Our staff

With a background in applied social research, higher education strategic planning and performance monitoring, and social work information system implementation, Micky is our resident Data Analyst. Never shy of a mental or physical challenge, he enjoys grappling with data-related issues faced by CELCIS and partner organisations as we seek to evidence improvement. A committed all-weather cyclist, Micky also loves to island hop by sea kayak and endurance running.

 

Carolann has a truly analytical mind. She uses her logical, numerical skills to produce easily accessible data and visuals as baseline to improve systems supporting vulnerable children. Every point on one of her graphs represents a real child, on his or her journey towards a permanent home. Carolann applies her analytical mind and sense of order to everything, including the kitchen sink. Every item on her desk and in her wardrobe is lined up in perfect order, and she simply doesn't do crossed lines on her data charts.

 

Mihaela came to work in Scotland via her homeland of Romania, and Vienna, and she brings a decade's experience working on policy and research projects with Save the Children and the Agency for Fundamental Rights. At CELCIS she will support the Neglect Programme by developing effective data and empirical evidence systems to measure progress. She's been blown away by the friendliness of Glaswegians, and cant wait to explore more of Scotland, but she won't be inviting new friends for dinner - she literally can't boil an egg.

 

 

Social anthropologist Brandi Lee is a research associate in our Evidence and Innovation Hub. With a background in the youth work sector, she is passionate about working alongside public bodies to use research evidence to inform and improve policy and practice. Her work is driven by children and young people's rights, their experiences of services, and sense of identity and belonging. When not working you'll find her outdoors with her wife and child, either walking in the woods or growing food in their garden.

 

Miriana has studied political science, international relations and European affairs (in Italy, Germany and the UK). Based in Brussels for the past 16 years, and worked in policy, project and resource management for organisations at European and global level. Miriana has professional experience which includes 10 years of work on care and support for vulnerable groups, including developing and influencing the European policy framework and funding for child rights and reform of child protection systems.

 

 

George provides admin support for the Improving Care Experiences hub at CELCIS and brings several years of experience in similar roles with the Scottish Government, Perth and Kinross Council and Community Safety Glasgow. He has previously worked in video production and is currently studying a Masters in Film Curation. In his spare time he enjoys reading books, going to the cinema and listening to music.

 

 

Moyra worked for many years as a social worker, residential practitioner and manager, and in therapeutic work with traumatised children and their families. Her research interests include using creative approaches to hear the voices of disabled and looked after children. Since 2005, Moyra has worked along with survivors of institutional abuse and other stakeholders to develop and implement An Action Plan on Justice for Victims of Historical Abuse of Children in Care. In 2018 she gained a PhD on exploring the narratives of survivors of historical institutional abuse. More recently she has worked as a music therapist, and is the CELCIS songbird. Moyra enjoys tap dancing, music, gardening and backpacking.

 

Katie has a great head for numbers. She keeps CELCIS right on the money with important financial, HR and contractual stuff. One of her most critical roles is to keep the staff up to speed with the dreaded Financial Management System. After bringing up five children, Katie has finally found some time for herself and uses it mainly for yoga and running. She's already completed the Berlin Half Marathon and is hatching plans to add swimming to her impressive activity repertoire.

 

 

With a background in local economic development consultancy, Alex plays a critical role gathering and analysing evidence for the Child Protection Improvement Programme and Addressing Neglect and Enhancing Wellbeing programme. He's the person devising and implementing user-friendly recording systems to illustrate the scale of neglect and child protection and the effectiveness of approaches to tackle these issues. Alex is an advocate for active living - cycling, running, swimming, football - and his passion for sport stimulated his PhD on community stadia.

 

 

Kenny works with corporate parents and other partners at local authority and national levels to provide bespoke consultancy, training and expert support to improve services and outcomes for care leavers, He's passionate about closing the implementation gap between policy and practice, and offers a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience gained over many years as a practitioner, manager and trainer. Away from work, he's equally passionate about hitting golf balls, watching rugby and strumming guitars.

 

Estelle has over 20 years experience in children and families social work, working in operations and strategy with a main focus on child protection. She uses this knowledge, alongside her skills and sensitivity to lead CELCIS's Historical Child Abuse work and to support external organisations through our consultation services. Alongside a range of national stakeholders which includes survivors, government, Scottish human rights and service providers, Estelle is involved in the Scottish survivor journey towards redress and reparation. Estelle loves spending time with family and friends. She admits that she is much better talking about plans to exercise rather than actually seeing them through.

 

Michael Bettencourt has over 15 years’ experience working with Virtual School Heads and care experienced education services. He is leading on the support and development of Virtual Schools and Care Experienced Teams in Scotland. Michael was previously Research Lead and a Trustee of NAVSH (National Association of Virtual School Heads). He also led on PALAC a knowledge exchange programme at the Institute of Education, UCL. PALAC supported schools and local authorities to implement evidence based interventions in their settings.

 

Nicola brings years of experience to her PA role from early days working in London, for the NHS in Scotland and the HSE in Ireland. She's known to family, friends and colleagues as 'Organised Baxter' for good reason. As PA to the 6-strong CELCIS management team, Nicola keeps them ticking over like a well-oiled machine, and leaves them in no doubt who's really in charge. As a yoga teacher and practitioner, Nicola runs two classes a week, including one at CELCIS where she helps fellow colleagues benefit from a beginner's practise.

 

 

Emma uses the analytical skills she developed as a criminology student in the wide range of large exploratory research projects, and specific service and programme evaluations CELCIS is involved in. She enjoys working alongside all kinds of professionals to evidence and showcase good practice for looked after children and young people. She loves to travel and escapes to foreign lands as much as she can.