Meet our Board of Trustees

Our team of eleven trustees set and monitor GWT's strategic aims set out in our Corporate Plan 2020 - 2025. They provide clear leadership and direction to the CEO and the staff team.

There is currently one vacancy on our board at present. If you would like to join GWT's board of Trustees please get in touch with Alison Clyde, CEO.

Trustees are appointed for a term of two times three years and are eligible to serve a further three-year term or three one-year terms, after which they must retire from the board. Our Trustees are responsible and accountable for the overall strategic leadership and direction of the organisation and share our vision and passion about promoting strong, generationally connected communities.

We ask for a commitment which involves attending:

Quarterly board meetings (normally held on a Wednesday, 5.30pm to 8pm) (however this could alter in the future due to the needs of Trustees)
The Annual General Meeting (online) – Wednesday 13th November 2024 at 12noon.
One development session (an in person event normally held in Glasgow) each year (around September time) to develop and review the corporate plan/manifesto.
Occasional GWT Conferences/ Parliamentary receptions or other events.
Short life working groups - as and when required utilizing the strengths of our trustees knowledge and expertise.

“Generations Working Together (GWT) believes the principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion should underpin everything we do. We view diversity as a strength to be harnessed and aim to create an inclusive organisational culture that respects and values difference. This commitment applies to our Board as it does to all other aspects of our work. We strive to have a Board of Trustees that reflects our membership and the wider population and believe that diversity brings a range of valuable skills, experiences and perspectives to our work, contributing to positive organisational performance.”

The comments below are shared by our Board members

“Volunteering with GWT this past year has let me see the value of intergenerational practice in many arenas of life. It has given me greater insight into the passionate practice out there and also the resource and specialism required to support it to be done in ever more meaningful and measurable ways. I have loved the opportunity so far of being part of a Board with such great diversity of age and experience.”
—Trustee

“My experience volunteering as a Trustee for GWT over the past two plus years has been both rewarding personally and beneficial professionally. Exposure to the Governance and Compliance aspects of Trusteeship has been useful supporting my role as a senior manager within a private sector business, while the opportunity to present to workshops and conferences has been invaluable experience of public speaking. Additionally, working alongside the other Trustees and GWT staff who have a wealth of diverse and in-depth experience has been extremely useful from a professional development perspective. From a personal perspective, being able to give my time to support a cause which is increasingly important to society overall and impacts on the lives of everyone I know is rewarding and well worth the investment in time.”
—Trustee

Anne Callaghan

Trustee

Anne Callaghan has worked for 30 years campaigning for change across a range of issues and is currently at the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) working on international development and climate. Prior to SCIAF she worked for the Campaign to End Loneliness in Scotland highlighting the need for a comprehensive strategy the issue. She has been a trustee of Generations Working Together since 2019(?) with an interest in policy, public awareness, communications and public affairs. A native of West Lothian, she went to Glasgow University where she studied Politics and completed a Masters in Human Rights at Essex University. She volunteered with Oxfam in Scotland on campaigns before getting her first job with Oxfam in London. Returning to Scotland in 2015, she now enjoys being a dog mum for a mini schnauzer, wild swimming in warmer months and films and theatre. Anne joined the Board of Trustees in May 2019.

David Shea

Trustee

Dave Shea joined the board of GWT in February 2024.

Emma Mitchell

Treasurer

Emma Mitchell has been Treasurer on the Board of Trustees since August 2020 and was previously a Board Director and Chair for Birchwood Highland, a mental health charity. Emma is a Board Director for a social enterprise, The Apprentice Store where she supports strategic growth of this local business. Emma has a BA (Hons) in Business Management (Economics) and gained a bookkeepers qualification at University in 2018, she runs her own business management consultancy supporting businesses to solve problems, grow and become more profitable with a strategy that reduces their risk but improves overall business performance. Furthermore she also works part time with Nature Scot focusing on Change Management at their Head Office. Previously Emma has run multiple successful businesses of her own and has also worked for some small and large complex businesses in different sectors across the UK. Emma moved to Inverness in 2001 and has now settled just outside of the Highland city and since the acceptance of virtual meetings this enabled Emma to join the Board of Trustees in August 2020 so she can add support to this worthwhile charity.

