Scotland's Third Sector - Confirmed speakers

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KEITH AITKEN (CHAIR) *Journalist and Broadcaster*	Keith Aitken is an award-winning writer and broadcaster, and one of Scotland’s most experienced conference facilitators. His busy freelance business encompasses newspaper and magazine journalism, radio presenting, speech-writing, pod-casting, drafting corporate publications, and chairing all manner of public debates. Since turning freelance in 1995, he has been a columnist for the Scotsman, the Herald and Scotland on Sunday. He currently writes a weekly column in the Scottish Daily Express, for which he also compiles a hugely popular weekly prize crossword. An accomplished author, he has contributed chapters on Scottish affairs to various books, and written a critically-acclaimed history of the STUC, The Bairns o’ Adam. Prior to 1995, he spent 16 years at the Scotsman in a succession of senior editorial posts, including parliamentary correspondent, labour correspondent, industrial editor, economics editor, chief leader writer, and opinion editor. He is a graduate of Edinburgh University and a Trustee of the Scottish Mining Museum.


MARTIN SIME Chief Executive Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations	Martin Sime is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, a post he has held for 20 years. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the national body representing the interests of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. The Scottish third sector turns over £4.4 billion a year and employs 137,000 people in over 45,000 organisations. For more on SCVO see www.scvo.org.uk Martin is a Board member of ACOSVO, the Chief Officers Network and has also served on the New Deal Task Force and the Expert Panel on Procedures for the Scottish Parliament. Martin is currently Treasurer of Civicus, a global civil society network, and is an Advisor to the Christie Commission on Public Service Reform. Prior to joining SCVO Martin worked for 10 years in the mental health field, latterly as Director of the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).


CARMEL MCCONNELL *Author and Founder of Magic Breakfast*	Winner. New Statesman/Edge Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2008. Carmel McConnell comes from an Northern Irish background, and was raised in the East End of London. Her background combines social activism and senior corporate experience. She made the unusual shift from community activist to technology manager, worked for BT, became a senior manager, gained an MBA, then ran her own company advising FTSE 100 leaders on strategy and ethical growth. Clients included 20th Century Fox, Whirlpool and Zurich Financial. Carmel has written four books on personal and social change, published by Pearson, including business best seller ‘Change Activist’ which has been translated into five languages. While researching Change Activist, shocked to learn about children arriving at school too hungry to learn, Carmel founded children’s charity Magic Breakfast. She took out a mortgage in 2002 to fund her charity work while she took what she thought would be a two year sabbatical from consulting. She never went back. Now, 9 years on, Magic Breakfast delivers free, healthy breakfast food and community social enterprise support to primary schools in greatest need. It gives a healthy breakfast to 6,000 children each morning in 213 of the most deprived primary schools in England. There is a staff group of just two, and receives no public money. Since 2002, Magic Breakfast has delivered over two million free breakfasts, winning major awards including Guardian Charity of the Year. To part fund Magic Breakfast, Carmel founded social enterprise, Magic Outcomes offering professional leadership training and team development, based in a primary school, with all profits to Magic Breakfast. Clients include Pearson Education, BT, Unilever, National School of Government and SES. Magic Outcomes won the Caroline Walker Trust Social Enterprise Award in 2005. Carmel was a founder Board member of the School Food Trust, is Board member of Social Enterprise London and Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. In November 2007 Carmel was named on the Evening Standard “London’s 1,000 most influential people” and included on the Observer “Future 500” list. She is keen to improve the lifechances of our poorest families, and anyone is free to contact her if that strikes a chord. Particularly philanthropists! Contact Carmel via Magic Breakfast: Email: carmel@magicbreakfast.com Twitter: MagicCarmel Tel: 0207 836 5435 Website: www.magicbreakfast.com


ANNA COOTE Head of Social Policy New Economics Foundation	Anna Coote is Head of Social Policy at nef (new economics foundation). A leading analyst, writer and advocate in the field of social policy, she was responsible for ground-breaking work on health and sustainable development as Commissioner for Health with the UK Sustainable Development Commission (2000-9). She led the Healthcare Commission’s work on engaging patients and the public (2005-8) and was Director of Health Policy at the King's Fund (1998-2004). Earlier posts include Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of ippr (Institute for Public Policy Research) from 1989-1998, Editor and Producer of current affairs television for Diverse Productions (1982-6) and Deputy Editor of the New Statesman (1978-82). She has written widely on social policy, sustainable development, public health policy, public involvement and democratic dialogue, gender and equality. Her recent publications include Cutting It: The ‘Big Society’ and the new austerity (nef, 2010), Ten Big Questions about the Big Society (nef 2010), 21 Hours (nef, 2010) and Green Well Fair: Three economies for social justice (nef, 2009).


