TPS Board Members

Colin Rae - Chair of the Board 

Colin began his career as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor developing through Project Management and latterly into Development Management.   During his 25 years in the Scottish Construction industry Colin has worked for and with various firms including Gibson & Simpson surveyors, Millar Brown Associates, Woolwich Homes Ltd, The EDI Group and most recently Places for People.

Places for People is an organisation that creates and sustains mixed tenure neighbourhoods and Colin's current responsibilities include managing the Group's development and construction team in Scotland and to provide development and construction services to the member organisations, including Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, Emblem Homes and Blueroom Properties.

Colin's spare time is filled by supporting his children in their sporting endeavors and his own occasional round of golf.

Colin was appointed Chair of the Board at the AGM on 19th September 2007.

 Vinay Ruparelia - Vice Chair of the Board

Vinay was born in Kampala, Uganda and moved to London to study pharmacy at university. 

Vinay is married and has two grown up children.  Vinay is a joint Managing Director of a pharmacist.  He is also the founder member of Alec which is an education programme for healthy living for primary school children.  He is also a founder member of Boyndie Trust which supports people with special needs in the Banff area. 

Vinay cycled to Peru to fundraise for Whizz Kidz as well as organising a cycle challenge in India for the Boyndie Trust.

  Joseph Hughes

Joseph set up his own legal practice in 1986, comprising of 5 offices specialising in criminal, family, compensation and general court work.

Joseph is a legal convenor of the Mental Health Tribunals, the Additional Support Needs Tribunals the Scottish Charity Appeals Panel (the appeal arm of the new charity regulator).  He is a Solicitor Advocate with rights of audience in the High Court.

Joseph graduated in June 2006 at the Glasgow Graduate School of Law in a Masters of Science in Criminal Justice.  He is married with two young children and is a keen pianist and organist too.

Joseph was appointed as Vice Chair of the Board at the AGM on 19th September 2007.  He is also the Chair of the Audit Committee.

Paula Gilder

Paula is a qualified accountant who worked in local government for over 13 years.  She then became a management consultant and is now self-employed.  She works across the public sector in Scotland, specialising in local authority services, funding and corporate governance.

Paula has been involved with Turning Point in Scotland since 1994 and was appointed to the position of Chair of the Board for the period 2005 to 2007.

Paula lives in Edinburgh and in her spare time enjoys travelling, hill walking and music (classical, traditional and Gaelic).

Raymond Edwards

Since completing his apprenticeship as a heating engineer over 30 years ago, Ray has stayed within the industry with a range of roles from engineer through sales through management.  He has a wide range of skills and experience gained within the commercial sector, particularly in income maximisation, health and safety, working with staff and customers from incredibly diverse backgrounds. 

As well as doing his day job, Ray has always been involved in voluntary action within his local community in Dundee - improving opportunities for young people in the area though his involvement with the Dundee YMCA and the Boys Brigade, and also around cancer and carers issues following the death of his wife Betsy a few years ago.  Other previous roles have included Deacon of the Hammerman Incorporation (one of the ancient Nine Trades of Dundee) and President of the Dundee Junior Chamber Speakers Club.

With two grown up children, Ray is a doting granddad, making sure that they have as much fun as they can as often as they can.

Judith Illsley

Judith has significant experience within the Public Sector, having worked for many years as a senior manager, and latterly an Executive Director, within the NHS in both England and Scotland.

She has also worked as a management consultant helping clients from both the public and private sectors in organisational reviews and business improvement. Judith has a particular interest in organisational development, strategy and service planning, and in performance and risk management.

Brian MacDonald

Educated in Glasgow, graduated from Moray House College Edinburgh in 1976 with a Diploma in   Social Work.

Brian joined Strathclyde Regional Council as a Social Worker in 1976 and worked in various areas in  the region, moving to a Divisional Manager post in Grampian Region in 1987.

In 1992 Brian graduated from Robert Gordon's University with a Post Graduate Diploma in Managerial Studies.  Moving to Chief Executive's Department in Grampian in 1992 to work on TQM and Customer Care issues.  In 1995 Brian was the Regional Councils reorganisation co-ordinator in Moray.

