Sue Barnard Deputy Chair
Sue is a mum to five children one of whom has a severe learning disability and the classic form of autism. Having found that there was very little help available for either of them, she decided to take things in hand herself! She spent seven years setting up playschemes for autistic children which eventually led to the establishment of the Jigsaw Centre in Aberdeen.
Sue is a Development Officer with the VSA Carers Centre in Aberdeen supporting families of children with disabilities.
Philip Bryers Director
Philip recently retired as National Coordinator of the Scottish Dementia Working Group (whose members all have a diagnosis of dementia)
He worked in local government until 2001 after over 20 years in social work posts in the West of Scotland, latterly as Head of Community Care in North Ayrshire.
His training was in community work and social policy, and he worked as a lecturer on social work courses at York and Glasgow Universities between 1970-9.
Esplin Chapman Director
Esplin spent 25 years working in the NHS, latterly as Head of Operations for a large trust in London that provided a wide range of regional and national services. Esplin’s role meant that in addition to day to day activity in the hospital he was responsible for emergency planning and liaison with a number of external organisations, this included Chairing the Metropolitan Police liaison committee.
Esplin has some experience as a carer over a three year period in the early 90’s, during which time he maintained a full time post with the NHS. Esplin also has experience working as a Samaritan for almost 20 years.
Esplin currently co-owns and manages two hotels in Scotland - one in Dollar and the other on the Isle of Mull!
David Eade Director (Treasurer)
David, his wife Helen and two children, have been involved in family based short breaks since 1992. They began as volunteers with the Shared Care scheme in Dumbartonshire and have since worked for schemes in Argyll and Bute and Perth and Kinross in partnership with Barnardo’s.
Due to the difficulties in juggling work with the volunteering role David is now a paid foster carer with Action for Children providing short breaks for children in foster care, some of whom have special needs. He is also a volunteer driver at Rachel House children’s hospice where Helen works as a paediatric nurse. Their daughter Alice is also a volunteer befriender at Rachel House.
David and Helen are currently working towards providing short breaks for children with special needs through Action for Children on behalf of other charities/local authorities.
Silvie MacKenzie Director
Silvie is a Care Manager at Badaguish, where she has developed a programme of respite activity holidays, holiday play schemes and SQA accredited training courses, providing 400 places per year for people with a learning disability, locally, nationally and from across the Highlands.
Silvie is a trained social worker with over 20 years experience in residential care and therapy for people with disabilities. She has also organised, designed and delivered a variety of training to support front line workers in the voluntary care sector in the Highlands.
She is an active member of many voluntary and statutory community organisations and is committed to the importance of family support and to giving people with a disability and their carers a choice.
Elizabeth McDade Chair
Elizabeth lives and works in Aberdeen City, predominantly in the voluntary sector. Her work over the last six years has involved health and social care issues most especially in the area of informal carers. Additionally Elizabeth is a Non-Executive Member of NHS Grampian Board. She currently serves, both locally and nationally, on a variety of voluntary and statutory committees relating to carers and respite issues, and chairs a number of these.
Prior to this Elizabeth's experience was in the offshore oil and gas industry where she spent several years as Personnel Manager for an offshore service company and had responsibility for several locations within the UK.
Elspeth Murray Director
Elspeth Murray is a freelance ‘poet and wordsmith’ with a background in anthropology, public health policy and health promotion.
Elspeth joined the board of Shared Care Scotland following some work she was involved with as a poet in residence for their 2007 annual conference. She has worked in the NHS in patient and carer involvement in cancer care and as a poet in the field of mental health and is keen to raise awareness of the need to listen to people’s experiences when developing services and policies.
Elspeth lives in Edinburgh with her husband, poet and puppeteer Richard Medrington.
Margaret Petherbridge Director
Margaret has experience of working within Community Care Services and in particular Implementation of Direct Payments Policy and managing a Short Breaks Bureau which arranges breaks for adults with disabilities.
She is currently chair of the ADSW (Association of Directors of Social Work) Self Directed Care Group (previously Direct Payments).
As part of this role she has participated in two Scottish Executive short working groups for Direct Payments. As a trained nurse she also has many years of experience of working within health.
John Pow Director 
John is a retired Company Director. A 3D designer by profession, retired from my London based company Dalziel and Pow in the year 2000 where we annually provided a bursary for an aspiring design student.
John has no previous charity background although he was involved in fundraising for the MS society in London in 1988/89.
He returned to Scotland that same year and has been a hands-on carer for 20 years which has given him considerable experience in disability issues.
Mary Yates Director
Mary manages the Share Project, which is a Family and Home Based respite/short break service for older people within the South Lanarkshire area. Mary has been involved in developing this resource since its re-launch in August 1998. The project recruits volunteer carers who provide support both within their own homes and in the homes of older people. She is very much aware of the need to promote and develop alternative respite/short break services. Through the Project she has made a commitment to ensure that such alternative services are developed and promoted.
Prior to coming to the Share Project, Mary managed a number of residential homes for older people, again within the South Lanarkshire Council Area. As a former member of Shared Care Scotland’s Interest Group for Older People, Mary is happy to support and pursue such issues through Shared Care Scotland.
ADVISERS TO THE BOARDJohn Leggate Adviser
Louise Morgan Adviser to the Board on Young Carers Issues
STAFF
Don has been with Shared Care Scotland since January 2006. Prior to this he was the Programme Director in Edinburgh for the international leadership organisation Common Purpose, and before this was 8 years with The Duke of Edinburgh's Award as Assistant then Deputy Director for Scotland. Don is a member of the Visiting Committee for Polmont Young Offenders Institution and a Board Director for GreenTeam, an Edinburgh based environmental education charity.
Lesley Gudgeon Administrator
Lesley started her career in administration after 10 years working as a hair stylist in her home town of Dunfermline. After completing her admin training at Lauder College, Fife she started work as an admin trainer for SAMH in Edinburgh before moving to the City of Edinburgh Council as an SVQ admin trainer/assessor. Wishing to work closer to home after the birth of her son, Lesley joined Shared Care Scotland in January 2004 and continues to enjoy the challenges her role brings.
Lesley currently lives in Crossford, near Dunfermline with her husband Mike who is a Policeman and their son Ewan. In her spare time she sings with a band and enjoys taking part in amateur musicals.
Liz Watret Administrative Assistant
Liz has been working at the Shared Care Scotland office for two years. Before having her children she worked in Edinburgh with Lothian Health Board’s computer services unit. Between 1993 and 2003, owing to her husband’s job, Liz and her family lived abroad in Texas and Belgium. The family all enjoyed the experience of life overseas but are now happily settled in Dunfermline.
Text Size: 
