David Bass
Assistant Director Membership (Scotland, Ireland & Wales)
David is responsible for Advance HE's strategic approach and engagement in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, supporting and enhancing leadership and governance, learning and teaching, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for members. He leads the teams working with members, funders and stakeholders in these nations. This includes responsibility for the development and delivery of our SFC funded strategic three-year equality and diversity programme for universities and colleges in Scotland, and management of Advance HE’s Edinburgh office.
Dr Catriona Bell
Head of Membership (Scotland) and Senior Advisor (Learning and Teaching)
Catriona is the key strategic liaison between Scottish institutions and Advance HE, and leads the development, planning and delivery of Advance HE’s Scottish National Priorities Programme. She joined Advance HE in February 2019 and brings more than 20 years of experience working as an academic in Scottish universities (latterly as a Reader in Veterinary Education). She is a qualified veterinary surgeon who has particular expertise in learning and teaching, becoming a Principal Fellow (PFHEA) in 2015 and a National Teaching Fellow (NTF) in 2018.
Sophie Dodds
Programme Executive (Scotland)
Sophie joined Advance HE in January 2020 to lead on project and network support, logistics and maintaining key relationships with the teams in York and London. She has experience in administration and co-ordination across a range of sectors and has previously worked in membership organisations and charities. Sophie has a degree in history from Oxford University and a masters in art history from the University of Edinburgh. She is also a performing musician and songwriter.
Dr Kevin Guyan
Head of Knowledge and Research
Kevin is an experienced mixed-methods researcher at Advance HE. He has led several high-profile EDI research projects on subjects including promotion and recruitment, bullying and harassment, and culture and wellbeing. Kevin authored a major review of EDI interventions in research and innovation sectors for UK Research and Innovation and its seven research councils. He has also undertaken EDI audits of universities and research institutes across Europe and delivered consultancy on monitoring and evaluating impact. Kevin completed a PhD at University College London on masculinities and domestic space in mid-twentieth century Britain. He is Deputy Convenor on the board of Evaluation Support Scotland.
Georgios Pappas
Policy and Programme Adviser
Georgios joined Advance HE in January 2021 as Policy and Programme Adviser, supporting Scotland’s higher education institutions to advance gender and racial equality through the Athena SWAN and Race Equality Charters. With significant experience in the third sector and independent grant-making, his skills include user-led action learning and evaluation, stakeholder network engagement and project management. He has also founded a social enterprise to provide a sober alternative for Glasgow’s LGBTQ+ community.
Dr Nighet Riaz
Programme Advisor (Scotland)
Nighet leads the race equality project at Advance HE, launched in response to the EHRC report on racial harassment. She is an associate lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), teaching on the topic of equality and inclusion. Nighet is an active member of the British Educational Research Association, where she co-convenes the Special Interest Group on Race, Ethnicity and Education. She is also a training and development partner in the Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators (SAMEE), a member of the education subgroup of the ‘Tackling Islamophobia’ cross party group at Holyrood, and the Equality Officer at her local SNP branch.
Melanie Smith
Policy and Programmes Adviser (Scotland)
Melanie joined Advance HE in December 2020 to lead the anti-racist curriculum project. With a background in widening participation, she has thirteen years' experience in leading transformative widening access and student support programmes led by a personal and professional conviction in social inclusion and the life-changing nature of educational opportunity. Having worked in both the College and University sector, Melanie brings extensive experience of the Scottish tertiary sector, stakeholder engagement, partnership working and co-creation. Melanie is also a qualified coach with years of mentoring experience, as well as designing and delivering professional development and training around widening participation and equality & diversity.
Kay Steven
Policy and Programme Advisor (Scotland)
Kay joined Advance HE in February 2017 to lead projects on gender equality and student access in Scotland. She has recently completed an MSc in Gender Studies at the University of Stirling and also holds a degree in Social Anthropology from University of St Andrews. Kay has previously worked in various campaigns, policy, research, and public affairs roles in the fields of children’s rights and violence against women, most recently at Scottish Women’s Aid. She has recently taken up an additional role as a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh working on a project examining the outcomes of domestic abuse on children and young people.