Our Board

SCRA operates under the direction of a Board, which reflects a range of experiences and backgrounds in relation to children and young people. The Board plays a significant role in setting the strategic direction and in challenging and supporting SCRA to deliver its plans. As a Non-Departmental Public Body, SCRA’s Board, although acting independently, is accountable to Scottish Ministers.

Read our Board meeting papers.

Board Members

Board Chair – Cathie Cowan (appointed 2024)

Cathie comes from a health and care background. She started her career in the 1980s – training as a nurse in Glasgow. Once qualified, she spent time in a variety of both clinical and managerial roles before being appointed to the post of Director of Nursing, Patient Services and Planning within the Kirkcaldy Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in 1995. From this role Cathie then moved to Director of Service Development and Capacity Planning with Fife Health Board.

In 2005, Cathie returned to Glasgow to take up post as the Director of the new south-east Glasgow Community Health and Social Care Partnership. She then moved to Orkney in 2010 as the Chief Executive of NHS Orkney. Alongside this Chief Executive role, Cathie worked as Executive Director for Social Care at Orkney Islands Council for a number of years. She also led the integration of health and social care services before the appointment of Orkney’s joint Chief Officer. In 2018, Cathie took up the post of Chief Executive at NHS Forth Valley.

Cathie secured a Health Foundation scholarship and went on to obtain an MSc in Leadership and Quality Improvement at Ashridge. Cathie is a GenerationQ Fellow and a member of the Q community – whose mission is to foster continuous and sustainable improvement in health and care.

Having now retired, Cathie wants to spend her time going forward in an area of work that she is passionate about. Having previously served as a member of the Children’s Panel, her appointment as the SCRA Board Chair enables Cathie to continue her commitment to contribute positively to the lives of children and young people in need of care and protection and to help make Scotland the best place to live, learn, and grow up in.

Board Member – Suzanne Vestri (appointed 2016)

Suzanne Vestri is Director of Koru Consulting where she provides training and organisational development services to third sector organisations and Scottish Local Authorities. She specialises in governance, board development and strategic planning. She has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

Prior to this Suzanne was Director of ‘see me’ – a government-funded national programme to end the stigma and discrimination related to mental illness. The programme won media-industry awards and promoted the active involvement of people with lived-experience of mental illness, as well as over a thousand young people in shaping the campaigns. Suzanne has worked in the third sector for 30 years, in the areas of mental health, education, equalities and social housing. Having grown up within the care system, Suzanne became a Children’s Panel Member in 1994 and retired as a member of SE Scotland Area Support Team in September 2016.

Board Member – James Edgar (appointed 2017)

James Edgar is a qualified accountant with substantial finance and operational experience in the public sector at Director level. Most of his experience has been with DWP and its predecessors and he also had a spell as Finance Director at the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Jim also has experience as a Non-Executive Director, first with (the then) Stevenson College, Edinburgh serving two terms including four years as Chair. Most recently until August 2016 he completed two terms with the Scottish Qualifications Authority, including as Chair of the Audit Committee.

Board Member – Kay Barton (appointed 2021)

Kay worked in social policy and housing roles for Scottish Government before she retired, and previously at Barnardo’s Scotland and in the social security system. She has experience of developing policy and strategy as well as managing operations, risk and finance systems.

Kay has been a board member of several Third Sector organisations, both national and local over many years. For the last 6 years she was a trustee at Home-Start Leith & NE Edinburgh and chaired the board. She has also been a volunteer mentor with teenagers, who keep her active and grounded.

Board Member – Lorraine Moore (appointed 2021)

Lorraine joined Edinburgh Napier University in 2018 where she set up and now manages the HUB for SUCCESS a collaborative initiative aimed at supporting people with care experience into tertiary education. Lorraine is a fully qualified and registered Social Worker and brings over 30 years of working children, young people, and their families in various community settings.

Lorraine spent 9 years advocating for children and young people attending children’s hearings. Lorraine was a board member of the “Stop Go Group” – part of the Independent Care Review, Scotland. Lorraine has her own experience of childhood trauma, care experience and adverse childhood experiences and uses this experience to influence and develop her work. Lorraine is committed to keeping The Promise Scotland.

Board Member – Ying Zhang (appointed 2022)

Ying Zhang is the Strategy and Development Manager at Capital City Partnership, leading on an integrated service for children, young people and families from ethnically diverse communities in Edinburgh to tackle poverty and inequality. Prior to joining the board, Ying was the Area Convener of East Dunbartonshire Children’s Hearings, and Board Trustee for Fife Women’s Aid.

Ying is a registered Social Worker. She spent 7 years as a Children and Families Social Worker in the North East of Glasgow. In addition, Ying has research experience in gender based violence and global strategy development in private sector. Ying holds qualifications including LLB, MPhil in Social Science and Economic Studies, MsC in Social Work, Post Graduate certificate in Child Protection and Executive MBA with specialisation in Strategy.

Board Member – Hazel Smith (appointed 2022)

Hazel is a former care-experienced young person and someone whose career path has primarily focused on working with disadvantaged groups and communities. Starting out in community education 30 years ago, Hazel set up, developed and managed organisations and projects combatting exclusion and inequality working with third sector and public sector services and economic development agencies. Much of the work has focused on children, young people and women: managing Youth Agencies and Women onto Work in Edinburgh; working with the European Commission on research and development projects that promoted women and young people’s participation in education, enterprise and employment.

She returned to Scotland after a stint volunteering in rural Senegal with women and children’s charities and set-about developing social enterprises that supported women and families. One of those enterprises has won numerous awards for promoting egalitarian values and empowering vulnerable women to be leaders in their lives, careers and communities. She is a former Board Member of a number of charities working on behalf of women, children and other disadvantaged groups.

In March 2020, Hazel was appointed to the Board of the new Economic Development Agency – South of Scotland Enterprise and had a particular remit around the Third Sector, young people and social enterprise. She is also an Associate Consultant for Community Enterprise in Scotland

Board Member – Steve Renwick (appointed 2024)

Steve Renwick is a highly experienced Executive and Non-Executive Director with a passion for good governance. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Touche Ross (now Deloitte) and was awarded honorary membership of CIPFA in recognition of work to integrate the NHS in Scotland Finance function with CIPFA. Most recently Steve was Director of Finance for Together for Children Sunderland Limited, an arms-length Company of that city’s Council running it’s Children’s services. Having been Ofsted Inadequate, a transformation process saw the unprecedented leap to Outstanding; Steve retired in Easter 2024. Steve’s other appointment is as Member of the Advisory Audit Board of the Scottish Parliament.

Board Member – Lynne Clow (appointed 2024)

Having graduated from Strathclyde University, Lynne started her career in the financial sector working for Standard Life before moving to the then Deutsche Bank where she progressed within the HR profession.

Lynne is an experienced senior executive with extensive experience of working with trade unions and works councils globally and in the UK. Lynne worked in the technology industry with Digital Bridges before returning to Standard Life as the Head of HR for the International Business and the Group Corporate Centre. She then moved into manufacturing to take up the role of HR Director and Chief Operating Officer at Havelock Europa PLC and was Senior Vice President, HR and Shared Services for KCA Deutag, an Oil and Gas company.

Currently, Lynne is a Non Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, a Non Executive Director and Remuneration Committee Chair of Ithaca Energy PLC, and a Non Executive and People Committee Chair of the Highlands and Islands Airports.

Lynne was also previously a Chairing member of the Childrens Panel.