Members

Jemma is the vice chair of the Oversight Board. She has a background working in residential childcare. She has a social work degree, and spent three and a half years advocating for care experienced people when working for Who Cares? Scotland. As well as this, she supported young people to be listened to as part of 1000 voices and of the Independent Care Review.

Whilst at Who Cares? Scotland she also worked as a Development Officer and a Training and Education Officer, training corporate parents on their role. She now works as a project worker for Children 1st, as part of their East Ayrshire Family Wellbeing Service.

As an adoptee, Jemma felt intrinsically drawn to work in the care sector. Her relationships, experiences, training and education have all led her to reflect on the cultures, behaviours and systems of care. She truly values the importance of the promise, and she’s committed to working with her fellow Oversight Board members to make sure that it’s kept.

Andrea trained as a nurse in London and studied Bioengineering in Glasgow. 

For more than 30 years, she has been researching 'what works for wounds'— mainly chronic leg ulcers, foot ulcers and bed sores. Her research has influenced clinical practise internationally, impacting the care of millions of people living with chronic wounds and their complications. She has held leadership positions at the University of Leeds and now at Glasgow Caledonian University where she is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and a Professor. 

Andrea is looking forward to contributing to the huge ambitions of the promise through serving on the Oversight Board. She is keen to bring her health, education and research leadership experience to the team, to learn from the diverse and rich experience of colleagues on the Board, and to give back through service.

Doctor Barry Black is an education researcher with a deep commitment to equity in education. His PhD explored the influences on young people's subject choices within Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence.

His research has informed national policy discussions, and he has given evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee.

He grew up in kinship care with his auntie and uncle and you'll usually find him in his seat at Pittodrie, following Aberdeen.

Donna is a values-driven NMC registered health professional, and a long-term foster carer with over 25 years experience across the Scottish Government, NHS and third sector.

She has a strong background in upholding professional standards and governance across operational service, with further developed skill in trauma-informed practice, public protection and leading rights-based, person-centred services at a national level.

Her work has influenced policy and practice across public services.

She joined the Oversight Board to assist in assuring that The Promise delivers on the commitments made to children, young people, and families. As a foster carer, she has first hand experience of the importance of listening to the views of children and young people especially where they fell let down or excluded and the devastating effects this can have on their development and progression.

As an adult with care experience, it’s always been one of Emma’s ambitions to try and help people who may be going through something similar to her. She currently works as a project worker for Barnardo’s in North and South Ayrshire, and supports care experienced children and young people as part of the intandem mentoring programme.

Emma went to college in 2021, which helped her to recognise her passion for social care. She’s currently completing an evening class to further her skills and knowledge.

Jasmin comes from a Community Learning Development background and works in education within Glasgow City Council. She has a strong passion for supporting young people to overcome barriers and achieve their full potential.

As a care experienced person herself, her contribution to The Oversight Board will combine her personal understanding of the challenges care experienced children and young people face with a professional outlook on the importance of implementing change.

She is delighted to be working alongside a team who have a diverse range of experience and who champion equality and diversity.

Jennifer Rodgers MBE is a Scottish nurse leader, renowned for her unwavering commitment to paediatric care, patient safety, and person-centred healthcare. In August 2024, she was appointed Director of Nursing and Family Support at Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), where she oversees nursing and family support services across hospices, hospitals, and homes throughout Scotland.

A pioneer in person-centred care, Jennifer initiated the "What Matters to Me?" project, encouraging children to express their needs and preferences through drawings and writings. This initiative became integral to the Scottish Person-Centred Care Collaborative and the international "What Matters to You?" movement.

Jennifer's contributions have been widely recognised. In 2012, she became the first paediatric nurse to complete the Scottish Patient Safety Fellowship. She was named Scottish Nurse of the Year in 2013 and received the Scottish Woman of the Year award in 2019 for her outstanding work in children's medicine. That same year, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to healthcare.

Kelly has an extensive background in local government and has campaigned for almost a decade to make it work better for care experienced people and their families. A care experienced person herself, she is currently Council Leader for Midlothian— as well as a mum to two children.

From 2017 to 2022, she was Community Wellbeing Spokesperson at COSLA , where she worked across councils and with national government on key policy areas including:

• housing,
• human rights,
• domestic abuse,
• justice, and
• employability.

Kelly hopes to be a strong advocate for driving change and progressing the work of the promise, and is very excited to join the Oversight Board.

Kezia is Director of the John Smith Centre. Based at the University of Glasgow, the non-partisan organisation exists to make the positive case for politics and public service through the promotion of civilised debate and high-quality research. It also seeks to support people with the talent – but not the means – to access politics and public life.

Before joining the John Smith Centre, Kezia was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region for eight years, during which she led her party through four national elections and the EU referendum. Beyond her working life, she is on the board of social transformation charity Sistema Scotland and the housing charity Shelter UK.

