Neurodivergence in the Workplace Scotland Conference

Dr Simon Webster is Chief Executive of SCLD, the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities. SCLD’s vision is of a fairer Scotland where people with learning disabilities live full, safe, loving and equal lives. SCLD bridges the gap between policy development and practical implementation, working in partnership with people with learning disabilities and with professionals to remove barriers through systemic change, including the barriers which exclude so many people with learning disabilities from employment.

Simon has worked with neurodiversity across areas such as advocacy, policy development, law reform, and social care. Simon’s experience includes the non-profit sector, Scottish Government, a local authority, and the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. At CCPS, representing Scotland’s non-profit social care sector, he directed policy programmes on workforce development and sustainability. As a senior manager in several non-profit organisations, Simon has developed organisations which value neurodiversity.

Katherine joined Scottish Autism as Director of People and Culture in 2020. She has over 20 years of strategic leadership experience in social care, the voluntary sector, social enterprise, consultancy and voluntary board roles.  Drawing from this range of experience she has developed expertise in leading and helping to shape people strategies and cultures, national workforce matters, collaborative working, anti-discriminatory practice, community development and organisational change with a focus on values.

Katherine is committed to empowering people and communities, and to active inclusion. Although she has worked with and in organisations providing support to autistic people for many years, Scottish Autism has been a learning ground for her in terms of establishing best practice in participation and inclusion of autistic people.  Mirroring the inclusive ethos of service delivery in the way that Scottish Autism welcomes and works with autistic people as colleagues, and supports the amplification of neurodivergent employee voice, ensures that the authenticity of our mission runs through all of our work.

Ross has been a Community Advisor at Scottish Autism since October 2021 and joined the One Stop Shop in July 2023. Previous to this, Ross had 10 years of experience as a Support Worker. Ross was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 19 and has a Master’s Degree in Autism Studies and an Undergraduate Degree in Social Sciences.

In his current role, Ross works at the Fife One Stop Shop. Alongside providing support to families of autistic young people through the Flourish programme, Ross also leads the Autistic Adult Peer Support Network in Fife. Providing both online and in-person support to autistic individuals, parents and carers. He also provides training to businesses and professionals via Scottish Autism’s external training programme.

Ross’s key interests are in helping autistic adults navigate their place within the autistic community and using his own experiences to develop and provide training.

Cathy Magee is Chief Executive of Dyslexia Scotland, the national voluntary organisation which aims to inspire and enable people with dyslexia to reach their potential in education, employment and life. Cathy has been in post since October 2007. Cathy was awarded an OBE for services to people with dyslexia in the King’s New Years Honours List 2024.

Her background prior to this includes 4 years on secondment to the then Scottish Executive, managing the National Health Demonstration Projects programme; over 20 years third sector experience at local, national and international levels (including Save the Children, Wester Hailes Adventure Group, Voluntary Service Overseas in Nepal, Volunteer Development Scotland and the Stirling Health and Well-being Alliance.) Her roles have included managing volunteers, staff, community development projects and after school clubs involved in addressing inequalities, improving health and wellbeing, adult education and basic literacy, as well as national policy development, implementation and dissemination.

Joti is a commercially focused HR leader with a track record in the delivery of business and cultural change, and implementing practical solutions that balance business needs with effective people practices. She is committed to providing effective HR support to the business  in the achievement of objectives linked to strategy, growth and development.

Joti is passionate about fairness, equality, inclusion and social justice and has worked in organisations who support people from marginalised groups.  This includes private, public and not-for-profit sectors – it’s the values of an organisation that attract her to it.  Joti is a determined, resilient and values driven leader with compassion and empathy.  Her sense of integrity underlies everything she does professionally.

Joti has been in post as the Head of HR at BBC Scotland since April 2021 and is responsible for leading the people strategy across Scotland and partnering with senior leaders to contribute to the future strategic direction of the business.

She is a former board member of Scottish Refugee Council and remains as a trusted friend.  She is also a coach, enjoys running and travelling to meet people from all cultures.

Fiona has worked with autistic and other neurodivergent people for almost two decades. As a senior trainer and consultant at Into Work, an employment support charity, Fiona works with a neurodivergent team. The team has supported around 150 employers from the private, public and third sectors to be more neuro-inclusive. Into Work also runs peer led courses to support people to better understand what their neurodivergence means and to navigate employment.

Fiona is Vice Chair of Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh (AMASE), an Autistic Disabled People’s Organisation, and has been a Trustee of Scottish Autism since 2019.

Qualifying as a chartered accountant, Fiona worked in banking and finance before a significant career change. Fiona has been on the Scottish Government’s Autism Strategy Review Group and Towards Transformation leadership framework and was also on the working group for the Royal College of Psychiatrist’s 2020 “Autism in Adults” (CR 228) guide.

Thiago is a Brazilian entrepreneur, has a masters in Economic Development from the University of Glasgow, and is Managing Director at Passion4Social. 25 years of experience in Marketing and Design, worked for 100s of organisations from the public, private and third sectors, including several multinationals (Motorola, Ford, GM, HP, PepsiCo, Omega, Roche, etc.) in Brazil, Belgium, Canada, and now in the UK.

He is a social entrepreneur since 2016. In 2018, he cofounded Passion4Social, a social enterprise with an innovative business model that creates sustainable employment opportunities for disabled people and those with disadvantaged backgrounds.

He is passionate about diversity, social impact, and mainly helping people.

Jack Hellberg is a co-chair for NHS Lothian’s Disabled Employee Network (DEN) and works in other roles across two NHS Scotland health boards. NHS Lothian’s DEN provides support for disabled employees across all organisational levels and strives to create a workplace that is pro-actively accessible. This includes advocating for disabled people’s rights, drafting organisational policy, promoting disability visibility, providing consultation & guidance on employing disabled people, and peer support. Jack’s area of particular interest is neurodiversity, also working as an assistant psychologist for an adult autism assessment service. Through his work, Jack hopes to improve access to support for disabled people both in the workplace and in healthcare.

Andy Williamson is the founder of Welcome Brain Consulting, a firm dedicated to fostering neurodiversity and neuroinclusion in the workplace. The central mission of Welcome Brain is to help create organisations that fit individuals, not individuals that fit organisations. With expertise in creating accessible, innovative environments, Andy works with organisations to design practical strategies that support neurodivergent talent, from recruitment to retention

Donald Lindsay is Chief People Officer at FreeAgent, a leading online accountancy software company based in Edinburgh.

With a wealth of experience in human resource management and leadership across a range of industries, Donald is a passionate advocate for inclusion and is particularly interested in the impact that company culture can have on both the employee experience of work and the overall performance of a business.

Donald plays an active role in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). He has held a number of senior positions within the organisation and chaired the South-East of Scotland branch for two years.

Dr Simon Webster is Chief Executive of SCLD, the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities. SCLD’s vision is of a fairer Scotland where people with learning disabilities live full, safe, loving and equal lives. SCLD bridges the gap between policy development and practical implementation, working in partnership with people with learning disabilities and with professionals to remove barriers through systemic change, including the barriers which exclude so many people with learning disabilities from employment.

Simon has worked with neurodiversity across areas such as advocacy, policy development, law reform, and social care. Simon’s experience includes the non-profit sector, Scottish Government, a local authority, and the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. At CCPS, representing Scotland’s non-profit social care sector, he directed policy programmes on workforce development and sustainability. As a senior manager in several non-profit organisations, Simon has developed organisations which value neurodiversity.