Our Team

Emma is Chief Executive Officer, responsible for leading our executive, staff team and operations to deliver strategy, develop and drive forward our vision, and bring our values to life. She leads our financial management and fundraising and represents JustRight Scotland to the wider world. Emma works closely with and is accountable to our Board of Trustees.

Emma is an experienced senior manager and leader with over 20 years’ experience of working for social change in Scotland and further afield. Her background spans social enterprise development, campaigning and communications, and human rights advocacy and promotion.

In her early career, Emma led the start-up of Social Enterprise Scotland before leading business development for Cyrenians. She then spent time working in social enterprise business development in Sri Lanka and Australia, before returning to the UK to study law. In 2012 she led the development of Equally Ours, a strategic human rights communications campaign. Returning to Scotland in 2014, she spent 8 years as part of the leadership team at the Scottish Human Right Commission before joining JustRight Scotland in June 2022. Emma has also held non-executive positions with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and Engender.

Dan is our Director of Organisational Development (Interim).

Dan’s background has been mostly in the fields of Business Development and Further and Higher Education. His work has supported education and the development of skills as a route to opportunity and a way out of poverty. Dan is a strong supporter of volunteering and the role of the third sector as forces for good in our society. He is also a trustee with the Voluntary Support Gateway in West Lothian (VSGWL).

Dan is passionate about human rights and believes every person is of absolute equal value, deserving encouragement and appreciation for being their authentic self. Marginalisation is unacceptable to Dan, and he is proud to have delivered projects aimed at supporting those facing barriers to success caused by the actions of society or others.

Jen is a co-founder and our Director of Development & Policy, responsible for strategy and development as well as oversight of our policy, communications and training.  She also leads our social enterprise, JRS Knowhow.

Jen is an experienced human rights lawyer qualified to practice in Scotland, England and Wales, and New York State. She is a legal expert on asylum, human rights and children’s rights, and on the rights of survivors of torture, and is regularly asked to speak, and contribute to research, policy and publications in these areas.

Jen is also an experienced lecturer in law with the Open University, lecturing on Scots law and the law of England and Wales. She is an enthusiastic advocate of open education and widening access to education for all.

Andy is a co-founding Partner and Legal Director, responsible for supervision of legal casework.  Andy also heads our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.  He has an LLM in International Human Rights Law and has been working in human rights law since 2010.  He currently sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s Immigration & Asylum Sub-Committee as well as the Scottish Government’s Child Trafficking Strategy Group.

Andy is experienced in working directly with migrant children and young people, with a particular specialism in working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and child victims of trafficking.  He has represented migrant children in the national asylum and trafficking identification procedures, the immigration and asylum tribunals, and in Judicial Reviews in the Court of Session.  He is an expert in age assessment, having successfully taken strategic litigation in this area as well as contributing to the drafting of the 2018 Scottish Government Practice Guidance on Age Assessment.  He delivers training across the UK on age assessment best practice.

Prior to this, Andy worked as a Legal Officer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, supervising the implementation of British, Irish and Cypriot judgments from the European Court of Human Rights.  He also enjoys lecturing at the University of Glasgow, where he has taught European Human Rights Law for over 7 years.

With over 10 years’ experience in HR and Operations, Jenny is responsible for human resource management and the daily operations of our charity. Jenny is the Data Protection Officer at JustRight Scotland and the first point of contact for enquiries about our organisation.

Jenny is currently studying Human Resource Management, CIPD level 7 accreditation, at the University of Strathclyde and will graduate in 2024.

Jenny is passionate about human rights with focus on discrimination and equity.

Barbara is a Legal Director and Partner, and leads our Scottish Just Law Centre. Having graduated from Glasgow University with First Class Honours in Public International Law, she obtained an LLM from New York University, covering international human rights law, made possible through a fully funded scholarship awarded based on academic merit. 

Barbara spent over 14 years in private practice specialising in civil litigation, and is qualified to practice in Scotland, England & Wales and New York State. Alongside her client work, she has worked on diverse pro bono projects including successful asylum appeals in New York City, providing research and support to the International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda, and providing advice through the Citizens Advice Bureau in Scotland. 

Prior to joining JRS, Barbara spent two years as Head of Legal and Policy at the Scottish Human Rights Commission, and was a Partner in a major law firm in Edinburgh for six years. She now combines policy work with legal case work, using human rights and equality law to secure remedies for rights breaches, including through strategic public interest litigation. 

Lyndsay is a Senior Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre. She completed her traineeship within a private practice firm, with a strong focus on family law and civil court work.

