Moira, Executive Director
"I’m married to David, and we two have kids Ellie 23 and Aaron 20.
I have spent most of my career in residential childcare and fostering, although I have also done some lecturing and consultancy along the way.
I’m passionate about keeping relationships at the centre of everything we do and recognising everyone as an individual – the one thing that is the same, is that we are all unique.
My favourite part about working with the Why Not? Trust is the opportunity to really listen and then act – by listening, learning and working together we can really make things happen.
Fun Facts
My natural hair is dark brown and really curly! I love to travel and have been to a destination starting with every letter of the alphabet (some more exotic than others!). I got a black belt in taekwondo at the age of 40 (second degree at 43!)."
Michelle, Community and Engagement Lead
"My name is Michelle, I have been married for 15 years to Stephen, and we have two children Logan 13 and Amelia 12.
I began my career, with two years in residential childcare 19 years ago and have worked in various social care professions, most notably working within the 3rd Sector supporting young people and their families to build relationships with key people to support them to realise they have the skills to make positive changes and the support behind them to do this.
The things that are important to me are supporting those who find it more difficult to build relationships and who have lost the trust of those who are supposed to support them, Young people who have been hard to reach and needing a ‘leg up’ in life and families who just don’t know where to go anymore.
Sarah Jane, Community Engagement Team Member
"Hi my name is Sarah Jane and I live in Renfrewshire with my family. I have two children David and Matthew and My personal values are Integrity, Connection, achievement and calmness.
I have previous experience managing nurseries and as an SVQ assessor in Early Years. I have also worked within a care setting for 5 years and loved supporting the children! My last role involved supporting families as well as delivering baby massage and baby yoga which was lovely!
I have just joined the Why Not? Trust in a new role and I am excited to get started! I will be focussing on engaging in specific community locations and helping support parents with experience of care through The Village.
Fun Fact: In a previous role as an educational presenter, I had to keep 13 animals in my home including a snake, tarantula, scorpion, frog, toad, Madagascan cockroaches, giant African land snail, stick insects and millipedes to name a few. It was Fun!"
Sydney, Research and Development Team Member
"My name is Sydney, I’m from Los Angeles, California, and have a rescue English Bulldog named Boomer! I am a recent psychology postgraduate, and my primary interests are young people’s mental health, impact of trauma across the lifespan, and evaluating initiatives in the community.
I have worked in different mental health and social care roles, including inpatient psychiatry, elder care, homelessness services, and in the past year as a support worker for care-experienced young people in Glasgow. I am always interested in supporting people in ways that are meaningful to them, whether that be practical support, spending time, or engaging in activities such as arts and recreation. In line with this, I am interested in developing and researching a range of methods for increasing mental wellbeing and connectedness for young people with care experience.
I am excited to have joined the Why Not Trust and be involved in projects that are led by the young people that they will impact. I’m looking forward to demonstrating the positive work that the Why Not Trust is doing and helping further the reach of its initiatives.
Fun Facts
Many people don’t know that I also have a degree in music! I sing and play the piano, guitar, and a bit of trumpet."
Ashleigh, Peer Mentor Lead
"I’m Ashleigh, I live in Stirlingshire with my partner Steven and our springer spaniel Mac.
Over the last 5 years I have worked with care experienced young people through the coordination of an in-school mentoring programme, focusing on attainment at school, reaching a positive post school destination and improving confidence levels and self-esteem.
I also have experience in recruitment, training and development.
As a new team member at the Why Not? Trust, I’m very excited to continue supporting parents with lived experience through the establishment of Peer Mentoring!
Fun Facts
I used to play the French horn, I have travelled on a motorbike across Europe visiting France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland and my favourite tv show is the US Office."
Amanda, Business Support Administrator
“Originally from California, USA, I moved to Scotland in October 2022 with my husband, Gareth. Prior to working with the Why Not? Trust, I worked for the University of California, Davis for 14 years supporting academics, students, and staff in various departments across campus.
What’s your favourite part about working with the Why Not? Trust: I love the variety of my job and the team of people I get to collaborate with daily. Every day presents a new and exciting opportunity to make a positive impact in our community.
Fun facts:
My husband was my pen pal for a year before we met in person.”
Aimee, Community Development and Engagement Assistant
"My name is Aimee! I’m 23 years old and mummy to Noah (1). I am currently studying English Literature and Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow alongside my work here with the Why Not? Trust. I have a strong interest in children and young people’s rights and policy work, but I am keen to do any sort of work with care experienced young people."
What’s your favourite part about working with the Why Not? Trust -
“My favourite thing is the opportunity to meet with so many amazing young people. I love the engagement side of my job and making a difference to the people we work with. I am excited to see the Care Experienced Parents Charter develop as we go forward!”
Fun Fact
I have lived in four different countries – England, Scotland, United States of America and Canada. I have attended high school in three of them (all except England!). I have also had over 30 small pets at one time!
Sarah, Comms Team
Hi – I’m Sarah! I’m a new mum and I’m part of the communications team here for The Village. I have a background in visual communication and volunteer management in the third sector, and I was involved in the early days of setting up The Village. I’ve loved my time with the community so far and as my partner is care experienced, its wonderful to see new spaces like this taking shape!
My main focus in The Village just now is in creating social media content – I want the content to be helpful, but most importantly I want the information we share to be inclusive and judgement free. Parenting and becoming a parent is a big journey, and there’s still a lot of pressure and things people won’t talk about – I’m hoping our community can break out of that mould.
FUN FACT - I like to make teddy bears in my spare time (not that I’ve had any spare time since the baby, but one day soon!)