- Call 0131 244 3444
- Email contact@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk
Dr Marion AllisonMarion leads the organisation across all business areas, working with a wide range of professionals from the public, voluntary and private sectors with partnership programmes across the UK and beyond. She has over 30 years’ experience of working within Community Learning and Development and Education.
Marion is a member of the Institute of Directors, the Chair of the Learning and Teaching Committee and Board Member at Glasgow Kelvin College as well as being a Trustee at Impact Arts. She worked all over Glasgow in various youth work roles before moving to South Lanarkshire Council where she managed two large youth centres. Marion lectured on the BA/BA(HONS) Community Education Course at the University of the West of Scotland and completed her doctoral study into Young People, Enterprise and Social Capital at the University of Stirling.
Ross MartinRoss joined the CLD Standards Council in June 2022 as Assistant Director responsible for operational management. He formerly worked at Fife Council as Community Development Support Manager where he was responsible for leading on the CLD Regulations and Planning, CLD Workforce Development, CLD Performance & Improvement, Public Protection and Equalities. Part of his remit was managing a team in the areas of ESOL, Literacies, Digital Youth Work, Volunteering, Performance & Workforce Development, Food Insecurity, Gaelic Community Development and Youth Research. Ross is very much an east coaster and loves all things Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and his ‘home city’ of Dunfermline.
Vikki CarpenterVikki joined the team as Development Officer for Policy and Practice from Aberdeenshire Council’s CLD team in May 2022. She has a passion for all things CLD, and has worked and volunteered within the CLD sector for over 20 years through her roles with Aberdeenshire Council, SACHD (Scottish Association for Children with Heart Disorders), Fife College and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Vikki is enthusiastic about raising the profile of the profession in Scotland through improving policies and practice, as well as growing, developing and supporting all practitioners within CLD, and her masters dissertation focused on the remit of CLD volunteers within local authorities in Scotland.
Kirsty GemmellKirsty joined the team in January 2017 after having spent her professional career as a CLD practitioner, primarily working in Adult Learning, Adult Literacies and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). She has a BA in Community Education, M.Sc in Adult & Continuing Education and a PG Certificate in Adult Guidance and has recently completed a HE Certificate in digital learning design. Kirsty is a keen advocate of learning as a means to promoting empowerment, enhancing inclusion and achieving social justice.
As a volunteer, Kirsty is a trustee on the board of Lead Scotland, sits on the committee of her local community development organisation and runs a support group for people with a rare degenerative brain disease. She aims to bring empathy, pragmatism, positivity and a smile to her work and volunteering!
Steven MaclennanSteven joined the team in October 2022 and is the Development Officer for Workforce responsible for supporting the development of the CLD Workforce and career pathways into Community Learning and Development. Steven has a BA(Hons) in Community Learning & Development from Dundee University and has also studied the HNC Working with Communities, is an SQA Assessor and CELTA ESOL tutor. He has worked across Scotland for over 10 years as a CLD Youth Worker, CLD Adult Learning Worker and Employability Development Officer based across a number of rural and city locations, from his home in the Western Isles, Dundee, Aberdeenshire and Edinburgh. He is passionate about widening pathways into CLD, digital & lifelong learning and Youth Involvement. Steven is also a Non-Executive Director of UHI Outer Hebrides and the Lead Volunteer for International at Scouts Scotland.
Susie BissetSusie is the Approval Development Officer responsible for overseeing Developmental, Professional and Standards Mark Approvals. Susie joined the team in 2009 having spent 21 years within the Insurance Industry, latterly as a Business Technical Trainer. In between roles she spent time volunteering in South Africa and Uganda doing teaching roles and working with animals. Susie was lucky to be accepted as a big part of the village Community in Uganda. A project starting off as volunteer teaching for the children very soon became coaching with adults and supporting them to explore what was important to them in their own community. Susie believes the skills from this part of her life have helped her to interpret and support the needs of the approval process and the related work of the Approval Committee and wider CLD Standards Council for Scotland. When not focusing on all things CLD Susie loves fine wine and dining and lives life to laugh!
Grant GarrettGrant is the Corporate Performance Officer, responsible for supporting research and evaluation focussed work within the CLDSC. Grant’s role involves leading on a range of monitoring and evaluation projects that can assist with evidencing and recognising the impact of the CLDSC on the sector. Grant took up his post in September 2021 after having undertaken research and improvement related roles with both Skills Development Scotland and North Ayrshire Council. Prior to this, he completed an honours degree in Economics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Grant is passionate about undertaking primary research work to understand, evaluate and reflect upon the views of CLDSC practitioners across the sector. In this spare time, he enjoys going to see live music concerts and sporting events in his spare time.
Lorna RentonLorna took up post in April 2016 and is responsible for the Registration System and develops the work of the Registration Committee. Lorna supports communications through the website and bulletin and is also responsible for content and usage development of the i-develop platform.
Norma is joining us on a temporary basis to work through revised processes and procedures for validation and endorsement of college and training provider led delivery of CLD qualifications, as well as updating the Standards Mark requirements. Norma qualified in Community Education from The Northern College Dundee in 1991 and spent nearly a decade working as a full-time then sessional adult education worker in Perth and Dundee. Norma joined Social Security Scotland in August 2018 and since then has worked in Youth Justice and Children’s Hearing, PPE (during pandemic), New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery project and Community Justice (Release from Custody). Norma is passionate about CLD and has been involved in a wide variety of voluntary roles both in Dundee and Edinburgh while also helping her family run a number of pubs in both cities.