As a law student at the University of Strathclyde in 2015, she was one of the first student volunteers at the Law Clinic for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), assisting with the SWRC helpline and casework. She undertook a summer internship with the SWRC and continued to volunteer on the helpline throughout her traineeship and post qualification. She was appointed Co-Student Director of the Law Clinic from 2015-2016. Lyndsay works in the SWRC, providing advice, information and representation to women who have experienced gender based violence through our helpline, surgery and legal casework, as well as delivering training and awareness raising events.

Farida is an Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.

Farida completed her traineeship within a specialist legal service at a national law centre, working with women, children and young people in asylum, immigration and human rights law. Farida’s traineeship was supported by The Legal Education Foundation through the Justice First Fellowship scheme for aspiring social justice lawyers.

Prior to her traineeship, Farida worked as a casework coordinator with British Red Cross Refugee Services for two and a half years. Farida has also previously worked for the University of Strathclyde as a tutor in Human Rights Law.

Anushya is a Senior Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre. She has an LLM in Human Rights Law and has been working in the field of migrant rights since 2005.

Anushya completed her traineeship with a public authority focussing on public protection, and since qualifying, she has practiced as an Asylum and Immigration solicitor in private practice firms, primarily representing victims of torture, human trafficking, and gender-based violence.

While completing her legal studies, Anushya worked as a caseworker at a national law centre. Prior to that she worked as a Counter-Trafficking Development Officer with the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA Service Service) for a number of years, providing intensive support and advocacy for female victims of trafficking. She also worked at Scottish Refugee Council for four years as an asylum support adviser, specialising in preventing destitution and developing the organisation’s asylum support appeals work. Anushya also has experience of working in a support service for survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, and as a funding officer for a UK wide funding body.

Heather is our Finance Manager. She provides trustees and directors with reliable and meaningful financial information to base their decisions on.

Heather has over 20 years’ experience working for charities across the United Kingdom. She has held positions in agricultural and industrial sectors, private and public companies including local authorities.

Laura is the Digital Training & Learning Co-ordinator for JRS Knowhow, responsible for creating accessible, inclusive and engaging online learning experiences.

Laura joins JRS Knowhow after delivering a variety of online learning experiences for a Scottish network body, designed to make value-driven organisations more effective. Laura previously worked for an international communication consultancy delivering training and developing resources for international researchers, and also worked on a university research project.

Laura believes that well designed digital has the potential to transform our ways of working, learning and connecting.

Sabrina is our Policy & Public Affairs Officer. She helps us shape how we use our legal expertise and lived experience to engage in policy and influencing across a range of human rights and equalities issues.

She was previously the Policy Lead of a youth homelessness organisation, where she worked on prevention, partnership working and capacity building. She managed a coalition of partners across sectors, provided guidance and advice to key stakeholders, and led the development of the first youth homelessness prevention pathways commissioned by the Scottish Government.

She has a background in human rights law, international relations and politics. She has previously worked at the Scottish Parliament as a researcher and has extensive experience of working in the third sector in different countries.

Sabrina is passionate about ensuring people with lived experience are meaningfully involved in the policy-making process, and that governments, third sector organisations and the general public are equally included to tackle issues around social justice. She is currently a volunteer for UN House Scotland.

Annamaria is our Senior Communications Officer. She develops and implements comms strategies to promote JustRight Scotland and our mission at national and international level.

She works in partnership with our legal centres and our external partners to build and deliver strategic campaigns on across a range of human rights and equalities issues. She also manages our social media and other digital platforms and creates accessible digital content.

Annamaria has over nine years’ experience in the communications sector, managing internal and external relationships with private and public stakeholders, and working with charities across Scotland.

Annamaria believes that communication has impact. She is focused on building campaigns which will help increase public understanding and drive positive social change on the issues that matter most to the people we work with.

Francesca is a Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.

Having graduated in 2018, she moved to Strasbourg where she worked as an intern at the office of the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees at the Council of Europe.

Francesca completed her traineeship at an immigration and asylum firm in Glasgow, where she gained experience in both asylum and human rights law, and qualified in the summer of 2021.

Her main interest lies in asylum law, focusing on gender based violence and FGM cases. She is also passionate about, and experienced in, family reunion cases, both inside and outside the Immigration Rules.

Melanie is a Solicitor in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre. She completed her traineeship within a private practice firm, practicing both criminal and civil law and practiced in a variety of private practice firms and with Local Authorities.  She practiced with a strong focus on family law, child law and civil court work.

She studied at the University of Dundee, graduating 2002 and completing her Diploma in 2003.  She then returned to the University of Dundee in 2018 where she graduated with an LLM in International Criminal Law and Human Rights.

Her areas of particular interest lie with gender-based violence, the rights of children and human rights and mental health rights.

Ronan is a Solicitor in our Scottish Just Law Centre. 

