People

Tanya Milligan

(she/they)

Tanya is a librarian working in a public library service as part of the senior management team. She believes that public libraries are an important part of our society, providing entertainment, information, and community connection. Until recently Tanya also worked part time as a trainer training managers about neurodiversity in the workplace.

Tanya loves reading, knitting, watching science fiction shows, walking their dog, and taking trips in their campervan.

Tanya received her autism diagnosis aged 49. SWAN has been there for Tanya all the way through her autism journey, which is why she's so pleased to be Chair of the SWAN board.

Sharon McMeekin

(she/her)

Sharon is a consultant with and co-owner of Preserve Together, a training and consultancy firm offering services within the field of digital preservation, archives, and libraries. She was previously a trustee of the Scottish Council on Archives and fulfils a number of voluntary community roles within her field.

In her own time, Sharon is a skills magpie, loving to learn new things, as well as frequently adding to her increasingly out of control Lego collection. She also spends time with her dogs, Pretzel and Finbar, and her tortoise, Ted.

After receiving her Autism diagnosis at 44, Sharon found the SWAN post-diagnosis group to be incredibly helpful, and she hopes to help support the organisation so they can continue to aid others.

Gail Mohamed

(she/her)

Gail is a Chartered Accountant with an international career in financial services, economic development and renewable energy. She is a champion for her employer’s charity foundation and co-chaired the creation of its first neurodiversity employee network group. She previously served as Chair and Treasurer to the SWAN Board.

She is an enthusiastic pencil artist, knitter, baker and cook, with interests in the maths and physics of climate, weather, geology, music and human geometry.

She is proud to be a Trustee of SWAN and, as a late-diagnosed autistic woman, is honoured to play a part in SWAN’s autistic led support of existing and future generations of autistic people in Scotland.

Dora Moldovan

(she/her)

Dora has over a decade of experience in managerial roles across several industries. Her professional interests lie in analytics and insight generation with the aim to better the lives of all living beings. She is interested in understanding the world and how it shapes us and how we can shape it.

She enjoys being (barefoot) in nature and has a drive to continuously try new things. Dora is a huge fan of Japan and enjoys cooking traditional Japanese dishes, incorporating the Japanese way of living into her life, and learning to read, write and speak the language.

Dora is proud to support the work of SWAN as a Trustee and is looking forward to a Scotland where autistic girls, women and non-binary people are heard and treated fairly.

Dr Sabina Strachan

(she/her)

Sabina is the founder of how2glu ltd. which supports collaboration between individuals and organisations through consulting, training, facilitation, organisational development, bespoke  resources and digital tools. She champions diversity as an essential, not optional, part of effective collaboration and is an experienced board member and charity advisor. 

Sabina is into interior design and loves a bit of colour, is an avid follower of a few foreign-language dramas, and (when she remembers!) takes a sketchbook on holiday. 

Sabina is grateful to be a SWAN ally and support the great work SWAN does.

Lyndsay Macadam

(they/she)

Lyndsay has been working in the Third Sector since 2005, in voluntary sector development, support, and representation; community development; and senior management and leadership in equalities charities. They are committed to reducing inequalities, improving wellbeing, challenging stigma, and the importance of identity-led working. 

They love living in the middle of nowhere, hanging out with a growing gang of chickens and cats, and sharing their ridiculously wild woodland garden with the resident red squirrels, badgers, hares and pine martens. 

"My role is to lead the development of SWAN’s work, raising our profile and maximising our reach. I oversee SWAN’s operational and financial development and translate our strategy into action, manage our incredible staff team and work closely with our Trustees. Key to my role is ensuring that we listen to and involve the autistic women, girls and non-binary people who come to SWAN, and their feedback has a meaningful impact on the organisation.  

I am proud to be the CEO of the only Charity run by and for autistic women, girls and non-binary people in Scotland." 

Rachel Birch

(she/her or they/them)

Rachel is an experienced third sector senior leader, working for and with disabled people for almost 20 years. She is passionate about creating sustainable, inclusive change and brings extensive experience in good governance and advising on national policy and legislation across a wide variety of roles. Rachel has also managed Care Inspectorate-registered support services for autistic people across Scotland.

