We're governed by an active, experienced voluntary
board. Members have a range of experience including finance,
property development, housing, older people's strategy,
homelessness and health.
William Wood, Chair
William joined the board in 2004.
He is from the Lothians and studied architecture at Edinburgh
College of Art. In the late 1970s he joined the army. His service
included command of a regiment and deputy head of the Royal
Military Police. He also organised humanitarian relief and worked
for NATO in Bosnia.
He recently retired from his post as the general manager for
The Lamp of Lothian Trust where he managed their historic buildings
and arranged cultural events.
He has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Open
University, and a Diploma in Company Direction.
Jane Brown, Deputy Chair
Jane graduated from Edinburgh University in 1984. She gained a
postgraduate diploma in social work the following year. She's
worked as planning and commissioning officer (for older people)
with City of Edinburgh Council, a senior social worker, as
professional assistant to the director of social work and care
co-ordinator and assistant unit manager. Jane joined the board
in 2007.
Her recent posts have been assistant chief executive with Viewpoint
Housing Association and the general manager of Forth Care Ltd. She
now works with the Care Inspectorate.
Vee Freir
Vee has worked in the field of Clinical Psychology for many
years, most recently in Private Practice. Some of her recent
projects have been with The Keil Centre, Edinburgh and with the
Mindfulness Project for NHS Education in Scotland. Vee was closely
involved in the setting up of Maggie's Highland where she had to
bring the concept of what Maggie's Highlands could offer NHS
Highland in a sensitive manner so that health professionals and
cancer charities could see that Maggie's was an asset to the region
and was seen as a member of the Oncology Department of Raigmore
Hospital.
Having retired from Clinical work in January 2012 Vee feels
strongly that she would like to give something back to the
community through her Board Membership with Places for People
Scotland Care & Support.
Vee has a real interest in writing, has written several poems
which have been published and recently took a course in Screen
Writing for Short Films at Edinburgh University Office of Lifelong
Learning. This might be helpful with future PfPSC&S film
productions or creative events.
Elaine Haddow
Elaine has worked for the past 30 years in homelessness services
in Glasgow City Council. She has over 25 years of experience
in management, strategic planning and 10 years experience in
tendering, commissioning and contract management.
As Commissioning & Planning Manager in Glasgow's
homelessness services, Elaine was responsible for, planning new
services, developing the homelessness strategy and working closely
with colleagues to ensure homelessness was a major element in
Glasgow's housing plan. Over the years her involvement has
been with both the voluntary sector and statutory authorities in
developing a "joined up" approach to tackling homelessness
particularly Glasgow's hostel closure programme.
Elaine has recently taken early retirement from Glasgow City
Council where she has worked since 1980.
Kuan Loh
Kuan joined Old Town Housing Association in the early 1990s. She
developed various affordable housing projects through
rehabilitation of both historic buildings and new-build housing
projects in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town.
Kuan has been a board member since 2008 and is currently
working for The EDI Group as development manager - primarily
working on development projects in Craigmillar, including master
plans for the various neighbourhood areas and the first shared
campus primary schools.
Margaret Taylor
Margaret has worked as chief executive of the Glasgow Homeless
Network, national co-ordinator with Scottish Women's Aid and a
research and teaching fellow at Strathclyde University.
Margaret has also been a member of the Scottish Executive's
Homelessness Task Force and was involved in co-ordinating the
closure programme of Glasgow City Council's hostels. Her interests
include public policy, research and her knowledge and skills
encompass homelessness, management, governance, influence and
campaigning.
Lesley Warren
Lesley Graduated in 2011 from the University of Aberdeen, with
MA in Politics and International Relations and currently works as a
Public Affairs Consultant in Edinburgh. Brought up in
Dumfries and Galloway Lesley has several years' experience of
volunteering for the Red Cross, and prior to her graduation in 2011
Lesley volunteered through the University of Aberdeen Charities'
Committee to sit on the Student Council.
Lesley has previously worked in the Scottish Parliament for
Elaine Murray, the Shadow Housing and Transport Minister. Lesley
has a real passion for travel and spent a month in East China
Normal University in Shanghai learning Mandarin.
Glenda Watt
Glenda joined the board in 2009. She has been a nurse,
social worker and manager for over 30 years. She has a particular
interest in services for older people at a local, national and
international level.
Glenda was the founder member of the Alzheimer's Disease Society in
Scotland and currently works with the City of Edinburgh Council as
strategy manager - improving services and opportunities for older
people in the city.
Lorna Wilson
Lorna has worked for the last nine years in housing with City of
Glasgow Council where she now holds the role of Head of Strategy.
Prior to this she worked in housing with East Renfrewshire Council
and North Lanarkshire Council. She is a strategy, policy and
partnership working specialist, with 14 years' public and
charitable sector experience in the housing and support sector.
Lorna has worked in partnership with a wide range of
organisations across the public and voluntary sectors, including
health, social work, central and local government, a wide range of
voluntary organisations, community groups and voluntary committees.
She is passionate about the benefits of organisations working
effectively in partnership to achieve the best possible
outcomes.
Lorna is currently a Non Executive Board member of a pre-school
partnership nursery where her responsibilities include acting as
Treasurer, representing parents and carers, and developing and
supporting staff.
