Trustees Week: an interview with Simon Massey

9 November 2022

As part of our interview series marking Trustees Week, we talk to Children in Scotland’s Head of Engagement & Learning Simon Massey about being a board member of relationship counselling charity Bright Light.

Name: Simon Massey

Current ‘day’ job: Head of Engagement & Learning at Children in Scotland.

Charity that you’re a trustee of: Bright Light – relationship counselling.

Role:  Chair

Length of time on the board:  Four years and seven months.

Why did you become a trustee?

I’ve been a Trustee in the past and undertaken other voluntary roles and was looking for a new volunteer role having moved to Edinburgh in 2015.

Talking therapies are very close to my heart having both received counselling myself and delivered therapeutic social work services in the past – I know first-hand the difference it can make. I wanted to use my skills and knowledge to support a charity delivering counselling and joining the Board was a great way to do it.

What’s the best thing about it?

Working with a varied group of people as part of a system that helps shape the direction of the charity and, ultimately, ensures people can receive counselling services in a cost effective, accessible manner.

What kind of challenges has the charity faced that you’ve been able to help with?

I think I have been able to support Bright Light and the Board through a lot of change over the past couple of years. I became the Vice-chair last year and the Chair this year when several very well-established Trustees came to the end of their terms. My leadership and management skills and knowledge have been (hopefully!) very useful.

The obvious challenge is going to be the Covid-19 response! We were all going through the same thing across different work settings and our personal lives. The sharing of “what works” and “don’t dos” was really helpful and created another layer of connection when so many of our usual ones were broken.

It’s also been an interesting period where I’ve been able to take my Children in Scotland experiences and use them in supporting Bright Light developments – including a recent review of the charity’s values and the new Strategic Plan.

How does being a trustee support your own personal or professional development?

On a personal level, it has provided me with the opportunity to meet with people I’d probably not come into contact with usually, creating friendships that will go beyond my time at Bright Light.

Professionally it allows me to develop my skills in a different setting and, while many of these are transferrable, the responsibilities as a Trustee are different to that of a paid worker so it allows a different type of development.

The role also allows me to work with organisations outside of my Children in Scotland world, some of which may well lead to future partnerships – I’m always looking out for new opportunities!

Follow Bright Light on Twitter: @Bright_Light_47

About the interviewee

Simon Massey is Head of Engagement and Learning at Children in Scotland

Visit the website

Bright Light

The largest provider of relationship counselling in Scotland

Click here for more

Trustees Week

Celebrating achievements and opportunities to connect, train, learn and develop

Click here for more

Trustees Week: an interview with Elaine Kerridge

8 November 2022

In the second Q&A marking Trustees Week, we hear from our Policy, Projects & Participation Manager Elaine Kerridge about being a board member of Fast Forward, the national youthwork organisation specialising in risk-taking behaviours, prevention and early intervention

Name: Elaine Kerridge

Current ‘day’ job: Policy, Projects and Participation Manager, Children in Scotland

Charity that you’re a trustee of: Fast Forward

Role: Chair of the Board

Length of time on the board: Six years

Why did you become a trustee?

I was drawn to Fast Forward as I was aware of the excellent harm reduction work Fast Forward does to support young people’s health and wellbeing. I was interested in being part of shaping the strategic direction of a national charity, to help reach as many young people across Scotland as possible.

What’s the best thing about it?

The staff! Fast Forward staff are creative, committed, knowledgeable, highly skilled and warm, friendly folk. They are what makes Fast Forward such a success and have such a positive impact on young people’s lives.

What kind of challenges has the charity faced that you’ve been able to help with?

Obviously the delivery of the work changed due to the pandemic. It was great to see how quickly Fast Forward staff were able to adapt to being online and carry out quality, impactful work.

How does being a trustee support your own personal or professional development?

I have learned a great deal around policy development and funding through being on the Board. As Chair, I have also developed my own staff management and decision-making skills. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and pride to be part of Fast Forward’s history and development.

About the interviewee

Elaine Kerridge is Children in Scotland's Policy, Projects & Participation Manager

Click here for more

Fast Forward

The national youthwork organisation specialising in risk-taking behaviours, prevention and early intervention

Click here for more

Trustees Week

Celebrating achievements and opportunities to connect, train, learn and develop

Click here for more

Trustees Week: an interview with Jude Turbyne

7 November 2022

As part of a series of Q&As to mark Trustees Week, we hear from Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive about being a board member of the Corra Foundation – and what she’s learnt from the experience

Name: Jude Turbyne

Current ‘day’ job: CEO of Children in Scotland

Charity that you’re a trustee of: Corra Foundation

Role: Deputy Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee

Length of time on the board: Since 2018 – coming up for four years.

Why did you become a trustee?

I am very passionate about trying to have a positive impact in the world. Since I was a child, I couldn’t understand how we could allow our world to be so unequal and to have such distressing levels of poverty. Since leaving university, I have volunteered for, worked for and studied the charity sector and have seen the difference committed individuals and organisations can make. I very much believe in what the Corra Foundation is doing and wanted to play my part by putting myself forward as a trustee.

What’s the best thing about it?

I love the Corra Foundation – what it stands for and how it does what it does. It is also a very reflective and learning organisation. The board is a space where there is the opportunity for healthy and interesting discussions on a whole range of topics. But perhaps my very favourite thing is the people I get to work with.

The trustees come from a variety of different professional and personal backgrounds and bring different perspectives to our discussions. It has been a happy, intellectually challenging and constructive place to be. I like the feeling of that collective responsibility – finding ways of coming to a shared conclusion even if we don’t all agree 100%.

What kind of challenges has the charity faced that you’ve been able to help with?

The charity has been going through a period of change. During my time a new strategic plan has been developed, and I feel I have been able to contribute in a small way to the direction of the organisation.

How does being a trustee support your own personal or professional development?

I suppose, for me, I feel that being a trustee is something that I now have a moral duty to do. The charity sector has supported me as a volunteer and as a worker. I have had an amazing and interesting life, and I have felt part of a movement that is much bigger than me. So I want to give back.

But I have also experienced a lot of development through being a trustee. It has helped me develop a really good understanding of what good governance looks like in action and has contributed to my learning around some of the key issues that the Corra Foundation works on. In fact, I feel as if I learn something every time I sit around the board table. It is properly fulfilling.