"I have been involved with SWAN for over a decade, initially as an autistic woman seeking support, then a volunteer, and later a trustee. I live in Moray with my wife and son, study Gaelic, and love playing music.

My role is to lead SWAN’s development. I oversee operations and finance, translate strategy into action, manage our incredible staff team, and work closely with Trustees. Central to my role is ensuring the autistic women, girls, and non-binary people who come to SWAN shape our work.

I am proud to be Interim CEO of SWAN, the only charity in Scotland run by and for autistic women, girls, and non-binary people."

Becky Choat

(she/her)

My role at SWAN is split between two main areas of work. Within my role I am so privileged to work directly with autistic women, girls and non-binary people, supporting them to develop their own understanding and confidence in their autistic identity, improve wellbeing and reduce isolation through connection and community. This is offered through groups, webinars, resources and 1-1 sessions. 

Alongside this I lead on SWAN’s bespoke training and consultancy work. Informed by the lived experience of our SWAN community, this work is aimed at raising understanding, dispelling myths and improving service provision and opportunities for autistic individuals.

Mandy Williams

(they/she)

My role at SWAN is to recruit, train and support a team of amazing volunteers who are integral to the work we do at SWAN. Our volunteers, who are all autistic, play many key roles including facilitating Meet Ups across Scotland and providing digital support. 

My main goal is to make sure every volunteer has everything they need to both enjoy and get the most out of their volunteering experience, whilst providing opportunities to develop and learn new skills for future volunteer roles and employment.

Jose Partleton

(they/them)

​​I’ve been volunteering and working in the third sector for the last 5 years, specialising in advancing administration, and thus helping the teams I’ve been a part of to achieve the best results. I’m passionate about lived experience informing my work, as well as promoting and sustaining community in both my work and personal life. ​

​In my spare time I love relaxing with my two cats; Gavin and Spruce, playing a cosy game, and reading (either non-fiction or Horror). I also am a huge nerd for Aerial fitness, so will usually be found at the gym hanging upside down in a Hoop! ​

​​My role at SWAN sees me doing a little bit of everything! It allows me to work closely with my SWAN colleagues and volunteers which I appreciate greatly. For me, successful administration minimises stress and allows our team to best achieve our goals.

Lea Cooper

(they/them)

For over 10 years my “day job” was in coffee shops. In 2023 I started working in a lived experience role in the third sector. My previous role before SWAN was coordinating a peer support network in Fife, and I’ve got a background in peer support – both in formal mental health settings and grassroots peer groups. I’ve always balanced my work with a creative practice that includes a lot of arts facilitation, especially zine making, and DIY cultural organising. I’ve been lucky enough to have some great opportunities through this, and in 2024 I completed a practice-based PhD (which means it was a mix of traditional academic writing and zine making) researching the zines around health at Wellcome Collection, a museum and library in London.

I often say I have two main interests: zines and bikes. I’m a big fan of cycle touring, and have done two longer cycle tours across mainland Europe with my partner. Recently I’ve gotten more into outdoor swimming – even if I do still sometimes get freaked out by jellyfish – and saunas. I went to a traditional Lithuanian sauna (or ‘pirtis’) when I was visiting Kaunas in 2024 and haven’t looked back!

In my role I’m working directly with autistic women, girls and non-binary people: supporting the pre-diagnosis drop in and post-diagnosis groups, offering 1-1 sessions alongside these, developing resources, and organising webinars. I’ll also be supporting SWAN’s training and consultancy work.

Koko Sutter

(they/them or she/her)

Before becoming part of the SWAN staff, I helped as a volunteer where I was able to gain hands on experience working with our lovely SWAN members. Assisting with in person and digital work, I became comfortable navigating different roles and truly felt the difference of working with an all autistic team. I’m currently working part time at SWAN and studying at university researching nature-connectedness and public engagement with environmental issues.

I feel most comfortable spending quiet time in nature or with animals. When I’m not working I enjoy watching sumo, playing videos games, reading and learning Finnish.

My role at SWAN is to facilitate and assist our wellbeing walking groups in collaboration with Walking Scotland. Spending time in nature is something that can be very healing, but also at times difficult, so it’s important to me to create an autistic friendly space for SWAN members to connect with nature and each other.