Our Board

Jim held the post of Scottish Public Services Ombudsman from May 2009 to April 2017. Prior to that, from 2007 to 2009, he was the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland and a member of the Scottish Funding Council from 2004 to 2009. From 1987 to 1995 he was General Secretary for the Educational Institute of Scotland. He is currently a Member of the Scottish Government Panel to Review the Regulation of Legal Services in Scotland.

In his earlier career Jim was a Non-executive Chairman of Logica and ran a management consultancy. He is currently a Trustee of the National Mining Museum of Scotland and Positive Prisons, Positive Futures.  He was awarded a CBE in the 2018 New Years’ honours list.

Emma is a human rights, equality and social justice specialist with over 15 years’ experience managing and leading a wide range of campaigns, programmes and organisations.

In 2014, Emma returned to Scotland after 7 years working in Sri Lanka, Australia and London, where she established a series of pioneering social justice and human rights partnerships, including an Australian-wide initiative to develop large-scale social enterprises and a UK-wide campaign to raise awareness of human rights in everyday life.

She currently leads communications and participation for the Scottish Human Rights Commission and provides specialist advice to third sector organisations as a freelance consultant. She is also a Board Member and Trustee of Engender, one of Scotland’s leading feminist organisations.

Michelle Hynd has a broad range of senior executive experience gained operating at board level within a number of complex organisations in the public, private and third sector. As a Director at SSE plc for over 10 years she has gained considerable experience operating in a regulated industry within a commercial FTSE100 organisation.

She has served as a Non-Executive Director of Scottish Business in the Community for 6 years with a particular focus on supporting sustainable business in Scotland. Prior to this Michelle worked at Scottish Enterprise for 13 years with a focus on economic Development in Scotland.

Michelle is a graduate of Strathclyde University and holds a PhD and MBA.

Sara Hesp is a qualified Chartered Surveyor . She worked in the Valuation Office Agency, where she was a Principal Valuer, for more than twenty years.

Since leaving, she has worked across Scotland in  a variety of roles, including in the Security Industry Authority and as an independent adjudicator, resolving disputes between landlords and tenants. She is also a trained mediator and an Ordinary Member of the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). Sara has been heavily involved within her local community both as a member and treasurer of the Parent Council of her local primary school and as a community councillor. She has also previously been a Director and Company Secretary of a Community Development Trust and a Director of her local Village Association.

Sarah McLuckie has a wide variety of experience in the field of investigation, inspection and scrutiny, particularly in complaints management. She has held management  positions within the NHS, for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, OFGEM and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders Immigration. She currently works as the operations manager for the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, where she leads the casework team.

Morag Sheppard also joins as a new member of the Board. Morag retired from Capita Life and Pensions in June 2015, having been Frameworks Director since October 2012, creating and implementing operational control frameworks deployed in the UK, Europe and India. Prior to that she was Operations Director from April 2008.  Morag has studied at the Universities of Aberdeen, Munich and Edinburgh.

Her background includes corporate governance: implementing organisational change; and operational risk management in a highly regulated sector.  Morag has directed a large complaints function, resolving a variety of complaints from the public and professional advisors.

Following a law degree at Aberdeen University, Amanda underwent her traineeship at a local authority.  Upon completion, she moved to the private sector undertaking both civil and criminal casework and representation.  Realising her interests lay in social justice, Amanda joined the voluntary sector, working initially as a solicitor and latterly as manager of holistic service provision meeting unmet need.  With over twenty years of practising law in the voluntary sector, she brings considerable experience of daily working in a busy legal practice.   She is currently Vice-Chair of her local Community Council and an External Trustee.  

Kay is a QC and member of the Faculty of Advocates. She was formerly a solicitor for 10 years. She has acted on behalf of, and against, claimants in a wide range of civil cases. As a result, she has a good understanding of the appropriate service which lawyers are expected to provide to clients. She also has a particular interest in human rights and equality, and hopes to draw upon this in her work with the SLCC.

Denise is a solicitor in private practice and currently managing director of Optima Legal (Scotland) Limited. Her background is as a civil litigator. Denise was previously a member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, a post she served for almost 10 years which included the role of  Convenor of the Legal Services Cases Committee (a committee she still sits on as a co-opted member). Denise was formerly a member of a Law Society Client Relations Committee and has a keen interest in how complaints are handled and resolved. In addition, Denise is a tutor at the University of Glasgow, teaching Civil Litigation and Advanced Civil Litigation in the Diploma of Professional Legal Practice.