Management Team

Lily Greenan. Manager

Lily was appointed manager of Scottish Women’s Aid in 2006. Lily has been active in work to challenge violence against women for almost 30 years.  She worked for Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, as an unpaid support worker and as a development worker, between 1981 and 1999.  As chair of the Promoting Women’s Safety working group of Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership, she played a key role in the development of Edinburgh’s first multi-agency strategy to tackle violence against women. 

She moved to NHS Lanarkshire in 1999 where she established the EVA Project (now known as EVA Services), and managed a multidisciplinary team delivering counselling, clinical psychology and advocacy services to women with experience of violence and abuse.  As a member of the North Lanarkshire Domestic Abuse Working Group she supported the development and early implementation of the first pilot Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) in Scotland.

She is the author of Violence Against Women: a literature review, published by the Scottish Executive in 2005.

Heather Coady. Children’s Policy Officer. Manager: Policy and Public Affairs and CEDAR team

Heather joined Scottish Women’s Aid in 2000 as Children’s Policy Officer and has held a policy manager role since 2007. She previously worked with vulnerable children and young people in both social work and education settings.  In her current role she regularly engages with policy-makers and politicians to improve outcomes for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse.  Her main areas of expertise are around child protection and family law particularly in relation to contact and residence, and supporting the development of the CEDAR project across Scotland.  Heather is passionate about children’s rights and this drives all of her work. She loves climbing in the Scottish hills and is an avid reader.

Lydia Okroj. Housing Policy Officer. Manager: Service Development Team

Lydia Okroj took up her current post as a Housing Policy Officer at SWA in 1997. She has been active in the Violence Against Women field for over 30 years including working as a support worker with Edinburgh and East Lothian Women’s Aid.

Her current role involves working with a range of agencies, policy makers and government departments to improve access to services and service provision for women, children and young people with experience of domestic abuse. Lydia loves shopping for, cooking and eating food, especially when this involves sharing the experience with family and friends.

She says that the one thing she has learned in life is ‘never say never’.

CEDAR team

Kirstie Farmer. National Development Worker

 In June 2012, Kirstie joined the CEDAR Project as a National Development Worker. Kirstie joined Scottish Womens Aid as Participation Worker in March 2009 Her role involves supporting the national CEDAR network, including supporting the establishment of new CEDAR projects across Scotland, delivery of training, provision of information and resources, and support with Monitoring and Evaluation.  Kirstie has worked in the voluntary sector for the past ten years, initially working as a youth worker in the Borders, before moving on to promote children’s rights at a national level, working in the mental health sector before moving into the Violence Against Women field. Kirstie loves the challenge and variety of working on a national project, particularly working with so many committed and passionate people.

 When not she’s working, Kirstie enjoys country life with her family in the Borders. When she’s not trying to learn how to drive or ride a horse, Kristie’s favourite way to relax is to cook a meal while listening to radio 4 and enjoying a glass of wine.

Sasha McDougall. Information and Communications Worker

Sasha McDougall is Information and Communication worker for the National Cedar project at Scottish Women’s Aid. Working in partnership across agencies and promoting recovery, strength based person centred services is at the heart of Sasha’s work. Other roles include capacity building across a range of third sector and equality groups, developing information and support services, partnership working across public bodies. Sasha also sits on the Board of Action on Depression.

When she’s not working Sasha enjoys running or up and down hills, zooming about on her bike or paddling about in the sea – with all the cake to match. Sasha loves digging about in the garden and will never say no to a game of table tennis.

Infrastructure Team

Fiona Buchanan. Information Administration Worker

Fiona has been the Information Administration Worker at Scottish Women's Aid since August 2009, and since 2010 has been working on the faith strand of our ‘together we can stop it’ campaign. She has also worked with Girlguiding UK and She is the Scottish National Coordinator of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women,.  Fiona is an organist and choir director, and loves seeing people building their confidence through music.

Fiona’s favourite quote is : “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”  Desmond Tutu.

Nadine Jassat. Training Administration Worker

Nadine Jassat is the Training Programmes Administration Worker at Scottish Women’s Aid. Nadine’s interest in the women’s movement has taken her from South Africa to St Andrews: seeing her first complete an internship with a feminist movement building organisation in Cape Town, and then go on to study her MLitt in ‘Women, Writing and Gender’ at St Andrews University. Nadine was active in the St Andrews Feminist Society, and she has also volunteered with YWCA Scotland. In her spare time, Nadine enjoys reading a range of fiction and non-fiction, watching musical theatre and period dramas, and starting elaborate craft projects which somehow never get finished.  

