Meet the Team - Staff and Board Members
Shirley Norton, Development Officer
Shirley has been employed by DPHS Aberdeen since 2004 and has established good working relations with local housing providers, care providers and disabled clients. Her early career as a Police Officer gave Shirley experience of working with members of the public in an advisory and assisance role. Other previous employment includes Personnel Assistant, Low Cost Housing Co-ordinator with a local housing developer and a Services Manager with a local Housing Advice ‘one stop shop’.
Clark Boles,
Chairperson
Clark is employed by Shaw Trust as an Employment Consultant offering specialist recruitment and retention support to people with disabilities in the North of Scotland. Originally from Central Scotland he has over 10 years experience supporting disabled people moving into mainstream employment. Degree qualified with a wide range of skills in Business Development, Marketing and Employment Engagement, supplemented with over 15 years work experience in the Third Sector.
Alan Thomson,
Vice Chair
Alan Worked for Aberdeen City Council for 36 year and has recently retired. For the past twenty years he worked as the Liaison Officer dealing with all housing and housing related enquiries for the elected members, members of the public and members of parliament.
Alan McLellan, Treasurer
Alan is a Quantity Surveyor with 25 years experience. He also has a post graduate qualification in management. He was diagnosed with M.S in 1993. He is not currently able to work full time as a result of disability from M.S, but devotes some of his time to charitable work.
Jan Yeats,
Director
Jan Yeats is a housing professional. She worked for several years with Aberdeen City Council Housing Department then was General Manager with Homechoice Aberdeen. Jan is a corporate member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (Scotland) and is currently employed by Aberdeenshire Council as a Data Sharing Manager.
Janette Hayworth, Director
Janette presently attends Aberdeen College doing an HND course in Administration and Technology Information. She is on the Board of Directors at Grampian Society for the Blind (GSB) where she also carries out volunteer work. Janette is registered blind and has a guide dog.
Billy Gillies, Director
Billy is employed by Langstane Housing Association as an Arrears Officer. He became involved with DPHS Aberdeen following his mothers experience of successfully being re-housed with the assistance of the DPHS Aberdeen.
Councillor Gordon Leslie,
Director
Councillor Leslie joined DPHS Aberdeen as a Committee member in 2004. The DPHS Aberdeen is one of more than ten other outside bodies he is involved in including National Council for Deafness, Foyer Aberdeen and Scottish Accident Prevention Council. Born and educated in Aberdeen, Councillor Leslie’s special interests are local education, youth work, Boy’s Brigade and Shopmobility.
Mike Murray, Director
A Senior Housing Services Officer with Langstane Housing Association, Mike has been with LHA for 19 years. A wealth of experience in letting properties and working with other organisations. First post with LHA was working in a hostel for the homeless. Spent previous working life on offshore oil rigs and as a trawl fishing engineer.
Patricia Watt, Member
Previously Chair of the DPHS Aberdeen, Pat is also Chair of the Disabled Income Group in Aberdeen and a committee member of the Disability Advisory Group. Pat is disabled with mobility problems and is now retired.
Edwina Smith, Member
Edwina became involved with DPHS Aberdeen as a client when she had to move out of student accommodation after finishing her course of Applied Social Sciences at RGU in 2007/08. She then started volunteering as a admin officer with the DPHS Aberdeen and is a member of the fundraising committee. Edwina has had cerebral palsy since birth and is a wheelchair user.
Alison Lawrence, Member
Alison is employed by NHS Grampian as a Community Nurse in Aberdeen. She has been a CN for 25 years and her duties include visiting and treating patients at home. She is also a Community Councillor in Torry area of Aberdeen and a Youth Café helper in Maryculter.
Dorothy Askew, Adviser, Community Care Strategy Officer,
Housing & Environment Service,
Aberdeen City Council
Dorothy is employed by Aberdeen City Council as Community Care Strategy
Officer. Her work involves development of the Community Care Housing Strategy and other local health and housing strategies. She works
closely with colleagues in social work and with housing providers to
identify and meet the housing need of people with disabilities.
Alison Wills,
Adviser
Alison has 10 years Housing Experience, mostly at Housing Officer level. She previously worked for Tenants First Housing Co-operative although is currently responsible for the management of the North of Scotland properties for Margaret Blackwood Housing Association. MBHA is a national organisation, with approxinately 75% of its stock desgned for tenants with disabilities.
