Staff

Norma Austin Hart

Chief Executive Officer

Norma was a councillor in the City of Edinburgh Council for ten years, until 2017, where she had responsibility for culture and sports services. She was also lead councillor on the introduction of the Living Wage and helped to secure Living Wage Employer status for the City of Edinburgh Council, one of the first local authorities in Scotland to achieve this award. Before becoming the lead of TSDG, she was the director of Austin Hart Project Management, her own consultancy and training business.

Claire Brown

Head of Operations

Claire joined Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway in 2016. Prior to this, she worked in academia at the University of Glasgow and then as a National Project Manager developing and managing projects for the Scottish Government’s health department. Claire is accountable for our engagement, volunteering, and digital inclusion work and coordinates our thematic forums. She supports our work with Community Planning and Health and Social Care Partnerships and deputises for the Chief Executive in her absence.

Natalie Anderson

Head of Business Support

Prior to joining Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway in 2021, Natalie worked in Higher Education Professional Services management for 29 years, most recently with the University of Glasgow in Dumfries. Natalie has experience in the third sector as a former director and voluntary consultant with a local community development trust. Natalie is the first point of contact for the Chief Executive.

Nadine Coltart

Business Support Officer

Nadine has worked in administration-based jobs and jumped in and out of hospitality roles since leaving school. She thoroughly enjoys working with the public and is looking forward to utilising these skills and widening her knowledge of the third sector as the first point of contact for TSDG. In her spare time, Nadine enjoys playing netball and helping to run Upper Nithsdale Netball Club.

Gail McPhillips

Community Engagement Manager

Gail helps support third sector organisations to build their capacity and capability, as well as access funding, training, and volunteers. She is a qualified youth and community worker and has worked within this sector for many years. Gail is especially passionate about community engagement to help realise the potential of organisations to deliver services and provision that meet local needs. She chairs the Nithsdale, Annandale and Eskdale Locality Hubs and leads on our Children and Young People Forum.

Jeanna Baxter

Interim Senior Engagement Officer

Jeanna provides dedicated support to voluntary organisations, charities, and volunteers to build their capacity and capability. Jeanna is a qualified Primary School Teacher and has a background in social care. She has a range of experience supporting vulnerable individuals and training volunteers from her previous roles and is passionate about engaging with the community to promote and support Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway.

Stephen McCutcheon

Community Engagement Officer (Stewartry and Wigtownshire)

Stephen was previously the project manager of a newly refurbished community centre in Dumfries and Galloway. His background is primarily in business, based in the IT, networking and cyber security field. He is passionate about what the third sector can provide to its communities and will offer support to organisations, charities, and volunteers to aid them to build capacity, growth, and capability, through effective governance, training and guidance.

Rachel Muir

Community Engagement Officer (Funding)

Hailing from Victoria, Australia, Rachel has been very happy to call Scotland home for the last nine years during which time she has held a range of management, administration and customer-facing roles in the tourism and events sector. Based at our Dumfries office, Rachel works alongside the Engagement Team to provide information and expertise about funding opportunities available to the third sector in Dumfries and Galloway. She also provides support to third sector organisations in applying for these funds.

Kateryna Stoian

Volunteering Officer

Kateryna contributes to the development of volunteer involving organisations in Dumfries and Galloway. A former associate professor at a university, she got involved with the third sector in Ukraine through an American-Ukrainian charity in 2018. A year later, she founded a charity to support Ukrainian children with Down syndrome to improve their life quality through intellectual development. Now, she will help volunteers to make positive changes in society.

Jane Stanistreet

Fund Manager

Jane joined in 2021 as Funding Officer before progressing to lead the Community Engagement Team regionally and then dedicated to the west of the region. Now, as Fund Manager, she leads the team responsible for the management of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund and the Community Led Local Development Fund. Jane has a wealth of experience within the third sector and spent more than 15 years successfully assisting the sector to access EU Funding.

Yuliia Dymkovska

Engagement Officer (Community Led Local Development)

Yuliia previously had over seven years’ experience of working with the third sector in Ukraine. She is delighted to be continuing to make a difference with Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway. Based in our Dumfries office, Yuliia works with the Fund Team to encourage community groups and third sector organisations to participate in the Community Led Local Fund and help them develop ideas for funding.

Callum McIntosh

Programme Co-ordinator (External Funds)

Callum was previously a Later Living Development Manager working within housing covering Dumfries and Galloway and fell in love with helping people day to day. He enjoyed taking care of and building the community he was engrained in and now plans to continue helping people move forward through his work with Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway.

Iona Callum

Programme Coordinator

Iona has a varied career having worked in the third sector, commercial, and creative industries. Before joining Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway, she ran her own vehicle logistics business. Previously, she worked on several projects in the third sector in supported employment and life skills training in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders. Her role as Programme Coordinator provides administration support to projects across the region to access funding.

Niomi Nichol

Community Health and Wellbeing Manager

Niomi focuses on Community Health and Wellbeing and brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the subject, having joined us from a leadership role within the social care sector. Niomi is passionate about the development of health and wellbeing, in particular ensuring that quality support is offered to individuals in receipt of support as well as their carers, friends, and family, through partnership working and relationship building.