Lisa is a care experienced individual from the Western Isles, who lives and studies in Inverness.

She has dedicated herself to keeping children at the heart of all care related matters. Her own experience and insights helped inform the Hearings System Working Group’s Redesign Report, and have also informed changes to law around keeping brothers and sisters together. As part of Our Hearings, Our Voice, she has spoken alongside The Promise Scotland— an organisation whose work has been an inspiration to her.

Lisa is excited to be part of the Oversight Board, and to make a bigger impact on Scotland’s “care system” in the future. Her ambition is to become a social worker or lawyer, so Scotland’s future children can have a better upbringing than she did.

Lorraine is a passionate believer in the power of education and its potential to change lives.

She uses her own experiences – which include childhood trauma, care experience and adverse childhood experiences – to guide, lead and develop the learning, practice and development of herself and others. She believes that "damage done is not damage done," and that through self-care combined with healthy relationships we can heal.

Lorraine is a qualified and registered social worker. She joined Edinburgh Napier University in 2018, establishing the HUB for SUCCESS — which helps people with care experience get in, stay in and return to education.

Before this, she worked with Who Cares? Scotland for 14 years—in advocacy, rights and management roles. Prior to that Lorraine worked in community and youth work setting. She was a member of the Stop-Go Group for the Independent Care Review, and was appointed as a Board Member for the Scottish Childrens Reporters Administration (SCRA) in 2021. 

Lucy has dedicated most of her career to child protection and children's rights. With extensive experience within the Scottish Children's Hearings System, both as a Children's Reporter and in her current role as a Safeguarder, she is deeply committed to fair, compassionate, and child-centred decision-making. 

She serves as a disabilities-qualified member Social Security Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, where she works as part of a multi-disciplinary panel hearing appeals relating to disability benefits. She is also a former music teacher, with a lifelong passion for working with children.

Oisín is a second year student at the University of Glasgow, studying politics alongside social and ­­public policy. He currently works as a care consultant with Each and Every Child, delivering training on reframing how we talk about care experience across different sectors.

Oisín is care experienced, and for many years has advocated and campaigned for the rights of the care experienced community. He represented this community as a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP), and also campaigned on their behalf.

He now wants to continue his campaigning and advocacy in this new role, as he becomes a member of the Oversight Board.

As Director of Improvement at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Ruth is responsible for the design and delivery of national programmes which support the redesign and continuous improvement of health and care services in Scotland.

She’s passionate about improving public services so that the people who need and use them receive the best possible experiences and outcomes. She has a particular interest around how to generate good ideas for change and then get them implemented in practice.

Ruth’s background is in general management in health and social care, where she spent most of her career working across mental health, substance use and learning disability services. During this time, she developed a strong commitment to ensuring change is built on a deep understanding of the needs and assets of individuals needing support and ensuring that services are co-designed with the people who use them.

Ryan’s background is in campaigning and policy work. Globally and across the UK, he’s worked through a human rights lens on issues including:

1. poverty,
2. educational attainment,
3. food systems,
4. climate change, and
5. the environment.

Ryan’s work focuses on shining a light on the positive and lifelong aspects of care. Through his time as a campaigner and activist, he has been a champion of the care experienced community— helping others gain more of an insight into their own identities, while supporting them to influence meaningful change.

Ryan is care experienced himself, having had a foster care placement for over 12 years as of 2024. He has been a key advocate for the promise since The Promise Scotland was first established, and is delighted to be a member of the Oversight Board.

Stephen is a software engineer working in the public sector, where he builds accessible digital applications for use by hundreds of thousands of people across Scotland. He is also a keen photographer, freelance web developer, and co-founder of a popular Edinburgh-based tourism and community interest online platform, where content viewing figures regularly reach the hundreds of thousands.

In addition to his public sector role, Stephen has provided technical support and rebuilt websites for third sector organisations across Scotland, using his skills to strengthen the digital presence of groups working for social good. He also consults and provides expertise to organisations supporting care leavers elsewhere in the UK, particularly in England.

Stephen spent 11 years in care across a range of settings, including kinship care with extended family, residential schools, children’s homes, and short-term respite placements. These experiences have shaped his perspective and fuelled his commitment to improving outcomes for care experienced people.

He served for several years on the Board of Trustees at Who Cares? Scotland, contributing to the charity’s governance and strategic direction. At work, he is an active member of the Corporate Parenting Champions Group, where he has helped design and deliver corporate parenting training, supported internal and external communications, and contributed to the creation of employment opportunities for care experienced people, including the co-design of a digital internship specifically for people with care experience.

Taliah Drayak is a care experienced mother of eight children. She works as an author, and volunteers with several charities focused on families and children.

She is passionate that children's rights are of utmost importance, and that every child deserves not only to have equality— but to be enabled to achieve their dreams.