Our Team

Alan leads Mindroom, working closely with the Chair and Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team to set the organisational direction, lead the team to deliver excellence and ensure the charity is both sustainable and fulfilling its obligations.

He has over 20 years of senior level experience having joined Mindroom from HRH The Prince of Wales’ Responsible Business Network, Business in the Community. He operates across the public, private and voluntary sectors to raise awareness of neurodiversity, supporting organisations to develop, embed and share good practice.

He is an Honorary Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University’s School for Business & Society, a past Vice Chairman of Career Ready in Scotland, a former member of the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and former lead author of Scotland’s Fair Work Action Plan.

Aileen brings over 25 years’ experience of working in training, learning and development. She has a genuine passion for lifelong learning and experience of developing a wide range of educational, workforce development and employability initiatives for the third, public and private sectors. With lived experience of neurodivergence, her ambition is to capture the very best new ideas emerging from the neurodiversity movement and embed these into innovative, high quality training programmes. In her spare time Aileen enjoys scuba diving, marine biology and is currently completing a MEd in Community Development & Adult Education. Aileen joined us as Training Manager in April 2021.

Andrea qualified as an Art Therapist in 2005 and since then has worked in various roles within voluntary sector organisations supporting children, young people and adults with a range of needs including learning difficulties and disabilities. She has experience supporting parents and carers of children and young people who have disabilities and learning difficulties. Andrea joined us in November 2020 as a Family Advice Specialist within the Direct Help and Support team.

Claire joined the team in September 2022 after more than 17 years in Social Care managing complex,  challenging behaviour services for adults and young people. Prior to that Claire was a Virology Supervisor working in various laboratory settings across Scotland. In her own time Claire also works as a Family Mediator with Relationship Scotland and volunteers as a Scout leader and fosterer for Cats Whiskers.

Emma holds a bachelor’s degree in Textile Design and a MSc in Transformative Learning and Teaching. A qualified teacher, Emma has worked in nurseries all the way through to Secondary level classrooms, including specialist provisions. Emma enjoys using her creative background to engage with children and families and has also worked in playschemes, after-school clubs, family homes (as a au-pair), a Canadian canoe-tripping camp, and an outdoor arts venue. Most recently, Emma has worked in the third sector to support neurodivergent people and provide training through the lens of lived-experience. In her spare time Emma enjoys running, Munro-bagging, and is currently studying towards a COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills. 

Joanna Karkanevatou holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a MSc in Applied Criminology and Forensic Psychology. Over the years, during but also after her studies, Joanna engaged professionally in several roles in the mental heath sector and eagerly worked for the support of vulnerable populations. Joanna has worked with various age groups, including minors, young adults and their families and am qualified for diagnosis, mediation, as well as emotional and practical support. Since December 2019 Joanna solely focused on the support of people with a range of support needs, including learning difficulties and disabilities, and individuals within the Autism Spectrum. Additionally, within that timeframe Joanna also provided trauma informed support to adults that had experiences trauma in their childhood.

Lynne originally came from a background in Finance where she worked within accounts for over 20 years. After leaving the Finance Sector, just under 10 years ago, Lynne retrained in social care and worked in an Education and Residential Care organisation. Lynne initially worked in the classroom setting, supporting the children and young people to overcome their challenges and difficulties, in a therapeutic and nurturing manner. Lynne’s last role was that of a Child and Family Worker, offering practical help and emotional support to the children and young people as their key worker. Additionally, Lynne supported parents and carers to explore and implement strategies to help them overcome their concerns and obstacles . Lynne joined us in February 2022 and works directly with parents and carers.

Nelly has worked within the Education sector for the past 8 years in varied roles and settings specializing in the field of Additional Support Needs. Initially working as a Secondary English and Social Science Teacher in London, where she then began her ongoing training in Special Educational Needs. Working in leadership roles to advise on and facilitate additional support for learning plans for students. Nelly has also provided support to children, young persons, and adults with additional learning needs through Equine Assisted Learning.

Sophie has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and is currently studying her MSc in Autism. Sophie has worked in the third sector as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, and as a research assistant in Autism research. Previously, she has worked as a classroom assistant in both primary and secondary schools. Sophie volunteered with Edinburgh Council’s Family and Household Support service, where she supported adults in an emotional and social capacity, supporting them to seek out opportunities to get involved in in their community. Sophie has completed foundation training in Talking Mats and is a trained mental health first aider. Sophie joined us in 2023 and utilities her skills from her experience and studies in her role as Post-Diagnostic Support Specialist, funded by Inspiring Scotland.