Ewan Fisher

Co-chair, Board of Trustees

Ewan Fisher is Head of Organisational Change at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, a global testing, certification and advisory body based in Munich, Germany. Here he leads an internal transformation programme focused on various aspects of business improvement. Ewan has more than 20 years’ experience in sales and management in the private and third sectors, which enable him to bring a commercial perspective to the Board of Trustees. Ewan joined the Board of Trustees in March 2017, taking on the role of co-Vice Chair in April 2022, and has been particularly focused on helping to develop the charity’s training and consultancy offering. In his spare time Ewan enjoys hillwalking and is (slowly) ticking off the Munros.

Graham Hewitson

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Graham Hewitson joined the Board of Trustees in June 2018. Prior to retirement, Graham led the Angus Council Communities Team, with responsibility for community learning and development, and local community planning. He is a member of the Community Learning and Development Standards Council for Scotland, the professional standards body for community learning and development (youth work, community-based adult learning and community development). Graham is a Trustee with Angus Rural Partnership, a member of the North-West Angus Locality Improvement Group (Angus IJB) and a Committee member with Strathmore Cricket Club, which is evolving into a broader community anchor agency and operates a range of community projects including Lochside Connections, a Meeting Centre for people living with dementia and their family carers.

Joanne Sefton

Trustee

Joanne Sefton is a primary teacher with experience in curriculum design, policy creation and teaching early, first and second level of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. She brings knowledge of current educational trends, policy and understanding of the Scottish curriculum to the board of trustees which she joined in August 2022. Within her role, she has particular interest in health and wellbeing, play pedagogy, community and family engagement, nurturing approaches and restorative practice. Before transitioning to teaching, Joanne worked in marketing across various sectors including: tourism, inward investment, pensions and mobile games. She obtained her undergraduate degree in BA Hons Marketing and Business Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde and a PGDE in Primary Education at the University of Dundee. In her spare time Joanne enjoys taking on different fitness challenges and most recently has completed an Ironman 70.3 triathlon and Hyrox. Joanne joined the Board of Trustees in August 2022.

Jude Currie

Co-chair, Board of Trustees

Jude Currie is a Social Worker and joined the Board in December 2018. Areas of expertise include practice and management in children and families social work, holistic family support, Self-directed support across ages, and most recently, support for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and unaccompanied or undocumented children seeking asylum. She brings academic learning and skillsets from practice across statutory and third sector sectors and from her MA in Theology and English (University of St. Andrews), MSW (University of Edinburgh), and Diploma in Leadership and Management in Social Services (University of Stirling). Jude is outgoing Chair of the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW), outgoing Council Director with British Association of Social Work (BASW) and ongoing member of Social Work Scotland. Jude is passionate about the potential of community social work across generations. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband and baby and loves to swim. Jude joined the Board of Trustees in December 2018.

Liz Forbat

Trustee

Liz Forbat is a professor at the university of Stirling, with expertise in palliative care, ageing and serious illness. She leads the Faculty of Social Science’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well as serving in a management role as Deputy Dean. She is engaged in research, teaching and leadership in that role. She brings skillsets therefore in ageing, evidence-informed-practice, and management to GWT. In other roles she is on the Governance Board for Marie Curie Scotland, and the advisory board for Marie Curie’s Care Home group. She has formerly been on the board of the Association of Family Therapy, and several academic journal editorial boards. She also works as a family psychotherapist in an independent practice. She has a BA (hons) and PhD in psychology, a PG Cert and MSc in family psychotherapy, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She lives in Edinburgh with her children. LIz joined the Board of Trustees in August 2019.

Shahida Zafar

Trustee

Shahida Zafar has worked in community and elderly care setting for over 20 years. Her first qualification gained was in Radiography. She then moved on to study social care and welfare management along with .counselling. Her study and experience over the years, has equipped her with skills needed for working within a range of disciplines. Her interest in enabling people to try and reach their full potential keeps her motivated to carry on.
Shahida lives in Glasgow with her husband and has three sons. She is also a proud grandmother. Shahida Zafar joined the Board of Trustees in January 2021.

Wanda MacKay

Trustee

Wanda MacKay works as a Youth Development Officer for Highlife Highland and has been delivering Youth and Community work (Community Learning & Development) for 26+ years. Wanda has worked with many partners and projects over the years. Wanda is experienced in partnership working and of faciliatating and evaluating intergenerational projects within education connected to Scottish curriculum. Wanda joined the board of Trustees in August 2022.