Board Development Committee
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Caroline Stuart
ChairBiography
A Technology and Business Studies graduate, Caroline initially worked in the City of London where she trained as an Investment Analyst. She returned to Scotland and managed three companies before moving into business consultancy and then joining Oracle as global industry advisor for 16 years. She is now an independent consultant.
She has been a Commissioner on both the Widening Access and Make Maths Count Commissions.
Caroline sits on various Boards and Committees including SFC and SPA. She joined Dumfries and Galloway College as Chair of the Board of Management in February 2022 and sits on the following Committees: Chair of Board Development Committee, Grievance Committee, Remuneration Committee, and Finance and General Purposes Committee.
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Claire McLean
Chair of HR Sub-CommitteeBiography
Claire studied photography in Edinburgh and then spent over 15 years as an HR practitioner in Scotland working for a variety of different businesses such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, AO.com and Specsavers before she founded Realise HR, an HR consultancy in 2015. Claire founded Realise HR to make a difference to people’s working lives and works with small to medium businesses and large organisations, both locally and across the UK. Realise HR has created 9 jobs for people in that time and has further ambitions to grow. Claire started her career with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh then progressed to HR management of small teams within global businesses before moving into HR Director roles where she focused on strategic people planning and building competent teams to support company growth. To relax at the weekend Claire loves to read, travel and enjoys good food with her husband David and daughter Molly Rose.
Claire joined DGC Board of Management in April 2022 and sits on Remuneration Committee, Finance and General Purposes Committee, Chair of HR Sub Committee, Board Development Committee and Grievance Committee.
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Gillian Brydson
Non Executive MemberBiography
Gillian is the Director of Skills, Education and Learning with responsibility for all schools in Dumfries and Galloway. She has strong regional roots, a commitment to the students and employers in Dumfries and Galloway and over 25 years of education management experience from the College, University and School sectors.
In her early career she qualified as a physiotherapist and following clinical work for the NHS, gained postgraduate qualifications in Biomechanics from Strathclyde University and worked as a lecturer for Queen’s College and Glasgow Caledonian University. As a senior lecturer at GCU she was responsible for Masters programmes within the Faculty of Health which led to an ongoing commitment to develop routes for the professional accreditation of skills and work related learning. A change of direction to the school education sector brought the chance to return home to Dumfries and Galloway and she has worked for the Dumfries and Galloway Council Education Authority for the last 18 years in senior management roles.
She has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Glasgow which focussed on developing leadership of learning to shape schools for the future and is an advocate of lifelong and professional learning.
Gillian joined DGC Board of Management in April 2021 and is a member of the following Committees: Audit Committee and Learning and Teaching Committee.
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Honor Gibson
President of Student Association, Co-OpteeBiography
Honor recently graduated from Dumfries and Galloway college with an HNC in Childhood Practice. She is currently taking a year out to be this years Student President before moving on to study primary teaching at university.
Honor has extensive customer service experience, having worked in the hospitality industry since a teenager, and she is currently working in the local supermarket on the self-service checkouts.
Out with work, Honor is a single mum and enjoys attending conventions where she can meet people who like the same things her, and meeting some celebrities along the way. She is a a sci-fi geek and loves building LEGO, either with or without her child. She also volunteers as a parent helper within her child’s school, and is keen to become a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) ambassador for the area to allow children and young people to learn things from all around us.
As student president, she is looking forward to being a member of the board and being part of the team helping the students become the best versions of themselves. For this, she is keen to make sure their well-being is taken care of, and their mental health is put first within the college setting.
Honor is keen to represent the students at all levels across all the varied curriculum areas.
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Jamie Ross
Chair of Audit CommitteeBiography
Jamie joined the DGC Board of Management in April 2022.
His career has spanned more than two decades in senior leadership positions across the transport sector.
Most recently he was Global Commercial Director for Menzies Aviation and a member of the Executive Management Board of John Menzies plc and prior to that he held senior commercial and business development positions at Serco and the Go-Ahead Group.
