Our Team

Emma is Chief Executive Officer, responsible for leading our executive, staff team and operations to deliver strategy, develop and drive forward our vision, and bring our values to life. She leads our financial management and fundraising and represents JustRight Scotland to the wider world. Emma works closely with and is accountable to our Board of Trustees.

Emma is an experienced senior manager and leader with over 20 years’ experience of working for social change in Scotland and further afield. Her background spans social enterprise development, campaigning and communications, and human rights advocacy and promotion.

In her early career, Emma led the start-up of Social Enterprise Scotland before leading business development for Cyrenians. She then spent time working in social enterprise business development in Sri Lanka and Australia, before returning to the UK to study law. In 2012 she led the development of Equally Ours, a strategic human rights communications campaign. Returning to Scotland in 2014, she spent 8 years as part of the leadership team at the Scottish Human Right Commission before joining JustRight Scotland in June 2022. Emma has also held non-executive positions with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and Engender.

Kirsty is a co-founding Managing Partner / Director, responsible for overall management and development of our organisation. She also leads our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) and our Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre (SATEC).

Kirsty has an LLM in International Human Rights Law and 13 years’ experience in practice as a human rights lawyer within Scotland. During this time, she managed a specialist legal service within a national law centre where she developed a collaborative human rights based approach working in the area of women’s rights, children’s rights and asylum/immigration law.

Kirsty has experience of designing, implementing and managing innovative legal projects. She has worked with legal and non-legal partners at a national and international level in order to pilot and deliver legal services more effectively.

Kirsty is a member of various advisory and working groups in human rights law. She is a legal expert in human trafficking and has published best practice standards, training and written publications in this area. She co-convenes the Scottish Working Group of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association and is the Scottish member for the Strategic Litigation Fund expert panel.

Jen is a co-founder and Director of Development & Policy, responsible for strategy and development as well as oversight of our policy, communications and training.  She also leads our Scottish Just Law Centre (SJLC) and our social enterprise, JRS Knowhow.

Jen is an experienced human rights lawyer qualified to practice in Scotland, England and Wales, and New York State. She is a legal expert on asylum, human rights and children’s rights, and on the rights of survivors of torture, and is regularly asked to speak, and contribute to research, policy and publications in these areas.

Jen is also an experienced lecturer in law with the Open University, lecturing on Scots law and the law of England and Wales. She is an enthusiastic advocate of open education and widening access to education for all.

Andy is a co-founding Partner and Legal Director, responsible for supervision of legal casework.  Andy also heads our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.  He has an LLM in International Human Rights Law and has been working in human rights law since 2010.  He currently sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s Immigration & Asylum Sub-Committee as well as the Scottish Government’s Child Trafficking Strategy Group.

Andy is experienced in working directly with migrant children and young people, with a particular specialism in working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and child victims of trafficking.  He has represented migrant children in the national asylum and trafficking identification procedures, the immigration and asylum tribunals, and in Judicial Reviews in the Court of Session.  He is an expert in age assessment, having successfully taken strategic litigation in this area as well as contributing to the drafting of the 2018 Scottish Government Practice Guidance on Age Assessment.  He delivers training across the UK on age assessment best practice.

Prior to this, Andy worked as a Legal Officer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, supervising the implementation of British, Irish and Cypriot judgments from the European Court of Human Rights.  He also enjoys lecturing at the University of Glasgow, where he has taught European Human Rights Law for over 7 years.

Jenny is our Head of Operations, managing the overall daily operations and responsible for human resources and charitable finance. She is also the charity’s Data Protection Officer and is the first point of contact for enquiries about our organisation.

Jenny has nearly 10 years’ experience working for charities across the United Kingdom. She has held positions in the healthcare and financial sectors, managing quality assurance and international recruitment.

Lyndsay is an Senior Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre. She completed her traineeship within a private practice firm, with a strong focus on family law and civil court work.

