Board Members

Information on each of our Board Members, including links to details of each member's Register of Interests.

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Ms Margaret Burns
Mr Nigel Henderson
Ms Neelam Bakshi
Mrs Joan Fraser
Prof James Friend
Ms Maggie Mellon
Mrs Maureen Moore
Mr Harry Robertson
Ms Janette Webb
Mrs Eileen Wilson
Mr Gary Wilson
Dr Helen Zealley
Mr Graham Robertson
Mr Alan Crawford
Ms Cath Denholm
Dr Laurence Gruer
Ms Lindsay MacHardy

Ms Margaret Burns (Chair)

Margaret Burns CBE has many years experience working for consumer organisations such as the Scottish Consumer Council and Consumer's Association. For nine years, until March 2007, she was a member of the Health and Safety Commission and Chair of the Partnership for Health and Safety in Scotland. She is presently a non-executive director in NHS Grampian and a member of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.

Ms Burns has been appointed for 4 years from 3 December 2007.

Mr Nigel Henderson (Vice-Chair)

Nigel Henderson has worked in mental health in Scotland since 1979, and is qualified as both a psychiatric nurse and a general nurse.
He is currently the Chief Executive of Penumbra, the Scottish mental health charity.

Mr Henderson has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2007.

Ms Neelam Bakshi

Neelam Bakshi is a self-employed Training Consultant with strategic and operational experience of the public sector.
She is also an advisory committee member of the Equal Opportunities Commission (Scotland), and Secretary of Scottish Employment Tribunals Association Committee.

Ms Bakshi has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2007.

Mrs Joan Fraser

Joan Fraser is a member of the Visiting Committee for Polmont Young Offenders Institution; a member of the Management Board of The Yard, a voluntary organisation which supports and develops play for children with additional support needs; and a trustee of The Scottish Power Energy People Trust, which assists projects aimed at alleviating fuel poverty. Other voluntary experience includes work with the Miscarriage Association and as Chair of a Community Council and a School Board. As a senior official with the Scottish Government, she led the review of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams and worked on developing health education in schools. She was also seconded to YouthLink Scotland where she was Interim Chief Executive for two years.

Her appointment is for a period of 4 years from 1 February 2008.

Professor James Friend

Professor James Friend is a retired Consultant Physician from Aberdeen.
He was Chair of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health until 2004, and sits on the Scottish Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control, the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco Steering Group, and the Working Group on the Prevention of Smoking.
He is a council member of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, a board member of Mental Health Aberdeen, and Chair of the Aberdeen Mental Health Promotion Group.
Interests beyond health improvement include grandchildren, hill-walking, music and bees.

Professor Friend has been reappointed for two years from 1 April 2007.

Ms Maggie Mellon

Maggie Mellon is Director of Children and Family Services with Children 1ST, the children's charity. She is a board member of both the Scottish Child Law Centre and Community Care Providers Scotland. Her previous experience includes a range of roles in social work management and in policy and strategy within local government and the voluntary sector.

Her appointment is for a period of 4 years from 1 April 2008.

Mrs Maureen Moore

Maureen Moore OBE was Chief Executive of ASH Scotland from 1995 until her retirement at the end of 2007.
She was previously Chief Executive of Scottish AIDS Monitor, the first national charity in Scotland to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS.
She is also a founding member of PHACE Scotland (Project for HIV/AIDS Care and Education) in Glasgow.

Mrs Moore has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2006.

Mr Harry Robertson

Harry Robertson was the Chief Executive of Perth and Kinross Council and a member of NHS Tayside Health Improvement Committee until he took early retirement in June 2003.
He was also a Management Committee member of 'Care Together', a combination of the Perth and Kinross Local Health Co-operative, and Perth and Kinross Council Community Care.

He has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2006.

Ms Janette Webb

Jan Webb is a reader in Sociology with Edinburgh University and Vice-Chair of the Scottish Low Pay Unit.
Following a BSc Hons in Psychology from Hull University and a PhD in Social Psychology from Nottingham University, she began her career at the University of Kent in 1979.

Ms Webb has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2007.

Mrs Eileen Wilson

Eileen Wilson is a Fieldwork Manager with Age Concern Scotland in Highland. She is also President of Alness Credit Union.

Mrs Wilson has been reappointed for four years from 1 April 2006.

Mr Gary Wilson

Gary Wilson is the Employee Director on the Health Scotland Board. He has worked at HEBS and now Health Scotland for over 6 years as Programme Manager for Young People. He also has been a Board Member of PHACE (Promoting Health and Challenging Exclusion) Scotland for 3 years (1998 to 2001) and for two of these years he was Chair of the Board. He has extensive experience of working in health promotion particularly around diversity/equality issues. Gary was appointed on 1 September 2006 for 4 years.

Dr Helen Zealley

Dr Helen Zealley OBE retired as Director of Public Health with NHS Lothian in 2000.
She is a board member of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, a Trustee for Waverley Care, Chair of Friends of the Earth Scotland and an Adviser for Crisis ‘Fare Share’ Healthy Eating Project.
She is married with two adult children and particularly enjoys spending time with them and their families.

Dr Zealley has been reappointed for two years from 1 April 2007.

Mr Graham Robertson

Graham Robertson became Chief Executive of Health Scotland when it was created on 1 April 2003.
He has been involved in the health promotion field for almost 30 years.
Since 1992 he has worked at national level in the (former) Health Education Board for Scotland, originally as Director of Programmes & Communications, then Deputy Chief Executive.

Mr Alan Crawford

Alan Crawford was appointed to the post of Director of Resource Management with NHS Health Scotland with effect from January 2004. He has worked in the Scottish Health Service since 1991 and at national level since 1992 as the (former) Health Education Board for Scotland's Director of Finance & Support Services.

Ms Cath Denholm

Cath Denholm has worked in the NHS in Scotland since 1995, with a focus on primary care development and general practice management. In 2002, she joined NHS Education for Scotland to implement the GP appraisal scheme in Scotland. Then she moved to NHS Health Scotland in 2005, first as Head of Policy & Planning and then as Director of Equalties & Planning since September 2007.

As Director of Equalities & Planning, she has overall responsibility for the provision of support by NHS Health Scotland to the NHS in Scotland in progressing the equality and diversity agenda, through planning, performance management and organisational change.

Dr Laurence Gruer

Dr Laurence Gruer OBE is Director of Public Health Science with Health Scotland. He was a consultant in public health medicine with Greater Glasgow NHS Board from 1989 to 2001 where he tackled HIV infection, drug and alcohol misuse, sexual health, homelessness and mental health. He joined the Public Health Institute of Scotland in 2001 where he focussed on tobacco and child health. Dr Gruer served on the UK Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for 10 years and has advised seven successive Scottish health ministers on a range of public health issues.

Ms Lindsay MacHardy

Lindsay has worked in the field of health promotion for nearly 20 years working at both local and national level. Prior to taking up post with HEBS in 1993, she worked first in England and then the Scottish Borders.

Lindsay is responsible for implementing national policy and delivering the majority of the outputs of the organisation. She has overall responsibility for the national health improvement teams covering Children & Young People, Healthy Settings and Health Topics; integrated media campaigns targeting the general public together with a range of marketing and communications activities for the public and professionals and health improvement workforce development.

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