Nadine’s favourite quote is: 'Walls turned sideways are bridges’ Angela Davis.

Service Development Team

Ash Kuloo. Learning and Development Coordinator

Ash Kuloo joined the team at Scottish Women’s Aid in May 2008 as Learning and Development Coordinator. Her role is to provide support for network members in relation to training, learning and qualifications.

Ash has previously worked within the statutory sector in a number of different roles and in the private sector. She moved to the voluntary sector in a paid post as Project Manager in January 2003 within a Black Minority Ethnic Refuge in Sheffield. In May 2006 she joined a Women’s Aid group in Scotland as Change Manager. Ash has also been an active board member for Saheliya in Edinburgh, Sheffield Women’s Therapy and Counselling service and SASH Domestic Abuse group in Halifax. Ash also volunteered for Women’s Aid and the Citizens Advice Bureau in Huddersfield.  Ash loves going to India to visit family and enjoys the hotter climate. She would like to see more of India and experience the different cultures and hopes one day she can work in a project in India. She is particularly passionate about working with homeless children.

Ash’s favourite quote is: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” Gandhi

Linda Rodgers. Member Services Worker

Linda joined Scottish Women’s Aid in June 2009 as Member Services Worker. Her role is to provide support to Women’s Aid groups in the areas of HR, governance and organisational development and to organise the Member Services Programme.   Linda is an experienced trainer and facilitator and she has worked in the voluntary sector since 1994 mainly in community and organisational development.  She has an MSc in Community Learning and Development.   Linda loves working for SWA because it is the perfect synergy of her politics and her skillset  and she is particularly interested in the development and survival of feminist organisations.   In her spare time Linda volunteers on a helpline and is active in her trade union. 

Linda’s favourite feminist icon is Rosa Luxembourg.

Janet Sanders. Children’s Service Development Worker

Janet has been a Children’s Service Development Worker at Scottish Women’s Aid for the last 4 years. Her role involves supporting Women’s Aid groups to develop their services for Children and Young People. During this time she has spent a considerable amount of time supporting groups to develop their monitoring and evaluation skills and systems.

Her previous roles have included working for the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum supporting the participation of young people leaving care into national policy and local services development, outreach and accommodation support work with young adults experiencing homelessness.

Policy and Public Affairs Team

Ellie Hutchinson. Prevention Worker

Ellie Hutchinson is the Prevention Worker at Scottish Women’s Aid. She coordinates the ‘together we can stop it’ community education campaign, reaching out to communities through social media and providing opportunities for action.  She has supported and developed work relating to prevention education in schools and raising awareness of dating abuse. She has developed and delivered the Get Savi bystander programme for colleges, youth groups and universities, and has developed policy responses on sex and relationships education. She is passionate about creating spaces for young people to shape and participate in practice and policy. She has volunteered as a youth worker, a rape crisis support worker, and is the Coordinator of Hollaback! Edinburgh. In her spare time she enjoys trashy films and thinking she knows more than she does about alternative music.

Ellie’s favourite quote is:  “Do you think I have worked hard all these years just to say the same thing?” Michel Foucault

Louise Johnson. Legal Issues Worker

Louise has worked for Scottish Women’s Aid since 2001. Her remit as National Legal Issues Worker is to improve access to justice and promote the legal rights of women, children and young people with experience of domestic abuse, through both influencing the development and implementation of justice policy and legislation, and monitoring and assessing emerging legislation and policy and the impact of these changes. Louise’s background is in business and she spent nearly 17 years working in the arena of corporate and personal insolvency with one of the world’s largest accountancy firms.

Louise has two favourite quotes; “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened ” from  John M. Richardson Jnr, and from Sir Francis Bacon, “Knowledge is power” "  

Jo Ozga. Policy Worker

Jo joined SWA in 2004 as a Policy worker and has been responsible for progressing policy responses in relation to women and children becoming homeless as a result of domestic abuse, this includes supporting the provision of refuge accommodation across Scotland.  Other aspects of her role include working with housing providers to develop their practice in responding to domestic abuse and work on the welfare reform proposals that particularly impact on women and children experiencing domestic abuse.  Jo has a background in social housing, previously working as a housing manager in a community based housing association where she managed accommodation and support services for a range of vulnerable client groups. Before joining SWA she worked for a project that provided a range of supported accommodation for homeless people with different and often complex needs.  Jo finds it really valuable to be able to draw on this previous practical experience to support her in her policy work.