As a law student at the University of Strathclyde in 2015, she was one of the first student volunteers at the Law Clinic for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), assisting with the SWRC helpline and casework. She undertook a summer internship with the SWRC and continued to volunteer on the helpline throughout her traineeship and post qualification. She was appointed Co-Student Director of the Law Clinic from 2015-2016. Lyndsay works in the SWRC, providing advice, information and representation to women who have experienced gender based violence through our helpline, surgery and legal casework, as well as delivering training and awareness raising events.

Farida is an Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.

Farida completed her traineeship within a specialist legal service at a national law centre, working with women, children and young people in asylum, immigration and human rights law. Farida’s traineeship was supported by The Legal Education Foundation through the Justice First Fellowship scheme for aspiring social justice lawyers.

Prior to her traineeship, Farida worked as a casework coordinator with British Red Cross Refugee Services for two and a half years. Farida has also previously worked for the University of Strathclyde as a tutor in Human Rights Law.

Anushya is an Associate Solicitor in our Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre. She has an LLM in Human Rights Law and has been working in the field of migrant rights since 2005.

Anushya completed her traineeship with a public authority focussing on public protection, and since qualifying, she has practiced as an Asylum and Immigration solicitor in private practice firms, primarily representing victims of torture, human trafficking, and gender-based violence.

While completing her legal studies, Anushya worked as a caseworker at a national law centre. Prior to that she worked as a Counter-Trafficking Development Officer with the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA Service Service) for a number of years, providing intensive support and advocacy for female victims of trafficking. She also worked at Scottish Refugee Council for four years as an asylum support adviser, specialising in preventing destitution and developing the organisation’s asylum support appeals work. Anushya also has experience of working in a support service for survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, and as a funding officer for a UK wide funding body.

Laura is the Digital Training & Learning Co-ordinator for JRS Knowhow, responsible for creating accessible, inclusive and engaging online learning experiences.

Laura joins JRS Knowhow after delivering a variety of online learning experiences for a Scottish network body, designed to make value-driven organisations more effective. Laura previously worked for an international communication consultancy delivering training and developing resources for international researchers, and also worked on a university research project.

Laura believes that well designed digital has the potential to transform our ways of working, learning and connecting.

Sabrina is our Policy & Public Affairs Officer. She helps us shape how we use our legal expertise and lived experience to engage in policy and influencing across a range of human rights and equalities issues.

She was previously the Policy Lead of a youth homelessness organisation, where she worked on prevention, partnership working and capacity building. She managed a coalition of partners across sectors, provided guidance and advice to key stakeholders, and led the development of the first youth homelessness prevention pathways commissioned by the Scottish Government.

She has a background in human rights law, international relations and politics. She has previously worked at the Scottish Parliament as a researcher and has extensive experience of working in the third sector in different countries.

Sabrina is passionate about ensuring people with lived experience are meaningfully involved in the policy-making process, and that governments, third sector organisations and the general public are equally included to tackle issues around social justice. She is currently a volunteer for UN House Scotland.

Annamaria is our Communications Officer. She develops and implements comms strategies to promote JustRight Scotland and our mission at national and international level.

She works in partnership with our legal centres and our external partners to build and deliver strategic campaigns on across a range of human rights and equalities issues. She also manages our social media and other digital platforms and creates accessible digital content.

Annamaria has over nine years’ experience in the communications sector, managing internal and external relationships with private and public stakeholders, and working with charities across Scotland.

Annamaria believes that communication has impact. She is focused on building campaigns which will help increase public understanding and drive positive social change on the issues that matter most to the people we work with.

Francesca is a Solicitor in our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.

Having graduated in 2018, she moved to Strasbourg where she worked as an intern at the office of the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees at the Council of Europe.

Francesca completed her traineeship at an immigration and asylum firm in Glasgow, where she gained experience in both asylum and human rights law, and qualified in the summer of 2021.

Her main interest lies in asylum law, focusing on gender based violence and FGM cases. She is also passionate about, and experienced in, family reunion cases, both inside and outside the Immigration Rules.

Eilidh is a Trainee Solicitor and Justice First Fellow through the Legal Education Foundation.  Her fellowship is sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP, through Skadden’s Justice First Skadden Trainee (JUST) Programme. She has an LLM in Human Rights and Migration Law and has a background in case work, legal research, and communications.

