OUR PEOPLE
We are a charity made up of people with lived experience direct Our collective vision is to live in communities where people are empowered to live their life to the highest attainable standard.
OUR TEAM.
DEREK McCABE
BSc (Hons)
Psychology MBPsS
Derek has an interest in cultural capital and its influence on the social determinants of health and their relationship with health inequality. He has a particular interest in the mechanisms available to help redress inequality leading to improved quality of life. Emanating from this is the notion of human rights and the capability approach were, capability entitlements are the physical and institutional resources made available by government to make rights realisable. Two important capabilities at the heart of human rights are health and education which are key for a flourishing life.
His role in the development of the Advocacy Practice Award was to pull together the shared experiences of people living with long term health conditions. The development of the award built on their knowledge on how to navigate systems and challenges during difficult times. This included how best to apply policy and legislative frameworks to reconcile issues. Derek incorporated the capability approach into this and viewed vocational education as a vehicle for increasing individual wellbeing, whilst being a mainstay in creating informed advocates utilising a human rights based approach to support others during times of difficulty.
JED BRADY
PG DIP / MBACP
Jed believes everyone should be able to learn how to apply a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBa) and gain an accredited qualification through REACH’s SQA Advocacy practice award. He believes that HRBa to Advocacy can cut through labels and discrimination and hold duty bearers accountable.
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With a history of using services and trying to navigate all their policies and criteria as well as working within NHS and Local Authority structures, Jed believes the Human Rights Based Approach is a bridge for individuals/families and communities to exercise their human rights and responsibilities.
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He says “ The work that we have devised, developed and have delivered is pioneering and should be available for anyone who has an interest in social justice and human rights, it’s not good enough just to talk about human rights from some lofty position. Individuals/families/communities have to learn how to apply them with Universal services, NHS, GP, DWP, Social work etc for us all to be equal in Society.”
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DOUGIE MACMILLAN
Operations Manager
BA (Hons) in Philosophy & Psychology
LLB (Hons) in Scots Law (University of Strathclyde)
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Dougie has worked in addiction for many years, developing and managing services that aimed to empower those he worked with. Much of this work was in the delivery of rehabilitation services that provided safe spaces and opportunities for those who needed support to change.
However, the failure of the addiction treatment sector, from the Government to the frontline, had led Dougie to return to university to study Law, even before Scotland had acknowledged its Drug Death Crisis. It seemed that society had set impossible expectations upon those who experienced addiction, and it was society itself that had to change.
Having completed these studies, Dougie was delighted to have the opportunity to join Reach Advocacy in disseminating its Human Rights Based Approach across the country. We are all equal under the law.
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email: dougie@reachadvocacy.net
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DILAN KAYA
Human Rights & Advocacy Educator
BA (Hons) in European Studies with Italian Studies (University of Reading)
LLM International Law & Security, with Merit (University of Glasgow)
Dilan's passion for human rights issues was sparked by her bachelor's degree in European Studies during which she took part in round table conferences discussing the rights of women and children throughout the UK. After completing her undergraduate degree, Dilan took on a teaching job before gaining a Master's in International Law & Security from the University of Glasgow.
Combining her teaching experience and legal research, Dilan took part in many academic projects focusing on women's rights after Brexit, the rights of refugees, the international legal response to data law, and the rights of indigenous communities under the UNDRIP.
Throughout her experience, Dilan has developed a passion for educating people as she believes this will ultimately improve our society as a whole.
As a result, Dilan focuses her time on making human rights education easily accessible for everyone by delivering the Reach Advocacy Practice Award and Human Rights-Based workshops.
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email: dilan@reachadvocacy.net
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ANTONIA EDWARDS
Human Rights & Advocacy Educator
BA (Hons) in Politics (University of Stirling)
LLM Human Rights Law, with Merit (University of Strathclyde)
From a very young age, Antonia has always wanted to have a career that was intertwined with law, politics, and social matters. Throughout her academic and personal life, Antonia’s curiosity grew to more national and humanitarian issues, as it became transparent how human rights are forgotten about. Antonia’s viewpoint is that human rights are basic right that belongs to us simply because we are human beings; being protected under the law. However, it is law, the basic key values of dignity, respect, and equality are not always protected under the rule of law.
Antonia’s two dissertations, even though were in different schools, where a focus on human rights within a Scottish context, firstly, examining the inequalities that exist with politics and secondly, how the incorporation of UN Conventions can assist in closing the barriers that exist within education. Her years at university and her voluntary work experience where she had the opportunity to witness cases firsthand on matters of social, cultural, and political exclusion confirmed her initial motivation, but it also sparked a wonder of why marginalised groups are being treated unequally.
This has led Antonia to delve into a field that she did not originally imagine herself to be a part of, but one she loves. Antonia has developed a passion for making human rights accessible. As part of REACH, she can do so by a human rights-based approach as it is the solution to many national issues as the need for humanity is to be the focal point of discussion. Aiding and encouraging support to remember that every individual is equal, creating a lasting change within society.
