I have over 25 years experience in youth and community work and in the equality and diversity sector, with young people, adults and older people across Scotland, including in rural areas. Within the 3rd sector, I also have extensive experience in staff, volunteer and project management, training and partnership work. In 2014 I was involved in setting up a community development and capacity building consultancy (Sleeping Giants), and in 2017 (as all of our aims were social) Sleeping Giants relaunched as a social enterprise to support the impact and expansion of the capacity building work we do with communities and agencies. In 2015 I was also appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the board of NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and as part of this role I sit as a voting member in the Integration Joint Board, overseeing the integration of adult health and social care services across the Region. I am currently chair of both the Clinical and Care Governance Committee of the IJB, and the Public Health Committee of the NHS. I am also an active member of NHS sub groups looking to progress LGBTi equality and equality for BAME people within the organisation. Although I am a mixed heritage LGBTi person myself, I am acutely aware of the various forms of privilege I hold, and the role I can play as an advocate and an ally to those who struggle to have a voice or access their rights. With this in mind, my passion and commitment has always been for social justice, celebration of difference and promoting equality of opportunity for those who experience the most barriers, and I try to embody this in my own life, as well as striving to build others' capacity to include and listen to the voices of the most marginalised members of our community. As an adoptive parent, I am also very interested in ensuring that children are supported to develop secure attachments in childhood which can ensure their resilience as they navigate life. In my spare time I volunteer with a variety of small groups, practice Buddhism, exercise (occasionally!), enjoy the outdoors (not least in my wee caravan, or in the beautiful countryside of Dumfries and Galloway), and most of all, I like to spend time with the people I love.