DR. SIMON DUFFY Director The Centre for Welafre Reform	Simon is Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform, an independent research & development network working to redesign the welfare system to promote social justice, citizenship, family and community. Simon is best known for inventing Individual Budgets, Self-Directed Support and the Citizenship Model. He has founded a number of organisations to put these ideas into practice, including Inclusion Glasgow, Altrum and In Control. He was a Harkness Fellow in 1994 and was awarded the RSA’s 2008 Prince Albert Medal for his pioneering work on personalisation. He has a PhD in moral philosophy from Edinburgh University and is author of Keys to Citizenship. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Editor for the Campaign for a Fair Society


MARTIN STEPEK CEO The Forum and Scottish Family Business Association	Martin Stepek was co-owner of Stepek the electrical retail and travel agency chain. He runs the Scottish Family Business Association, which teaches people how to handle the complex challenges of working alongside family members. The association has over 24,500 registered users. Martin also runs The Forum, which brings high level leaders together to explore key inter-related themes: inner wellbeing and clarity, ethical issues in the organisation, deep leadership, and moral entrepreneurship. He teaches mindfulness, a mental discipline associated with martial arts and Buddhism. It is now used in the NHS as a successful treatment for depression. Finally Martin is an oral historian and poet whose works are cited in a psychology course in the University of Western Ontario, Canada and have been recited at memorials for the Polish victims of Stalinism in World War Two.


HENRY SIMMONS CEO Alzheimer Scotland	Henry Simmons joined Alzheimer Scotland as Chief Executive in August 2008. Prior to this he worked as an Executive Director with ENABLE Scotland. He is a registered Social Worker, RMN and he has an MBA. He has over twenty years expereince in the health and social care sector and has spent the majority of his career in the voluntary sector, primarily involved in developing new community based person centred services. Henry has worked in both the learning disability and mental health fields. He was recently elected to the Board of Alzheimer Europre and is a General Member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. He is also Chairperson of Support for Ordinary Living (SOL) an innovative local Lanarkshire voluntary organisation that supports people with learning disabilities.


LESLEY KRAGT Consultant Vanguard Systems	Lesley has a professional background in nursing and occupation psychology. Lesley currently works as a Vanguard Consultant and most of her work is supporting local and national 3rd sector organisations. She was introduced to systems thinking when she worked in local government as a Business Improvement Lead and saw first-hand how systems thinking could transform businesses. Prior to working in local government Lesley has worked the majority of her working life in the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors in various positions. Lesley’s latest position in the voluntary sector was in a large national not-for-profit organisation, where she was a Director of Development and her primary role was to secure funding and develop new programmes – constantly trying to do more for less. It is only now with the knowledge she has on systems thinking she realises that there is a different economic paradigm that enables us to improve services at a reduced cost.


ANDY WIGHTMAN *Land Rights Activist and Author of 'The Poor Had No Lawyers'*	Andy Wightman is a freelance writer, researcher and analyst specialising in land reform, land tenure and landownership and a leading advocate of land reform in Scotland. He is the author of numerous publications including Who Owns Scotland (1996), Scotland: Land and Power (1999), Community Land Rights. A Citizen’s Guide (2009) and The Poor Had No Lawyers (2010). He also runs the www.whoownsscotland.org.uk project. Andy is the 2011 recipient of the Changin Scotland Somhairle Award. Current interests include research on common good land and other forms of common land, land restitution and redistribution, community land rights, hutting, improved governance of natural resources, subversive democracy and the abolition of the Crown Estate Commission. Lean spells are spent working as a forestry contractor. Catch up with his activities on the web at www.andywightman.com.


DR JIM MCCORMICK Scotland Advisor Joseph Rowntree Foundation	Dr Jim McCormick is an independent adviser on public policy. He is Scotland Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and was previously Director of independent think-tank the Scottish Council Foundation for five years. He is co-founder of research partnership, McCormick-McDowell. Main interests include tackling poverty, schools reform and older people’s wellbeing. Publications include Getting On? Wellbeing in Later Life (ippr, 2009) and Sustainable Working Lives (SCF, 2008). He has a keen interest in deliberative public involvement methods, resulting in Scotland’s first Consensus Conference on the theme of Future Energy Choices (2006). He is a member of the Scottish Government’s Tackling Poverty Board, First ScotRail’s Stakeholder Advisory Board and Govanhill Community Development Trust. Previously, he worked in London at the think-tank ippr (Institute for Public Policy Research) and in Brussels for the European Parliament. His PhD in Geography from Glasgow University was on the impact of the poll tax in urban Scotland. He has a BSc. (Hons) Degree also from Glasgow University. He is married with a daughter and lives in Glasgow. Other interests include music, languages and Greenock Morton FC. Contact: jms.mccormick@yahoo.co.uk


DAVID HARDIE Head of Venture Philanthropy Inspiring Scotland	David is Head of Venture Philanthropy at Inspiring Scotland. The European Venture Philanthropy Association defines ‘Venture Philanthropy’ as ‘a field of philanthropic activity where private equity/venture capital models are applied in the non-profit and charitable sectors. David is also Chairman and Senior Corporate Partner at Dundas & Wilson C.S. LLP, a leading corporate law firm which he joined in 1976 as an apprentice solicitor and of which he became a partner in 1983. David, who divides his time between his roles at Inspiring Scotland and Dundas & Wilson, brings to Inspiring Scotland a wealth of experience of the private sector. His work at Dundas & Wilson with leading financial institutions, corporates (large and small) and business people (both nationally and internationally) helps to bring a private sector investment approach to the way in which Inspiring Scotland addresses key social issues. David has always had a keen interest in social issues and a turning point for him was a visit with a Scottish charity to see at first hand the plight of the street kids in Lima, Peru. David enjoys reading, motorcycling, scuba diving, keeping fit and the occasional round of golf as well as spending time with family and friends.