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email: antonia@reachadvocacy.net
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TARA SINGLETON
Human Rights & Advocacy Educator
BA (Summa Cum Laude) in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (University of Arizona)
MSc Human Rights and International Politics, with Distinction (University of Glasgow)
Tara has an interest in ensuring human rights are accessible on the grassroots level. Through her time at university, she focused on the intersection of identity and rights, in particular, the gendered aspects of human rights.
In addition to completing her studies, Tara served as the Student Body President of the University of Arizona, representing a diverse body of students and their interests with stakeholders across the university. Her time as a student advocate emphasised the importance of representation and communication, which are skills that drew her to REACH Advocacy.
Tara believes that education and empowerment are at the centre of promoting human rights in society. She is determined to continue this with the delivery of the Human Rights Workshop and the Reach Advocacy practice award.
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email: tara@reachadvocacy.net
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OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
SHONA CRALLAN
LLM; LLB (Hons);
Solicitor (Eng & Wales, New York); CEDR accredited mediator.
Shona is a lawyer and mediator, with a background in human rights and social policy. She developed an interest in the criminal justice system and social equality while studying at Glasgow University and worked on the NCH report into the Scottish youth justice system ‘Where’s Kilbrandon Now?’ in 2004. Following this she studied a law masters in New York focusing on international human rights. She has since lived and worked in London, qualifying as a solicitor in 2005, initially working in civil litigation before specialising in human rights and public law. She has worked for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hickman & Rose and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Newham Monitoring Project and INQUEST where she worked with bereaved families following a death in state custody. She is an accredited mediator in civil and commercial matters as well as housing and community mediation. Shona is a member of the Law Society, The Civil Mediation Council and Scottish Mediation.
DR IAIN MCPHEE
Fellow of the Royal Society, Senior Fellow Higher Education Academ, PhD
MSc Pg. Dip Alc.Drgs (Practice) Pg. Cert TLHE
Pg. Cert Resch.
Cert. Counselling
BA (hons) Psychology & Sociology
Dr McPhee is a senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and is currently a Senior Lecturer based at UWS, specialising in addiction. Iain has acted as a consultant for both the Scottish and UK government. Prior to becoming an academic, Iain worked in a variety of drug services, residential rehabilitation Units, and addiction services. From 1996-2010 Iain taught at Scottish Police College Tulliallan on their specialist Detective drug training courses.
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Iain is a consultant drugs expert witness in criminal cases, providing reports for High Court and Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland, and is external examiner for University of Liverpool, Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology programme, and external examiner for University of Limerick programme in Addiction.
For 30 years his practice and research activity has centred on enhancing understanding of stigma and discrimination in health and social care services with a clear commitment to social justice, health equity and promotion of rights-based advocacy for marginalised and vulnerable populations.
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“I am a Director at Reach Advocacy because I thought I understood human rights-based advocacy, however my time with RA has made me understand that I knew very little, and supporting this organisation allows me to help promote and disseminate understanding of HRBA that can be applied to all individuals in our society”.
DR EVANGELINE BROCK (EVE)
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PhD Medical Sciences, PGCert Higher Education, Associated Fellow HEA
BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing
Eve is a Lecturer in Medical Education at the University of Aberdeen with a background in Adult Nursing. As a Lecturer, Eve undertakes the Programme Coordination of a MSc Clinical Education. Within this, Eve delivers specific courses to support the development of knowledge and skills for teaching, facilitating and assessment of learning in healthcare education. Furthermore, Eve continues to advance knowledge and understanding by undertaking and supporting research in this field.
As a registered nurse, Eve draws on her clinical experience working in acute and emergency medicine and the care of individuals admitted to hospital as a result of suffering from alcohol and substance use. Eve explains that this experience has provided an insight into the complexity of the challenges faced by individuals, such as access to support services, associated stigma and discrimination. Drawing from her experiences, Eve stresses the need for further education, understanding and implementation of a human rights-based approach across care providers to support with such challenges.
With this background, Eve’s role as a director is to support with both the development of educational approaches utilised, as well as undertaking research associated with the training for human rights-based advocacy as provided by REACH.
AYESHA CARMOUCHI
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Senior Parliamentary and Stakeholder Engagement Adviser at Care Quality Commission
Ayesha has a diverse background in public affairs, policy analysis and strategic communications. She currently leads parliamentary engagement work for the Health and Social Care regulator in England, the Care Quality Commission.
Additionally, Ayesha has led training on tackling Covid-19 disinformation in South Africa for the UK Government Cabinet Office, whilst also managing advocacy for organisations focused on deaths in custody, conflict resolution and modern slavery. Finally Ayesha is the trustee of a charity which specialises in intercultural understanding and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.
Ayesha’s diverse background enables her to offer guidance on successful policy influencing, legislative reform and how to build effective campaigns.