Starting his career within the Ferries Division of multi-national company Sea Containers, other roles have included operational and general management positions in the UK rail industry with GNER and Northern Rail and Jamie also had a four year spell as a Senior Civil Servant in the Scottish Government with responsibility for a wide-ranging transport portfolio.
Jamie was born and grew up in Stranraer and graduated with a law degree from the University of Aberdeen. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Jamie is the Chair of Audit Committee and is a member of Remuneration, Board Development and Grievance Committees.
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Richard Nash
Chair of Finance and General Purposes CommitteeBiography
Richard qualified as a chartered certified accountant back in 1997, progressing onto fellowship status (FCCA). After starting his career within the finance department at Essex University, Richard progressed through a number of service-related industries including timber importers, freight forwarding and shipping agency, the cruise industry, and holiday travel agency. In 2013, Richard moved himself and his family to SW Scotland to commence his current role as Finance Director and Company Secretary for a global renewable energy consultancy and service operations business. In addition to finance, this also involves directing the business support functions for the company.
Richard’s voluntary interests have previously been successfully developing and growing a running club, progressing to chairing the county athletics association for several years. After moving to Scotland, these running interests translated to directing local running events including the 10km run in Gatehouse of Fleet and the Half Marathon race in Kirkcudbright.
Richard was appointed to the Board of Management in March 2021. He is Chair of the Finance and General Purpose Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee and Board Development Committee.
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Sharon Hodgson
Chair of Learning and Teaching CommitteeBiography
Originally from N Ireland and with degrees in Spanish and European Studies and in Urban Regeneration, Sharon is an Economic Development Consultant, specialising in business planning and funding bids. She has had an extensive career in the public sector and worked in a number of key economic development roles within local government – most recently Sharon led the team who successfully negotiated and signed off the Ayrshire Growth Deal – a £250M investment package. Previous roles have included Head of Strategic Services at Riverside Inverclyde Urban Regeneration Company and Project Manager, Tall Ships Inverclyde 2011, and over a thirty year career, Sharon has gained extensive experience of business support and employability and training programmes; events management and inward investment.
Sharon joined DGC Board of Management in April 2022 and is Chair of Learning and Teaching Committee. She also attends the Remuneration and Board Development Committees.
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Sue Irving
Vice Chair and Chair of Remuneration CommitteeBiography
Sue is Director of Housing Services for Loreburn Housing Association and was previously Chief Executive Officer of the award-winning Dumfries & Galloway Citizens Advice Service. Sue worked for many years with third sector organisations supporting people affected by homelessness and spent four years working for the Scottish Government as their Health and Homelessness Coordinator.
As well as being on the College Board Sue is also a non-executive Director of Dumfries & Galloway Chamber of Commerce and a Trustee of Centre Stage Youth Theatre. She has a Master of Business Administration from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and returned to her native south west Scotland in 2008 having spent 20 years living and working in the north east of Scotland. Sue’s other great passion in life is being a lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
Sue was appointed to the Board of Management in March 2021. She is currently Chair of the Remuneration Committee, is a member of the Audit, Board Development and HR Sub Committees and is also Vice Chair to the Board of Management.
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Susan McLellan
Academic Staff MemberBiography
Susan joined Dumfries and Galloway College as a Lecturer, Digital Health and Social Services in January 2016. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) Psychology with the Open University. To enhance her role as a Lecturer in the College, Susan is also employed as an External Verifier, Marker, and Member of the Quality Development Team with SQA.
Prior to joining the college, Susan worked as a Co-Ordinator within the Third Sector, providing support to various organisations, employees and volunteers. She also has previous experience within the role of Director of a local voluntary organisation, and she has been involved as a member of the Exclusion and Appeals Panel, Education Department of Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Susan is a member of Learning and Teaching Committee, HR Sub Committee and Board Development Committee.
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