He completed the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice after graduating in Law and English Literature in 2018. He completed his traineeship in the Glasgow office of a Scottish law firm, working in its Employment, Private Client and Personal Injury departments where he remained after qualifying as a Solicitor.  

During his studies Ronan studied international relations and international law in Kosovo and gained an internship with the legal team in a large Scottish company as a Saltire Scholar.  

Ronan volunteered as a legal intern at JustRight Scotland between 2019 and 2020, assisting in providing free legal help to those in need, where he gained experience in human rights law. 

He is passionate about increasing access to justice and works daily to improve the lives of people by using the law as a tool for social change. 

Eilidh is a Trainee Solicitor and Justice First Fellow through the Legal Education Foundation.  Her fellowship is sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP, through Skadden’s Justice First Skadden Trainee (JUST) Programme. She has an LLM in Human Rights and Migration Law and has a background in case work, legal research, and communications.

Eilidh previously worked at the British Institute of Human Rights as a Human Rights Officer. Here her work involved designing and delivering human rights learning and practice projects, workshops and co-produced resources, as well as leading inclusive and participatory policy work.

Eilidh is passionate about using the law as a tool for positive change and making human rights more accessible for all.

Laura Nairn is a solicitor at JustRight Scotland working in the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

Laura completed her undergraduate degree in Scottish Law and her Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Glasgow. Laura commenced her traineeship in 2021, spending one year of her traineeship working in the family law department.

She qualified as a solicitor in 2023 and continued advising clients on a range of family law matters, including divorce, child law, cohabitation and protective orders. Throughout this time, Laura has gained experience working with women affected by gender-based violence and developing an understanding of the difficulties survivors face within the legal system and society.

Laura is passionate about increasing access to justice, improving the support and remedies available to survivors and reducing the root causes of gender-based violence.

Hanan is a Trainee Solicitor in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

Hanan is a graduate of the University of Glasgow (LLB Honours) and the University of Strathclyde (Diploma in Professional Legal Practice). She has experience working as a caseworker at a national law centre and at the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic within the Immigration Unit, where she was Immigration Unit Coordinator throughout her studies at the University of Strathclyde.

As part of her role, Hanan was involved in assisting to prepare fresh claims for asylum for people seeking asylum whose appeal rights had been exhausted. She was also involved in setting up and delivering a Public Legal Education project for asylum seekers and refugees living in Glasgow with a team of law students. Hanan has also worked as a Destitution Adviser at the Scottish Refugee Council as part of the Destitute Asylum Seeker Service, providing support and advocacy to destitute asylum seekers.

Jan joined JRS as an intern in Feb 2020 and is now a Caseworker in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

Jan is a law student at Robert Gordon University and a graduate of Edinburgh University (LLM International Law) and Sussex University (BaHons International Relations). She has experience working as a caseworker in the areas of asylum, immigration and human rights law. She worked with survivors of gender-based violence & human trafficking and unaccompanied detained minors at the Cabrini Centre for Immigrant Legal Assistance in the USA, where she undertook accreditation to become a Department of Justice Representative. Alongside her case work, Jan delivered legal education in detention facilities.

Jan also worked for 5 years as a lecturer in international law in Mexico whilst working on collaborative research projects with the State Human Rights Commission. In Mexico, she also volunteered with survivors of human trafficking & gender-based violence at a refuge.

Antonia is a Senior Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre and Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre.

Antonia is a recent graduate of the University of Edinburgh (LLB Honours) and a past Robertson Trust Scholar.  She joined JRS as an intern in July 2020 and she continued volunteering with our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre throughout her final year of university.

Antonia has a keen interest in increasing access to justice for vulnerable people, with a particular interest in supporting migrants at risk of destitution and survivors of human trafficking.  During her time at university, Antonia participated in workshops on the rights of EU citizens through our StrEEt Aware collaboration with the Shelter Scotland Housing Law Service, Streetwork and the University of Edinburgh Free Legal Advice Centre.

Maisie is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Just Law Centre.

She is a recent graduate of the University of Glasgow, where she completed a postgraduate degree in Human Rights and International Politics (MSc). Throughout her degree she focused on the importance of using accessible and inclusive language reached wider audiences and create positive change.

Maisie is an advocate for the benefits that volunteering can bring, having volunteered in recent years for Positive Action in Housing, TAKE ONE ACTION film festival, and the Glasgow Film Festival. Currently, she is also serving as a helpline volunteer for Rape Crisis Scotland.

Eeman is a is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre and Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre.

She is a recent LLM graduate in Human Rights Law whose areas of interests are refugee law, international humanitarian law and human rights law.

