Our board

Engender’s board is responsible for the organisation’s strategic direction and governance.

Nina Murray, Convener

Nina joined Engender’s board in 2012 and is currently Convener. She has a background in migration and human rights and worked as Women's Policy Development Officer at Scottish Refugee Council for six years. In 2017 she joined the Secretariat of the European Network on Statelessness, where she is currently Head of Research and Policy. Nina is also a Trustee of Ngbotima Charity Trust, supporting young people through education in Sierra Leone.

Emily Thomson, Vice-Convener

Emily Thomson is a Senior Lecturer in the department of Law, Economics, Accountancy and Risk and Depute Director of Women in Scotland’s Economy (WiSE) Research Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University. Her teaching and research interests include feminist economics, the business case for gender equality and international development.

Emily is a member of the International Association for Feminist Economics and a fellow of the International Working Group on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics.

Jenny Bloomfield

Jenny is Senior Policy Lead at the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, covering all things charity-related. This includes regulation issues raised by the likes of OSCR; new legislation from UK or Scottish Parliaments such as the UK Lobbying Act; and issues around the political environment that charities operate in. She works with colleagues across the UK on national issues relating to charity regulation and governance and has a UK-wide overview of the charity operating environment.

Louise Brodie

Pam Duncan-Glancy

Pam Duncan-Glancy is a disability equality and human rights activist. She currently works in communications in the NHS and was previously a Policy Officer for a national charity. She has an MSc in Health Psychology, a BSc in Psychology and a Post Graduate Certificate in Citizenship and Human Rights. Pam is an ambassador for the One in Five campaign which aims to get more disabled people into Politics and is a keen trade unionist. She was Disabled Students Officer for NUS Scotland for 2 years. Pam was a member of the Commission on Local Democracy, the commission on Parliamentary Reform and has also been a board member of a national charity.

Emma Hutton

Emma currently leads communications, outreach and participation for the Scottish Human Rights Commission, having previously spent two years in London setting up Equally Ours, a UK-wide campaign to spread the positive story about human rights in everyday life. Emma has also worked as a lobbyist, campaigner and frontline business developer in the social enterprise movement, working in Scotland, London and Australia.

Zara Kitson

Currently Communications Manager for a leading youth charity, Zara has built her experience in public relations and communications in Scotland from direct involvement in election campaigns, and leading campaigns in the third sector. Zara's interest in raising young people's voices started during her time as a youth worker in Glasgow. Co-author of the book 'who if not us', written by twelve young Europeans, Zara's activism is international and typically concerns themes of democracy, young people, and gender equality. From co-ordinating Scotlands first people's assembly, to her interest and involvement with Scottish Women's Budget Group, Zara is motivated by social and gender justice, and the intersections of class, gender, race, age, and disability.

Lucy Mulvagh

Lucy is the Director of Policy and Communications at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE). She previously worked at the Scottish Recovery Network, and before this spent several years working in international human rights. Lucy is also a member of the Advisory Group of the Human Rights Consortium Scotland and represents the ALLIANCE (as co-convenor) on the Health and Social Care Action Group of Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights.

Jacquelyn O'Brien

Jacquelyn grew up in Scotland and has also lived in Canada where she owned and ran a yoga studio. Returning 3 years ago, she initially worked on a mentoring programme for women and is now a business adviser working in economic development.

Jacquelyn has a strong interest in addressing the gender imbalance in political representation and in ensuring that women’s voices are heard, especially in policy making. She’s currently working on an MBA and has two children. Jacquelyn is also on the board of the Ayrshire Women’s Hub and is a Prince’s Trust mentor.

Nighet Riaz

Dr Nighet Riaz is an early careers researcher and associate lecturer in the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). Returning to education as a mature student, and becoming an activist, Nighet has become more critical of how women and in particular young people are framed by policy and media. Her research explores how young people and communities can become ‘othered’ fuelled by moral panics to tackle the perceived disaffection of young people and communities who have been identified as ‘at risk’ of social exclusion. Nighet teaches on various graduate and post-graduate modules on the topic of equality and inclusion. Her interest in race, identity and belonging has led to Nighet becoming an active member of British Educational Research Association, where she now co-convenes on the Special Interest Group on Race, Ethnicity and Education.

Nighet is a training and development partner in the Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators (SAMEE), a member of the education subgroup of the ‘Tackling Islamophobia’ cross party group at Holyrood, as well as the Equality Officer at her local SNP branch, East Pollokshields.

Lynn Williams

Lynn is a full time unpaid carer for her husband, who has a spinal injury. She also works part time for a charity. She is an activist, vocal on the challenges in social care, and the treatment of unpaid carers both politically and in terms of policy. She has talked in public about her caring role, the social security system in Scotland and Westminster and on health and social care integration. She previously worked for SCVO and the Carers Trust and is a trained career adviser.

Leanne Wilson

Leanne Wilson is a PhD Researcher in the department of Law and Economics at Glasgow Caledonian university. She is a member of the WiSE Research Centre for Economic Justice where the aim is to create new knowledge to inform public policy and create a just society in Scotland and internationally. She is a feminist economist with research interest in the implementation of gender mainstreaming within economic policies both in Scotland and the European Union.

Leanne is also the Child Wellbeing and Protection officer in her sons’ grassroots football club where equality plays a key role in inspiring future generations. This role allows her to make small changes as well as stay close to the key role in her life, a full-time mum.