Eilidh previously worked at the British Institute of Human Rights as a Human Rights Officer. Here her work involved designing and delivering human rights learning and practice projects, workshops and co-produced resources, as well as leading inclusive and participatory policy work.

Eilidh is passionate about using the law as a tool for positive change and making human rights more accessible for all.

Hanan is a Trainee Solicitor in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

Hanan is a graduate of the University of Glasgow (LLB Honours) and the University of Strathclyde (Diploma in Professional Legal Practice). She has experience working as a caseworker at a national law centre and at the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic within the Immigration Unit, where she was Immigration Unit Coordinator throughout her studies at the University of Strathclyde.

As part of her role, Hanan was involved in assisting to prepare fresh claims for asylum for people seeking asylum whose appeal rights had been exhausted. She was also involved in setting up and delivering a Public Legal Education project for asylum seekers and refugees living in Glasgow with a team of law students. Hanan has also worked as a Destitution Adviser at the Scottish Refugee Council as part of the Destitute Asylum Seeker Service, providing support and advocacy to destitute asylum seekers.

Jan joined JRS as an intern in Feb 2020 and is now a Caseworker in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.

Jan is a law student at Robert Gordon University and a graduate of Edinburgh University (LLM International Law) and Sussex University (BaHons International Relations). She has experience working as a caseworker in the areas of asylum, immigration and human rights law. She worked with survivors of gender-based violence & human trafficking and unaccompanied detained minors at the Cabrini Centre for Immigrant Legal Assistance in the USA, where she undertook accreditation to become a Department of Justice Representative. Alongside her case work, Jan delivered legal education in detention facilities.

Jan also worked for 5 years as a lecturer in international law in Mexico whilst working on collaborative research projects with the State Human Rights Commission. In Mexico, she also volunteered with survivors of human trafficking & gender-based violence at a refuge.

Antonia is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre and Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre.

Antonia is a recent graduate of the University of Edinburgh (LLB Honours) and a past Robertson Trust Scholar.  She joined JRS as an intern in July 2020 and she continued volunteering with our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre throughout her final year of university.

Antonia has a keen interest in increasing access to justice for vulnerable people, with a particular interest in supporting migrants at risk of destitution and survivors of human trafficking.  During her time at university, Antonia participated in workshops on the rights of EU citizens through our StrEEt Aware collaboration with the Shelter Scotland Housing Law Service, Streetwork and the University of Edinburgh Free Legal Advice Centre.

Maisie is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Just Law Centre.

She is a recent graduate of the University of Glasgow, where she completed a postgraduate degree in Human Rights and International Politics (MSc). Throughout her degree she focused on the importance of using accessible and inclusive language reached wider audiences and create positive change.

Maisie is an advocate for the benefits that volunteering can bring, having volunteered in recent years for Positive Action in Housing, TAKE ONE ACTION film festival, and the Glasgow Film Festival. Currently, she is also serving as a helpline volunteer for Rape Crisis Scotland.

Eeman is a is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre and Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre.

She is a recent LLM graduate in Human Rights Law whose areas of interests are refugee law, international humanitarian law and human rights law.

She hopes to build a career in human rights, specialising in minority rights, and is most passionate about social justice causes that centre the voices of religious and ethnic minorities subjugated to xenophobic regimes. She focuses her research on the violation of fundamental human rights, including her dissertation which explored the state-led persecution of Muslims in India and Jammu-Kashmir.

Ricarda is the Digital Learning & Admin Assistant at JRS Knowhow. She administers the operations, learning services and communication channels.

Ricarda previously worked in production for a large-scale event and supported an environmental social enterprise. She has also conducted political and historical education programmes for various age groups. Ricarda is a fan of sewing and has facilitated practical workshops about the environmental and human rights impact of the garment industry.

Ricarda studied global politics, theatre, and film with an emphasis on intersectional feminism, transnational solidarity, and bottom-up education as driver for change.

Constance is a Legal Caseworker in our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, on the ROSA project.