When she’s not working Jo enjoys the trials and tribulations of being an Arsenal fan.

Tanya Rhodes. Media Worker

Tanya has been the Media Worker at Scottish Women’s Aid since August 2011, with responsibility for promoting the organisation and related issues in the press and online. Tanya worked as a journalist, magazine editor and events manager before moving into PR and communications in 2007. Tanya has wide-ranging experience gathered from the NHS, government and private sectors, as well as four years volunteering for a national helpline.  Prior to her professional career, early work experience was eclectic to say the least, ranging from time spent in a police control room and a car-repossession firm, to music critic for a Scottish newspaper and an ice-skating steward.  Needless to say, Tanya much prefers grown-up life at SWA.

Tanya’s favourite piece of music is the last movement of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony

Cheryl Stewart. Information and Research Worker

Cheryl Sutherland Stewart is the Information and Research Worker for Scottish Women’s Aid.  She coordinates Census Day activities, develops evaluation tools and techniques for our members, and undertakes research with universities and other organisations to further our understanding of the causes and consequences of domestic abuse.  Her passion for this work began 17 years ago while she was a PhD student at Michigan State University.  She started out by investigating the links between domestic abuse and women’s health issues, but also ran a community advocacy project for women and provided direct support as a volunteer with a crisis intervention project.   Soon after coming to Scotland in 2000, she joined East Fife Women’s Aid, to set-up a rural outreach program and to provide family support services.   

 When not working, she’s usually outdoors somewhere in Fife; riding Bracken, weeding the allotment, or at the play-park with her two children. 

Nel Whiting. Learning and Development Coordinator

Nel is a Learning and Development Coordinator with Scottish Women’s Aid, where she has worked since September 2003. Her role takes her throughout Scotland providing learning opportunities which explore the dynamics of domestic abuse to a range of professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector.  Nel is a regular lecturer at the Scottish Police College, the Scottish Probation College and Stirling University.  She also teaches on the Queen Margaret University ‘Gender Justice’ module.   She is author of “What Can Contemporary Gender Theory Contribute to An Understanding of Abuse in Same Sex Relationships?” which was published in the Scottish Journal of Criminal Justice Studies 2008, Asking About Abuse: Routine Enquiry of Domestic Abuse and Childhood Sexual Abuse Training Pack (with Cosgrove & Beavon) which was published by the Scottish Government Health Directorate in 2011, and “Effecting Operational Change Through Training: Challenges and Approaches” in N.Lombard and L. McMillan (eds.) (forthcoming, 2012) Research Highlights in Social Work: Violence Against Women, Jessica Kingsley Publications.

Nel’s favourite painting is David Allan’s portrait of the family of Sir John Halkett.

Our Directors

Lynne Porteous

Lynne's originally from Barnard Castle in County Durham but has lived in Edinburgh (with the exception of 4 years) since she came to college here in 1974. Her professional background is rooted in community learning and development, largely in the voluntary sector but for the last 10 years as part of City of Edinburgh Council.   Her voluntary sector experience includes working in Edinburgh's Garvald Centre (based on the work of Rudolph Steiner), managing Tyneside Women's Health Project and working in North Edinburgh for 10 years in urban aid funded projects from 1992 - 1999.   She now works for Children and Families Department in the capacity of Partnership Development Manager and has a very mixed "portfolio" of policy and planning work including oversight of a range of health improvement initiatives and the coordination of work at a strategic level to better support parents and carers.  She has two daughters (aged 25 and nearly 29) and in her spare time likes to walk, cycle and socialise and works once a week (whenever possible) in a Cancer Research Charity shop in Edinburgh.

Patrice Williams

Patrice has been an active member of Scottish Women's Aid for twenty years. Her knowledge, skills and experience have been developed through her involvement and commitment to the aims and objectives of Women's Aid as a co-ordinator of Inverclyde Women's Aid and currently as Refuge Support Worker with Renfrewshire Women's Aid. Prior to the present structure of the national office of Scottish Women's Aid she was an active member of the staffing group providing support to national workers and information and accountability to the network of Women's Aid groups. Over the years she has shown a commitment to the values, aims and objectives and development of Scottish Women's Aid and she intends to continue to actively contribute to the work of Scottish Women's Aid in a manner that upholds the principles of public life.