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New board appointments at Edinburgh Leisure

Edinburgh Leisure | Monday 4th November 2024 11:00am

New board appointments at Edinburgh Leisure

The charity Edinburgh Leisure, which runs over 50 sports and leisure facilities across the Scottish capital, has made three new board appointments.

Welcoming Malcolm Reid as the new Chair, to replace Scott Haldane who is stepping down after a successful term on the board; Lorna Darrie (health), who is replacing Colin Mumford who has stepped down after four very successful terms (12 years); and Stephanie Anne Harris (sport) to the Board, Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief Executive, Jen Holland said: “Edinburgh Leisure is delighted to welcome our new Board members.  A key element of Edinburgh Leisure’s governance is having a non-executive Board of Directors, who have the collective responsibility of directing Edinburgh Leisure, ensuring we operate in accordance with our Memorandum and Articles of Association and meet all our legal responsibilities.  We’re so fortunate to work with this Board of Directors, who come from various industries, business and specialisms and willingly give their time and business brains, scrutinising our work to ensure we deliver on our vision and objectives.”

Outgoing Chair, Scott Haldane, who has stepped down but will be supporting the transition of the new Chair, said: “Since 2012 I have had the opportunity to contribute to Edinburgh Leisure as a Board Member, four years as Chair. The Company has always been both community-focused and customer-centric. However, there is always more that we can, and must do, to continuously improve our service to our customers and I am confident this will remain a very high priority moving forward and I leave the Board in very capable hands The team at Edinburgh Leisure have been integral to safeguarding the operation and delivering the service you see today.

“As custodians of the City of Edinburgh Council’s sport and leisure estate, for the last 26 years, Edinburgh Leisure looks after an incredible range of venues throughout the city.

“The work achieved has seen a continued growth in customer visits, now exceeding 5.6 million annually and the number of people supported by their charitable programmes, Active Communities, has grown to over 12,500. In my tenure as Chair, we have opened the magnificent new Meadowbank, successfully managed through the pandemic to support the people of Edinburgh and welcomed audiences to our venues with events such as the 2023 Scottish Open Snooker Tournament and the return of Edinburgh Leisure’s Swimming Galas for the first time since before the pandemic.

“None of this happens without the combined efforts of Edinburgh Leisure’s employees, partners, volunteers and supporters, all of whom help Edinburgh Leisure inspire the city to be active.”

For more information:   www.edinburghleisure.co.uk

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Malcom Reid (New Chair)

Malcolm has experience working in the NHS and civil service, having served as the health adviser to two Prime Ministers in 10 Downing Street and, during the pandemic, as the Director of Strategy for the Covid-19 vaccine programme in England.

He now works for BioNTech (makers of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine) as a senior director leading their partnerships with the NHS to develop new cancer vaccines. Previously, Malcolm served for six years as Chair of Governors of London East Alternative Provision, a multi-site school for children who cannot attend mainstream education. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge; postgraduate degrees in Economics from the University of London and Public Administration from Georgetown University, Washington DC; and has also been a Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Malcolm grew up in Edinburgh and has recently returned here with his wife and dog. He is a keen road and trail runner and is an enthusiastic (but mediocre) player of many sports including recently tennis, padel and football.

Lorna Darrie (Health)

Lorna is a Physiotherapist with experience in health, social care and health education. She had a non-traditional route to studying physiotherapy and first qualified as a Veterinary Nurse. Lorna graduated in 2005 with a BSc Hons in Physiotherapy from Robert Gordon University and has a PGCert in Person-Centred Practice. Further post graduate studies have focussed on practice-based learning in healthcare, quality improvement and evaluation of impact. Lorna’s current role as an educator with NHS Education for Scotland involves leading on the quality, governance and growth of capacity and capability of student placements for allied health professions in Scotland.

Prior to this role Lorna held roles as physiotherapy service lead in NHS Borders and team lead for community physiotherapy in NHS Lothian. She has extensive clinical experience as a physiotherapist in acute and community settings in NHS Lothian, NHS Borders and privately with road cycling events. Lorna is passionate about health and social care and working with third sector and communities to enable people to live their best lives. Following her own journey into physiotherapy, she is also a strong advocate for widening access and opportunities to education and careers through non-traditional routes. 

Lorna grew up in Perthshire and loves the outdoors. She now lives in the Scottish Borders and loves cycling, trail running, hill walking and skiing. She loves an adventure and will have a go at mostly anything

Stephanie-Anne Harris (Sport)

Stephanie-Anne brings over 30 years of experience in the public and voluntary sectors, with expertise in areas such as sport, events, physical activity, and more recently, health and social care.

She worked for Fife Council and then the City of Edinburgh Council and currently works part-time with Edinburgh Community Health Forum.

Outside of work, Stephanie-Anne is a keen golfer and stays active through walking (with her Springer Spaniel) and fitness classes. Stephanie-Anne has been a member of the Love Music Community Choir for over a decade, loving the opportunity to rehearse and perform at the Usher Hall.

Stephanie-Anne lives in Edinburgh, is married and has three grown up children. Her family life has always involved Edinburgh Leisure, whether it be sitting watching her children at their tennis lessons at Craiglockhart, playing there herself, swimming with her children at Warrender, or joining Edinburgh Leisure to participate in fitness classes.