She is a recent graduate of the University of Edinburgh (LLM Human Rights), following the completion of a first Master’s in Security Studies at the University College of London (UCL). After having initially focused academically on international relations, she decided to specialise in international and European human rights law. She is particularly interested in migration and asylum issues, as well as women’s rights and their protection from gender-based violence at work and in education.

She has experience working with displaced persons and asylum-seekers in Canada, France and Belgium through various organisations. This interest brought her to the EU institutions where she worked at the European Commission and the European Parliament on EU asylum policies and on amending legislative proposals to reflect a human rights-based approach. She also conducted advocacy work with the International Rescue Committee towards the EU institutions.

Constance also works as a Tutor in EU Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Edinburgh.

Mariam is our Participation and Development Officer and she also works in collaboration with our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre.
She is responsible for the facilitation of our Just Citizens panel, along with the development and maintenance of partnerships with other third sector and grassroots organisations.
Mariam has over six years of experience working with refugees and migrants in Greece, Austria and UK, by taking part in inclusive initiatives and projects which aim to promote the voices, needs and desires of these groups.

She has an academic background in international relations, human rights, and socio-ecological economics and policy. She previously worked as an academic tutor and research assistant at the Vienna University of Economics.

Mariam wants to make sure that a platform is given to those who need it most. She aims to establish long-term relationships across the third sector to ensure we work together to realise common goals and aims.

Jennifer is a barrister qualified in England and Wales. She specialises in refugee and modern slavery law and in equalities law including disability discrimination. She has an LLM in International Human Rights Law and delivers training on modern slavery and other legal issues. She is one of the co-founders of the Ukraine Advice Project.

She has previously worked as the Co-Head of Legal Protection at the Helen Bamber Foundation, where she helped oversee their medico-legal report service. She gives advice for refugee and migrants charities, including Migrants Organise, where she is their modern slavery lead and she sits on the advisory group for the Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy Project. She has co-convened the Home Office’s equalities stakeholder engagement subgroup and regularly acts in legal proceedings in England and Wales.

Caroline has fifteen years’ experience working on human trafficking. She co-founded the UK based anti-trafficking charity Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) in 2012 and served as its Director until August 2019. Whilst at FLEX she advised the UK government on its Modern Slavery Act 2015 and its Immigration Act 2016.

Caroline currently works as an independent consultant based in highland Perthshire where her work has included research on the risk of human trafficking seasonal agricultural workers and worker organising and power. She is currently conducting research on the US Tariff Act and the Canadian Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers.

Caroline previously led global policy for the Thailand based Global Alliance against Traffic in Women, where she co-founded the Anti-Trafficking Review Journal in 2011 and continues to serve on its Editorial Board. She has served as a Senior Advisor in the UK Parliament and worked for the United Nations in the Afghan Parliament.

Iryna Petkevica is our part-time outreach support workers in our Support Worker Centre.

She recently completed her BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management at Dundee Abertay University.
Iryna has worked as a preventing human trafficking and labour exploitation case worker/outreach researcher to promote human rights of newcomers to Scotland. She has been part of FMF/RSABI Seasonal Workers Helpline in 2021.

She has experience working with seasonal workers, ensuring language support and providing emotional assistance.
She also conducted research into piloting innovative strategies to keep workers safe and improve their resilience to exploitation.

Margarita is an outreach support worker for the Worker Support Centre, serving as first point of contact for workers on the seasonal workers’ visa.

Margarita has a strong academic background in human rights, refugees and migration regulations and policies, and UK asylum system. She is a graduate from the University of Dundee, where she earned MA European Studies and International Relations, MLitt International Politics and Security and MSc in Social Research Methods. As part of her studies she conducted research on legal texts and refugees’ experiences in Scotland looking at the differences between refugees that came under Governments’ resettlement schemes and those that came via asylum route.

Her previous experience includes working as human trafficking prevention case worker and an outreach researcher. She also worked as a bilingual teaching assistant, interpreter, interlocutor, assisted NGOs with human rights’ projects, provided advice and guidance to ethnic and migrant communities.

Margarita has experience of outreach support and researching using both quantitative and qualitative research methods and speaks Lithuanian, Russian and Kurdish (Kurmanji).