Dilraj is the Director of Equate Scotland, which is a national policy, research and development organisation focussing on women’s underrepresentation within the science, engineering, technology, and the built environment industries. As programme lead, she directs the work of Equate Scotland through financial, strategic, people and policy management. Dilraj has worked in senior programme management, policy development and executive positions across a diverse range of not-for-profit organisations.

With a grounding in business administration and carbon management, Dilraj brings cross-sector experience in urban development with subject matter expertise on the themes of environment, poverty, social capital, AI and ethics

Dilraj is currently a member of Scotland’s AI Alliance Leadership Group, Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group and as an industry expert in QMU’s  Psychology and Sociology Advisory panel. Dilraj also has ongoing trustee responsibilities in local and international organisations. Dilraj’s work has been always guided by her personal values- rights-based and intersectional.

Mary is the Deputy Regional Secretary for Unite the Union, Scotland.

Mary’s work with Unite and legacy unions includes participating in social dialogue within the European Commission.  She also led a European finance sector project on equality directives in member states. She is a well-practised negotiator with extensive experience of change management having working across a number of industrial sectors. She was recently Co-Chair of the Fair Work Convention’s Construction Inquiry.

As a trade unionist she is a passionate advocate for equality. Mary is a member of the STUC General Council. She is also currently involved in a number of projects including Unites campaign to improve pay and conditions for social care workers. She is the trade union representative within Edinburgh Poverty Commission and is currently a member of Edinburgh’s Committee promoting Edinburgh as a  Living Wage City.

Mary has a degree in International Development and an MA in West African Politics and has a keen interest in international development and fair trade.

Simon Allen has been a Senior Business Advisor at ACAS for 8 years advising, training and supporting employers and employees on employment law and all things best practice.

Based in the East Midlands but travelling nationwide he has particular interests in Neurodiversity, mental health, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and has gained a wide range of experience in resolving disputes of all kinds, individual and collective. Simon also advises and trains on the full range of employee relations issues, including communications, consultation and investigations.

Simon is a trained mediator and delivers accredited mediation skills training courses as well as advising organisations on mediation policy and procedures.

Karen is a specialist employment lawyer with over 30 years’ experience and is based in Edinburgh.

She represents clients throughout the UK on a diverse range of employment matters. Karen advises on contentious disputes, appearing regularly in employment tribunals and on project work providing practical solutions to complex people management issues.

Catherine Murphy is Engender’s Executive Director, who began her role in March 2022. Catherine joined Engender following an extensive career working nationally and internationally on gender equality, human rights and intersectional justice. She has broad ranging experience working in the Scottish Parliament, in UK based and international NGOs, including as Amnesty’s Global Programme Director on Gender, Sexuality and Identity and Gender Mainstreaming lead, and more recently as a consultant working on organisational development, strategy and equalities.

Kelsey Smith is the Head of Equally Safe at Work at Close the Gap, Scotland’s policy and advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market equality. She supports employers in the public and third sector to develop gender-sensitive employment practice. She has developed a variety of resources on sexual harassment, including guides for line managers, and e-learning modules that have been widely used across sectors. She works to strategically link work on violence against women to addressing women’s labour market and economic inequality.

Tom Power joined NHS Grampian in July 2020 having spent the previous decade working at NHS Education for Scotland. Prior to that he spent 11 years working in Hospital Trusts and the Postgraduate Deanery in London. Tom has a background in organisational, leadership and workforce development, with significant experience as a coach and practitioner in supporting the development of individuals and teams at all levels.

As Director of People & Culture, Tom leads on Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Workforce Sustainability, Culture and Staff Experience in support of a sustainable health and care system. He is passionate about the role employers can play in creating environments where people can flourish, and the importance of putting the workforce centre stage in delivering value for patients, service users and colleagues.

When not at work Tom can be found out running, or being given the run around by his two young sons. His ambition is to one day again take a holiday during term time!

Nicola was appointed Head Of People and Place at Social Security Scotland in August 2023. She leads the People and Place function, and her responsibilities include building People Capabilities, Diversity and Inclusion, and Organisational Development. Leading teams to deliver Cultural transformation through Organisational Design and Change are integral parts of her remit.

Nicola is passionate about public service and has worked in numerous leadership roles across the Civil Service, including Head of HR and Organisational Development for Education Scotland, Senior HR Business Partner for the Department for Work and Pensions and in Operational Delivery at the Ministry of Justice.

She is an advocate for personal and career development, nurturing talent and growing great leaders.  Nicola is passionate about organisational culture, is committed to building diverse teams, promoting psychological safety and a positive employee experience enabling all colleagues to bring their authentic selves to work.

Nicola graduated in Politics from the University of Glasgow and also has a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management and Services from Aston University.  Outside of work Nicola is a keen runner, enjoys baking and is a mum of one.

Judy is Chief People Officer with ‘SMS’ an integrated energy infrastructure company which owns, installs, and manages carbon reduction (CaRe) assets, including smart meters, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and EV charge points, having joined them in May 2019.  They were bought by private equity firm KKR in March of this year. Judy leads transformational change projects including culture, mergers & acquisitions, ESG, engagement, organisational development, wellbeing, and D&I.   She is a trained workplace mediator and experienced in leading TU negotiations, with public, private, and charity sector experience (UK & Global), spanning PLC’s, entrepreneurs and start ups – across industries including; manufacturing, construction, financial services, further education and more.  She also held a Charity Trustee role for over 10 years.

In all of her people dealings, irrespective of level – Judy ensures that integrity, humility, and kindness are at the heart of how she and her team act and treat others.

In her spare time, she can be found with family, friends, walking her Romanian rescue dog or riding her horse.