate about delivering projects that make the region a great place to live and work and is delighted to lead the Social Enterprise team to enable positive social and economic change.
Stuart Harrison
Stuart is an experienced business performance specialist and has spent more than a decade in the private and public sector as a business development executive. Specific relevant experience includes: executive positions in supply chain companies; company strategy and business plan; business development strategy creation and delivery; bid management writing; and sales pipeline delivery. He has been based in Annan for more than a decade and runs his own successful business, Solar Flare Services.
David Vickers
David was a Human Resource and Organisational Development Manager in multinational organisations in the private sector before becoming an academic at a UK University, teaching managers and HR professionals. Further experience came as a consultant working with organisations across the public, private and third sectors. He is particularly skilled in management and organisational development and Human Resources and training. David is also a Trustee of a local charity in Dumfries and Galloway.
Diane Laws
Diane is an experienced project manager working for over 20 years in a large public sector organisation. During that time, she developed skills and experience in a range of disciplines including communications, risk management, business planning, and stakeholder management. She is also a qualified performance coach with a decade of experience in mentoring and coaching both individuals and teams, which will help her offer advice and support to people hoping to set up or expand their business.