Our board

Lucy joined the Engender board in 2019 and is currently Convener. Lucy is the Director of Policy, Research and Impact at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE). Lucy previously worked at the Scottish Recovery Network, and before this spent several years working in international human rights. Lucy is also the Vice Chair of the Board of the Human Rights Consortium Scotland.

Emily’s career began as a beat cop in Clydebank, and has taken her to her current role as a Senior Programme Manager in Amazon’s Global Zero Waste team. Her feminist journey began when she started identifying inequalities in treatment of and opportunities available to women at work. Since then, she has been an active member of diversity, equality and inclusion groups, implementing strategies and frameworks to address issues and challenge cultural and societal norms within the workplace, including delivering regular training sessions on tools to fight bias. Emily is particularly interested in how gaps in data acquisition and a lack of gender disaggregation drive decision making, contributing to inequality in areas such as urban planning, technology and healthcare.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys being outdoors, walking, hiking and occasionally running, and is a proud pet-parent to a horse and a cat.

Camila Cavalcante is a researcher, educator, and an award-winning visual artist, from the north-east coast of Brazil, settled in Scotland. Camila combines her passion for photography, feminism, and activism in her PhD at University of St Andrews, where she researches sexual violence and visual activism. With a background in journalism, she has completed an MA Photojournalism and MSc Applied Gender Studies. Camila is also committed to educating young people about gender-based violence. Her artistic work explores empathy, social issues, and the status of women in society. She has taken part in three art residencies and over 30 exhibitions in Brazil, Mexico, France, The Netherlands, the US and the UK. More recently, she has published the bilingual book For the Lives of All Women, with Break the Habit Press, about the experiences of women who have gone through illegal abortions in Brazil.

Kristin is a lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests lie in the intersections of gender and medicine, with a particular focus on reproductive health and rights. Her PhD examined the history of birth control in Scotland, c. 1968-1990, collecting nearly 50 oral history interviews to explore the personal, intimate experiences of women (and men) following the introduction of the oral contraceptive pill and so-called ‘Sexual Revolution’. 

Born and raised in Renfrew, near Glasgow, she has always had a deep passion for gender equality and has approached life and work through the lens of intersectional feminism. She has worked in academia, the museum sector, the third sector and - like most - has done her fair share of Christmas shifts in retail! In every area, she has worked on the intersection of gender, medicine and activism, from campaigns on marriage equality and Repeal the Eighth, to exploring the history of the first female medical practitioners of Glasgow and present-day sexual health practices. 

In her spare time, Kristin enjoys spending time with her family and playing with her two tuxedo cats, Salem and Binx. She also enjoys reading anything involving dragons.

Samar Ziadat is a participatory researcher and community worker with over a decade of experience spanning political engagement, community learning and development, and the arts and culture sectors. Throughout her career, she has developed ethical, trauma-informed, co-design, and human rights-based approaches to participation, amplifying community voices in policy and legislative decisions that impact their lives now and in the future.

She has worked for organisations such as The Young Women’s Movement, Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Scottish International Film Festival, Glasgow Zine Library, and Glasgow Women’s Library. Additionally, she has worked in a freelance capacity with national advocacy bodies including the National Advisory Council for Women and Girls, Museums Galleries Scotland, the Scottish Contemporary Art Network, British Film Institute, Independent Cinema Office, and the Museums Association. Previously, she was the Founding Director of Dardishi, Scotland’s feminist festival of Arab and North African women’s art, where she led the initiative for six years. 

Her academic background is rooted in community arts and cultural policy, holding an MSc in Modern and Contemporary Art History, Curating, and Criticism from the University of Edinburgh. In her spare time, Samar enjoys rock climbing, reading, going for walks, and watching films.