Brian joined North Ayrshire Council in 1995 as Head of Corporate Business and in 1998 was made Assistant Chief Executive with responsibility for Planning, Economic Development, European Affairs and Estates. 

Brian has interests in change in local government, social care and property development. 

Gill Ottley

Gill is a registered social worker.  She started her career as a probation officer in England, moving to Scotland in 1980 to lecture in social work.  In 1985 she joined The Scottish Office as a social work adviser.  From 1995-97 she was Head of the Social Work Training Council (CCETSW) in Scotland.

Gill rejoined The Scottish Office as an Assistant Chief Inspector responsible for community care in the Social Work Services Inspectorate in 1998.  Between 2000 and 2002 she led teams developing the national care standards and setting up the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.  Latterly as Depute Chief Inspector she was responsible for reforming social work education and training and setting up the new honours degree in social work.

Gill is now Depute Chief Inspector for children and families in the Social Work Inspection Agency.  She has recently completed inspection reports into the Care and Protection of Children in Eilean Siar, and "Extraordinary Lives."  A review of services for looked after children in Scotland, as well as a number of local authority performance inspection reports.

Gill is a co-opted board member.

Callum Allan

Callum began his career in the Civil Service in 1960 and departments include United Kingdom  Atomic Energy Authority, Forestry Commission, National Girobank and National Savings in 1970.   Callum's last job in National Saving was Fraud Prevention Manager and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, before being granted early retirement in March 2000.

During Callum's career in the Civil Service he became actively involved at branch level with, as it was then, The Post Office and Civil Service Sanatorium Society.  The Society was renamed The Beneden Healthcare Society in 1990.  Callum spent several years on The National Savings branch committee before being nominated to serve on the National Committee of Management in 1989.  In 1995, Callum was elected Vice Chairman and in 1997 elected Chairman. 

Callum currently is Chair of the Trustees of the Staff Pension Fund and The Strategic Business Planning Committee as well as being a member of the Committee of Management and a Director of Cash Plan subsidiary Best Health.

Callum is married with two sons.  He enjoys fishing and plays traditional fiddle music in a folk group called The Clutha. 

James MacKenzie

James is head of media for the Scottish Green Party MSPs. Before taking on this post in December 2007, he worked on a freelance basis for a range of commercial and NGO clients, specialising in renewables and strategic communications, and was part of the Scottish Green Party's election communications team for the 2005 and 2007 elections.

Prior to that, he served as Media Relations Officer for the Scottish Parliament, specialising in the Holyrood Building itself and working effectively as part of the Presiding Officer's press office, taken on by the Parliament in 2002 to turn around public perception of this difficult scheme, and leaving in 2005 after the building was completed.

He has also held media and public affairs roles with the Scottish Refugee Council, the Centre for Human Ecology and the St Andrews Students' Association.

A full Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), and a Social Anthropology graduate, James is a member of SCVO's PR Network for charities and voluntary sector organisations.

He is a true political anorak, but also has a full and normal social life.

Keith Howell

After over 20 years of a corporate management career with large UK and International quoted public companies, in 2000 Keith chose an alternate path building a portfolio of involvements with developing businesses and organisations.

He is now a non-executive Chairman or Director of a number of commercial and voluntary organisations, including a leading UK Building Services design consultancy, an Edinburgh based  manufacturer of robotics using ink jet printheads to make biological microarrays, a leading provider of performance-enhancing management, leadership and HR resources delivered over the internet, and the Parent Council of the largest High School in the Scottish Borders.

Keith was previously on the Board of Turning Point Scotland from 2000 to 2006, including a spell as Chair. He continues to assist as a Trustee of Turning Point's pension scheme and also helps to facilitate Turning Point Scotland's Service User Council. Keith is a co-opted board member.

Outside of his work and voluntary commitments, Keith is kept busy by a very active family life and a growing menagerie of animals.