EMILY BOLTON Director Social Finance	Emily is a Director at Social Finance having joined the team in 2008. She leads Social Finance’s work to develop Social Impact Bonds to reduce crime and offending and led the development of the first Social Impact Bond in Peterborough. Prior to joining Social Finance Emily worked for REDF, a venture philanthropy fund in San Francisco, and as a strategy consultant. Emily has a BA from Cambridge University and an MBA from Berkeley where she was a Haas Merit Scholar.


HELEN TYRRELL Director Voluntary Health Scotland	Helen Tyrrell has been Director of Voluntary Health Scotland since 2000. VHS is the national intermediary body for the health-facing third sector, whose mission is to maximise the impact of the sector on health improvement and healthcare in Scotland. Helen qualified in public health – where she has worked for the last 25 years: in university research units, for an NHS Board and for the last twenty years, within the third sector – first with Alzheimer’s Scotland, then with Save the Children UK and Edinburgh Health Challenge before joining VHS. Helen is also Vice Convenor of SCVO and a member of the SCVO Policy Committee.


AUDREY BIRT Scotland Director Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Chair, Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland	Audrey is the Director for Scotland of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. She chairs the LTCAS (Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland) and was a founder member. She also chairs the Scottish Cancer Coalition, a coalition of cancer charities and is part of a number of government strategic groups in the health arena. This includes chairing the Living with Cancer group which is an implementation group of the Scottish Cancer Taskforce (SCT), being a member of the SCT and she sits on the Quality Alliance Board. Audrey’s professional background is nursing and she has a masters in public health. She previously worked as a nurse manager and in service redesign prior to moving to the voluntary sector. She has an interest in gestalt in organisations and in mindfulness. She is a member of the Windsor leadership Dialogue.


CHARLIE MILLAR Chief Executive Cassiltoun Housing Association	Charlie is the CEO of Cassiltoun Housing Association located in Castlemilk, Glasgow. The association is one of the largest and most diverse community controlled housing associations operating in Glasgow’s peripheral estates. Cassiltoun Housing Association through the work of its highly successful subsidiary company Cassiltoun Trust provides more than housing; the organisation is a community regeneration business that provides local employment, training recreation and leisure activities for local people and other services including a pre 5 children’s nursery. Charlie has led the association through massive changes since 2004, including the restoration of Castlemilk Stables which was completed in 2007 after a 10 year campaign by the local community to take ownership of a dilapidated building which could used as a community asset. The Association also as a result of stock transfer from GHA in 2009 doubled in size. Charlie is vastly experienced in housing and regeneration having recently completed over 30 years service, 8 years with Glasgow City Council, 16.5 years with Queens Cross Housing Association and 7 years with Cassiltoun Housing Association. Charlie has been married for 22 years and has one daughter, is a keen football fan and in 2010 made time to take up cycling.


ALEX COLE-HAMILTON Head of Policy Aberlour Child Care Trust	Alex joined Aberlour in April 2008 after working for a number of years as the Senior Policy and Parliamentary officer for both Fairbridge in Scotland and YouthLink Scotland, (Scotland’s national youth work agency). He is involved in the coordination of the Parliament's cross party group on Children and Young People and sits on the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People's Advisory Committee. He is also a management board and policy committee member of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations and a board member for 'Together- the Scottish alliance for Children’s rights’. Before entering the voluntary sector some years ago, Alex was employed by the Liberal Democrat group in the Scottish Parliament where he was responsible for researching and articulating policy, particularly pertaining to education and young people. Alex is a graduate of Aberdeen University where he obtained an honours degree in politics and held office as President of the Students' Association. He enjoys surfing, scuba diving and learning Arabic and occasionally writes for the Guardian unlimited website.


MIKE GRIGOR Regional Manager Charities and Social Enterprise Team, The Co-operative Bank	Mike is the Regional Manager of the Co-operative Banks Charity and Social Enterprise Team in Scotland, having joined them in July last year, to establish the Banks Scottish operation, as part of their ongoing expansion within the sector. Prior to joining the Co-operative Bank, Mike has had a wide range of roles within the banking sector over a 27 year period, with the past 5 years working with the Charity sector.

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Who should attend?

Anyone working or volunteering for a charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation
People working with the sector, local and national government, NHS and the private sector
Whether you are a decision maker or delivering change on the ground - this conference will help you

What previous delegates have said:

“Interesting and informative”
“Good value for money”
“Empowering and inspiring”
“I picked up lots of useful ideas”
“Well organised, insightful, a good day!”
“The speakers inspired me, generating a number of thoughts I want to develop further”
“Honest and refreshing”
“Lots to think about”
“Very good and relevant”
“A real inspiration”
“Superb, food for thought”