OSCR - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Independent Consultant
- Member of the OSCR Board
Jill Vickerman is an independent consultant. Between 2013 and 2023 she was the National Director of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland during which time she led the work of the BMA in Scotland, influencing national health policy, and working on behalf of doctors and training doctors in Scotland. Prior to 2013, Jill spent 26 years working for the Scottish Government in a range of different roles and departments, initially as an analyst where she led the analytical services for the health and social care department, and latterly as head of policy for health quality in Scotland. In this latter role, Jill worked with the NHS and with the third sector to develop the Quality Strategy and the 2020 Vision for health and social care in Scotland. Over the period 2013-2017 Jill was a trustee for Erskine Hospital, the veteran's charity, where she was a board member, and sat on the care governance committee and the audit and risk committee.
Jill is the Deputy Chair of OSCR's Board.
Judith joined OSCR in February 2004. As Head of Corporate she is responsible for business planning and management and for corporate systems including IT and records management; finance and learning and development. Before joining OSCR, Judith worked for Communities Scotland in its Investment Team. Judith is a graduate of Strathclyde University.
Katriona was appointed as OSCR's CEO in July 2024. She joined OSCR from the Environment & Forestry Directorate of the Scottish Government, where she was the Deputy Director for Circular Economy, and brings with her significant experience in leadership roles within the public sector.
After beginning her career in environmental research, Katriona joined the Scottish Executive in 2002. Since then, she has held a number of roles across government, focusing on areas including public service reform and mainstreaming equality.
Katriona was appointed to the Senior Civil Service in 2016, leading on several policy areas including ensuring Scotland's strong environmental regulations were fit-for-purpose ahead of EU exit and the creation of Environmental Standards Scotland, a new environmental regulator. In her most recent role, she supported the successful passage of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill to modernise and improve waste and recycling services.
Katriona lives with her husband Justin and enjoys hill walking, music and watching sport in her spare time.
Kirsten Howie has worked in leadership and fundraising roles within the charitable sector for 20 years. Her roles have ranged across the disability and arts sectors, in organisations of varied scale and scope. Currently working at the University of Stirling, Kirsten is also proud to have contributed as a board member to a charity in her area. She is passionate about our vibrant charitable sector, and the role it can play in supporting people and places to thrive in a flourishing Scotland.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant
- Member of the OSCR Board
Lynn Bradley is a chartered accountant with broad experience in the public and private sectors, including EY and Audit Scotland. She works for the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, specialising in the auditing and public sector accounting. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant's Audit & Assurance Panel and a board member of Revenue Scotland, where she chaired the audit committee. She is also a trustee of Cash for Kids (Radio Clyde) where she chairs the audit and risk committee. Lynn brings her governance, audit and financial experience to the board as well as her strong commitment to public sector values.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the OSCR Board
- Member of the Board of the Scottish Housing Regulator
Marieke Dwarshuis' career in Scotland spans nearly thirty years in the public and voluntary sectors in a wide range of roles, including Director of Consumer Focus Scotland and positions at the Scottish Government, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Citizens Advice Scotland and Shelter Scotland. Marieke has also served as Chair of the Scottish Tribunals and Administrative Justice Advisory Committee.
She brings extensive experience as a non-executive director having been a member of the Board of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Food Standards Scotland and a board member of Hillcrest Housing Association Ltd.
In addition to her role with OSCR, Marieke currently serves as a member of the Board of the Scottish Housing Regulator, the Scottish Legal Aid Board, NHS 24 and as a Lay Assistant for the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.
Job Titles:
- Head of Regulation and Improvement
Martin leads OSCR's main outward-facing functions. This includes overseeing delivery and continuous improvement of OSCR's regulatory casework, as well as its work with the charity sector and key stakeholders to build improvement and public confidence in charities.
Martin has worked in OSCR, with a particular focus on casework and policy issues, since 2006. Brought up in the north-east of England, he is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He began his career at the National Archives of Scotland, serving as the Inspecting Officer for government records in Scotland. Following that, he was seconded to the former General Register Office for Scotland and managed its public search facilities, including Scotland's People website.
Job Titles:
- Member of the OSCR Board
- Banking and Finance Executive
Neil Mackay is a career banking and finance executive. His career has spanned a range of roles including leading teams that had responsibility for large corporate loan sanctioning and restructurings; being the chief operating officer of a large division of a FTSE 25 plc with responsibility for strategic direction and change delivery management; and he has held ownership of board enterprise risk and data reporting and risk / policy / governance frameworks, together with various regulatory compliance activities. He has previously been a board member of a charity, a charity mentor, chairperson of a grammar school, and earlier in his career had been seconded to a DTI supported business support agency.
Robin Strang has extensive experience working within the public and charity sectors. Between 2008 and 2019 he was Chief Executive of charities in Scotland and England with the purpose of improving people's physical and mental health and wellbeing. He is currently a Trustee of EPIC Assist Scotland and a board member of Scottish Canals. Prior to that he was Chair of Community Leisure Scotland, a Non-Executive Director of Sportscotland's Trust Company and a Justice of the Peace in the Lothian and Borders Sheriffdom. Robin brings experience of managing charities, charity governance and working within a complex regulatory framework to the Board of OSCR. He believes that Scotland needs well run and effective charities and is looking forward to doing what he can to enable the sector to thrive.
William Maxwell joins the Board with extensive experience of leading regulation, quality assurance and public sector reform, gained in Scotland and beyond. After an initial career as an educational psychologist, Bill joined the Scottish Education Inspectorate in 1994. Following a range of roles and a secondment to the Scottish Government, he was appointed to head up the Welsh education inspectorate in 2008, returning to Scotland as HM Senior Chief Inspector of Education for Scotland in 2010. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to lead the creation of Education Scotland, a new type of public service improvement agency which combined regulation and inspection with a wider range of services to promote improvement and the effective delivery of the Government's major reform programmes in education. Bill retired from Education Scotland in 2017 and is now consulting on education quality assurance, including undertaking commissions for the European Commission and the OECD. He is a member of the Board of the Care Inspectorate, a Director of the High School of Dundee and a member of the British Council's Advisory Committee for Scotland.