WELLBEING PROJECT
Meet the board
Umbrella Lane has a Board that has vast experience of working in the Third Sector. They add great value to our governing structure and help us work towards our vision of a future where Sex Workers live full and embodied lives, free from stigma and discrimination.
Our board
Kerri Swindells
Chair
Pronouns: She/Her
I am extremely proud to be invited to be the Chair of this amazing organisation which empowers women and girls to build resilience from adversity and trauma and fully respects the learning value of those with lived experience. I am committed to my responsibility to provide good governance to further the objects of the charity and to support the amazing staff team at Umbrella Lane where Sex Workers are at the heart of the community. I bring nearly a decade of experience working at National Ugly Mugs, the largest violence prevention charity serving sex workers in the UK where I am currently the Chief Operations Officer. I am a qualified independent Sexual Violence Advisor supporting Sex Workers who have been the victim of a crime and now I build services that offer support in ways that they choose whether that be within or outside of the criminal justice system. I always advocate for improved services informed and led by the people they serve.
Janine Rennie
Vice-Chair
Pronouns: She/Her
I have been Chief Executive of Wellbeing Scotland for almost 14 years with two years on the Board prior to that. I have worked in the field of substance misuse, mental health, disability, children and young people and overseas development. I am a qualified/ experienced counsellor and supervisor but also have qualifications in business and I am an FCCA qualified accountant. I started counselling people with disabilities and life limiting conditions 29 years ago. I have devised a large number of service models that have led to evidence based positive outcomes including the In Care Survivors Service Scotland, a national prison service for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and I have developed many services for children and young people. I am Co-Convenor on the Cross Party Group for Survivors of Childhood Abuse. I am a disabled person with knowledge of the issues facing disabled people and a commitment to equalities of all kinds. I am so excited to be joining the Board of SISU. I have worked with Anastacia over the past few years and have been inspired by her passion and commitment and I value and respect the work of the organisation.
Alison Ryan
Treasurer
Pronouns: She/Her
Advisory group seat
Trustee
Pronouns: They/Them
Hi, I’m Ali. I’ve been the Treasurer/Finance person for SISU since inception in 2015. I’ve seen the organisation evolve from a small, peer led organisation to where it is now. While I have some finance background, my career has been in the areas of gender-based violence and social care. I was the Gender Based Violence Co-ordinator in Stirling for two years and managed Glasgow Women’s Aid for a number of years. I have also worked in local authorities as a Planner and Commissioner of social care services, mainly services for children and young people and mental health services.
We have a fixed seat on our SISU Board for a member of our Umbrella Lane lived experience advisory group.
Umbrella Lane’s Advisory Group is responsible for guiding Umbrella Lane’s operations and service design to reflect community needs and to help highlight potential risk areas for the Sex Worker community.
Ensuring the wider Advisory Group’s voice is heard within our governance structure ensures all decisions made consider the implications and acceptability to the Sex Worker community within Umbrella Lane.