People

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.

Helen Hartga

(she/her)

Helen has a background in events management and third sector across support, coordination and operational roles, primarily alongside disabled and neurodivergent people. Focused on improving systems, communication and accessibility, she has supported services to be more inclusive and person-centred and shaped around the people who use them.

She enjoys photography, painting and Lego and particularly loves walking in the woods or by the sea. Helen also runs a small pet sitting and dog walking business, combining love of animals with a flexible, wellbeing-focused lifestyle.

She found priceless peer support at SWAN online and in-person groups, so is keen to give back. As an autistic, ADHD and disabled woman, Helen is very passionate about improving how organisations listen to and include autistic voices.

Gail Taylor (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.

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.

Annie Quinn

(she/her)

Annie is a Lead Data Scientist at a global advertising company, where she specialises in translating complex information into clear, actionable insights. She holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and has a background in climate change research. She is deeply passionate about data-driven storytelling, particularly when advocating for inclusivity and marginalised groups.

Outside of her day job, Annie manages the digital operations and leads the food review section for her husband’s independent Edinburgh arts website. She is a proud mum to two cats and finds joy in cooking and cultivating her beautiful city centre garden.

Attending SWAN sessions helped Annie immensely with her self-acceptance and empowered her to advocate for her needs at work. She is thrilled to join the Board to help ensure SWAN’s long-term sustainability so it can continue supporting others.

Katy Jeffery

(she/her)

Katy brings over 18 years of experience in healthcare, where she now leads diverse teams through strategic change and clinical transformation. As a neurodivergent leader, her approach is grounded in compassion, evidence, and reflexivity. She is currently undertaking a Doctorate focusing on the sociocultural dynamics of perioperative teams, specifically the impact of informal communication.

Outside of work, Katy enjoys research, writing, and paper-based crafts, particularly origami and scrapbooking. She lives in southwest Scotland with her family and her ragdoll cat, Mochi.

After receiving her autism diagnosis at 36, Katy was inspired by the work SWAN does and the difference it makes for autistic women across Scotland. She is passionate about supporting other neurodivergent women in leadership and health professions and is keen to give back to SWAN's mission as an autistic-led organisation, helping to ensure it continues to empower existing and future generations of autistic people.

Tracey Reid

(she/they)

Tracey is a complementary therapist and learning disability nurse, currently studying for an MSc in Pluralistic Counselling. As an AuDHD person and parent of an autistic, nonspeaking, learning disabled young person, Tracey brings valued lived experience of navigating systems and advocating for change. Having accessed SWAN services, Tracey found it to be a welcoming space to be themselves and explore their autistic identity and is excited to give something back as a trustee.

Their special interests in communication, sensory differences, and mental wellbeing closely align with SWAN's mission. Tracey has also worked in the advocacy sector and co-founded a grassroots charity supporting children with complex support needs and their families.

Outside of work, Tracey loves nature, hiking, reading, family time, being a dog mum, and immersing themselves in all things alternative, dark, and spooky!

Zoe McIntyre

(she/her)

Zoe has over ten years' experience working in the social care sector, directly and indirectly supporting autistic people, including within her current role as Communications and Policy Manager with Self Directed Support Scotland.

Outside of work, Zoe can be found playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Blood on the Clocktower.

Being late-diagnosed autistic herself, Zoe is incredibly passionate about autistic people being able to access support throughout their lifespan, such as the support offered by SWAN.

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." 

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.

Hannah Wilson

(she/her)

​​I have been volunteering within the third sector for 18 years and working within it managing volunteers for the last 5 years now. I’m a big believer of the role being made to suit the individual and never the other way around. I am extremely passionate about accessibility and inclusion, particularly around sensory needs and considerations. My degree had website accessibility as its focus, and I do freelance consultancy work to ensure websites are as accessible as possible.​

I am a huge fan of all things cats, gaming, and Eurovision. Nothing beats being curled up with a kitty and getting lost in an RPG while listening to some absolute bops. I adore fashion as well and love dressing in bright colours. I love colour so much, I covered myself in tattoos to make it permanent. I’m a perpetual dabbler in learning languages and have been learning/using British Sign Language for the last 14 years.

​​My role at SWAN is everything volunteer and groups. I am responsible for recruiting and training all volunteers and assigning them to roles that really enable them to be themselves in a safe, fulfilling, and welcoming environment. I am also responsible for setting up new groups and ensuring our existing groups have the resources they need to fun and engaging.​

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.