She hopes to build a career in human rights, specialising in minority rights, and is most passionate about social justice causes that centre the voices of religious and ethnic minorities subjugated to xenophobic regimes. She focuses her research on the violation of fundamental human rights, including her dissertation which explored the state-led persecution of Muslims in India and Jammu-Kashmir.

Constance is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

She is a recent graduate of the University of Edinburgh (LLM Human Rights), following the completion of a first Master’s in Security Studies at the University College of London (UCL). After having initially focused academically on international relations, she decided to specialise in international and European human rights law. She is particularly interested in migration and asylum issues, as well as women’s rights and their protection from gender-based violence at work and in education among others.

She has experience working with displaced persons and asylum-seekers in Canada, France and Belgium through various organisations. This interest brought her to the EU institutions where she worked at the European Commission and the European Parliament on EU asylum policies and on amending legislative proposals to reflect a human rights-based approach. She also conducted advocacy work with the International Rescue Committee towards the EU institutions.

Brogan is a Legal Caseworker at the Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre (SATEC).

She graduated from the University of Stirling in 2022 with a Scots Law LLB and from Robert Gordon University in 2023 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. During her studies, Brogan volunteered with several human rights-focused organisations, gaining practical experience in supporting vulnerable and marginalised groups, while developing a strong passion for human rights and access to justice.

Before joining SATEC, Brogan worked with a human rights and race equality organisation, where she focused on promoting equality, eliminating discrimination and hate crime, and supporting ethnic minority communities across Central Scotland. Her previous experience strengthened her commitment to addressing injustice, further igniting her passion for advocating for migrant rights and supporting victims of trafficking, gender-based violence, and all forms of exploitation.

Ricarda is the Digital Learning Officer at JRS Knowhow. She administers the operations, learning services and communication channels.

Ricarda previously worked in production for a large-scale event and supported an environmental social enterprise. She has also conducted political and historical education programmes for various age groups. Ricarda is a fan of sewing and has facilitated practical workshops about the environmental and human rights impact of the garment industry.

Ricarda studied global politics, theatre, and film with an emphasis on intersectional feminism, transnational solidarity, and bottom-up education as driver for change.

Mariam is our Participation and Development Officer and she also works in collaboration with our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.
She is responsible for the facilitation of our Just Citizens panel, along with the development and maintenance of partnerships with other third sector and grassroots organisations.
Mariam has over six years of experience working with refugees and migrants in Greece, Austria and UK, by taking part in inclusive initiatives and projects which aim to promote the voices, needs and desires of these groups.

She has an academic background in international relations, human rights, and socio-ecological economics and policy. She previously worked as an academic tutor and research assistant at the Vienna University of Economics.

Mariam wants to make sure that a platform is given to those who need it most. She aims to establish long-term relationships across the third sector to ensure we work together to realise common goals and aims.

Natalia is our Finance and Operations Assistant.

She is an international graduate of University of Stirling from the United States. Her passion is around policy development with focus on equity, equality and human rights.
She follows her passions both in work and out through volunteer work with local groups such as Global Justice Now that focus on challenging those in power.

Jennifer is a barrister qualified in England and Wales. She specialises in refugee and modern slavery law and in equalities law including disability discrimination. She has an LLM in International Human Rights Law and delivers training on modern slavery and other legal issues. She is one of the co-founders of the Ukraine Advice Project.

She has previously worked as the Co-Head of Legal Protection at the Helen Bamber Foundation, where she helped oversee their medico-legal report service. She gives advice for refugee and migrants charities, including Migrants Organise, where she is their modern slavery lead and she sits on the advisory group for the Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy Project. She has co-convened the Home Office’s equalities stakeholder engagement subgroup and regularly acts in legal proceedings in England and Wales.

Yevheniia Filippova is an experienced Ukrainian qualified lawyer who joined the team in November 2022 as a Legal Caseworker for Ukraine Advice Scotland in our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre.

Yevheniia is a graduate of the National School of Judges of Ukraine. She possesses 16 years’ experience in litigation, as a criminal, family, civil and human rights lawyer, most recently as managing partner of her own private practice in Odessa, Ukraine.
Yevheniia also has experience in managing legal aid centres in Ukraine, working with small and wider international legal teams and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including public bodies, civil society and the media.

Siddra is our Administration Assistant, supporting the Operations team, as well our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre and our Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre.

She has worked in the financial, hospitality, voluntary, public, and non-profit sectors for over 20 years.

Rosa is a Trainee Solicitor and a Justice First Fellow with the Legal Education Foundation.

She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2021 with a Scots Law LLB and undertook her Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at Strathclyde University. During this time she focused on international law, human rights, and justice. Before coming to work with JustRight Scotland she was a paralegal at a Public Inquiry.

She is passionate about lowering the barriers to accessing justice and challenging the wider oppressive systems in place.