Carol Bell

Wraparound Hospital to Home Service Coordinator

Carol joined the team from a public sector administrative role in Social Care. She is passionate about raising awareness of the contribution third sector organisations make to the Community Health and Wellbeing sector in the region and has become the Coordinator of the new Wraparound Hospital to Home Service, developed as part of a co-ordinated response to continuing pressures across health and social care within Dumfries and Galloway.

Alan Hall

Communications Manager

Alan joined us towards the end of 2018, after almost 25 years working in media across the region, including the editor's position in both newspapers and magazines. He led on the introduction of the database within TSDG, which helps to drive our work; the development of this website; and is passionate about helping to increase both the profile of the organisation and that of the wider third sector. Alan is also a volunteer coach at youth level with Greystone Rovers.

Daniel Allan

Information and Communications Officer

Daniel has a background in computing and uses that expertise to maintain the organisation’s IT structure, including the database that helps drive the everyday work of staff and is an integral part of our websites. He also helps the Communications Manager to publicise the third sector in Dumfries and Galloway across all our channels.

Selina McMorran

Social Enterprise Manager

Selina has been the dedicated Engagement Officer for Annandale and Eskdale for the last eight years. An interest in Social Enterprise saw her appointed as one of the consultants on the Seeding Social Enterprise Across the Land project. During that time the Social Enterprise Network was created and Selina has continued to support the Network for the last few years. As our new Social Enterprise Manager, she can now dedicate her time to the development of the social enterprise community in the region.

Sharee Donoghue

Employability Manager

Sharee has experience in employability services within private, public and third sector organisations for over 20 years in Dumfries and Galloway. Her primary focus will be to work with and support key stakeholders to increase capacity and capability of the sector to deliver quality employability opportunities. Through partnership working, we will support the aims of No-One Left Behind.

Jo Newlands

Employability Officer

Jo’s primary focus will be on engaging with third sector organisations across the region to gain a thorough understanding of the employability services available across the region, and to promote these showcasing what the third sector has to offer in terms of employability in Dumfries and Galloway. Jo’s background is in youth work and homeless services. She is passionate about improving the life chances of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our communities.

Board

John Dougan

Chair

John is a native of Stranraer but now lives in Dumfries with his family. He has worked both in the third and public sector and previously managed a drug rehab centre near Kirkcudbright. He has also worked for Alex Fergusson MSP, and as a councillor with Dumfries and Galloway Council. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Relationships Scotland Dumfries and Galloway, a charity offering family support, counselling, mediation, and child contact services, along with counselling for carers.

Jo Shearer

Vice-Chair

Jo has lived and worked in Dumfries and Galloway for over 30 years. Although Dumfries is now her base, her heart remains in the west of the region. Recently retired from her role as a strategic planning manager for children’s services with the Council, she is keen to use her knowledge and experience on the Board to further support better partnership working for the Third Sector. On a personal basis, she is a keen advocate of disability rights and ensuring families get the right support.

Phil Stewart

Treasurer

Phil Stewart lives in Dumfries with his wife, Tracey. He is the Chief Executive Officer for Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service having previously been a Police Officer for 30 years and Work Experience Co-ordinator at Dumfries and Galloway Council. He is keen to develop partnership working to ensure that all those in need throughout the region get the help support and assistance they need to live without fear of poverty. He enjoys watching rugby, playing golf, and walking his dog.

Kim Dams

Kim is a new Scot living in rural Galloway. She is a board member of Scottish Rural Action, chairing the risk committee; and a director of DG Voice, a charity that gives disabled people across Dumfries and Galloway a voice and is on the board of Inclusion Scotland. Kim has a professional background in finance, risk, strategy, change management and compliance and has a passion for equality and human rights. She is engaged in her local community, keen to address rural issues, inequality and poverty.

Wendi Cuffe

Wendi lives in Ardwell and has worked with the Stranraer community for the past 25 years. She is a former employee of Dumfries and Galloway Council with Economic Development Services, managing community and capital projects to support the regeneration of Stranraer and Loch Ryan. Previously, Wendi was a community development practitioner with NHS and voluntary sector organisations. Since retiring in 2016, she has worked as an independent consultant with third sector organisations.

Jason Railton

Jason was born and raised in Dumfries and Galloway, and worked as a Project Manager with Langholm Initiative for five years with a key focus on employability, rural poverty and digital inclusion. He has significant experience in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, partnership management and community development. He is currently Chair of OutPost Arts in Langholm, as well as a Trustee of Dumfries and Galloway Befriending Project. He now works as a Digital Inclusion Development Officer with SCVO.

Carolyn Kennedy

Carolyn has lived in Dumfries and Galloway for 30 years and has experience in business and project management in private and third sector. She has worked with Better Lives Partnership since 2017 and been involved strategically with the development of the Bridge to Employment Programme and new strands offering more choice to young autistic people. Carolyn is keen to ensure people have a voice and is passionate about developing partnerships to ensure people can access appropriate support when and where needed.