Our Board

1 April 2019 to 30 March 2027 (2nd term)

Ewan started his professional life in the private sector as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor working on an interesting range of projects. In 1983, after several years in private sector construction Ewan joined Castle Rock HA as Development Manager. Following restructuring of a group of smaller organisations Dunedin HA was formed with Ewan as the first Director. Dunedin merged with Canmore in 2005 with Ewan as Chief Executive, a role he held until his retirement at the end of 2016. During his 33 years in the social housing sector Ewan was a member of the Board of the SFHA for a number of years and also a Board member of Social Enterprise Scotland. The experience gained over these year was wide ranging and this included a direct involvement in Dunedin Canmore joining the Wheatley Group. It is the changing and evolving face of housing , the challenges of governance and the desperate need for more good quality affordable housing in a well regulated affordable housing sector that continues to hold his interest. Ewan will bring his experience in affordable housing, development, governance and change management to the Board.  Ewan is our Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair.

Ewan Fraser - declaration of interests 

1 April 2019 to 30 March 2027 (2nd term)

Helen has always had a strong interest in social housing, stemming from her family’s journey from the Gorbals clearance to Castlemilk high & low rise, to the new town of East Kilbride. Her own housing journey has taken her full circle through all housing tenures due to changes in life circumstances. Helen has a deep understanding of the importance of good quality social housing on peoples physical & mental health and their ability to take up opportunities in life. As well as seeing this first hand, through her own experience and years of working in tenancy support with vulnerable young people, she’s also researched the links whilst studying MA (honours) Social Policy at the University of Glasgow. Helen has a varied work experience including Parliamentary briefing, Charity donor relations, youth support work and spent 7 years living in Rio de Janeiro where she worked as a teacher, academic coordinator, textbook editor and contributing reporter to the Rio Times. Throughout all her work, Helen strives to focus on social inclusion, openness, empowerment and equality. She is a local authority tenant and mother to two young sons.  Helen has recently completed the Chartered Institute of Housing Level 5 Diploma. 

Helen Trouten Torres - declaration of interests

1 April 2019 to 30 March 2027 (2nd term)

Colin became involved in the Social Housing Sector in 2012 when he moved back to Aberdeen after living in London for 26 years. Colin was a member of the inaugural Citizens Council, a committee set up in 2002 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to provide a public perspective on overarching moral and ethical issues. Since returning to Aberdeen he has been involved with several tenant groups including being Chair of CaRTO (Castlehill’s Registered Tenants Organisation), a member of NETRALT (North East Tenants, Residents and Landlords Together) and Chair & Secretary of Tenants Together (Scotland). Previously he was on the Board of Directors for Castlehill Housing Association, standing on their Housing & Property Services and Finance & Development sub-committees. Colin is Chair and co-founder of Our Positive Voice a forum providing support to people living with and affected by HIV.

Colin Stewart - declaration of interests 

2021 - 2025 (1st term)

Marieke graduated in Law from Utrecht University in The Netherlands, and her career in Scotland spans 30 years in the public and voluntary sector in a wide range of roles. She was Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, and a member of the team that established the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.  She has held positions in the Scottish Government, where amongst other things she worked on Access to Justice issues, prior to which she was Depute Director at Shelter Scotland. She started her career in Scotland at Citizens Advice Scotland. Marieke was a member of the board of Hillcrest Housing Association for a number of years.  Marieke brings expertise in regulation, in corporate governance and in leading and overseeing organisational change.  Marieke is Chair of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. She is a member of the Integrity Committee for Food Integrity Assurance Ltd  and a lay assistant for the Judicial Appointments Board Scotland. 

Marieke Dwarshuis - Declaration of interests 

2021 - 2025 (1st term)

Lindsay is a practising Scottish solicitor who is currently working on the Scottish Covid 19 Inquiry. Prior to taking up her appointment with the Inquiry Lindsay spent her career assisting vulnerable people with various aspects of social welfare law. Lindsay spent over 7 years working for the Scottish Legal Aid Board, latterly as Head of the Civil Legal Assistance Office in Edinburgh, where her work focussed on enforcing the rights of tenants and those experiencing homelessness.

Lindsay previously spent over a decade working in law centres in Glasgow both as a solicitor and money advisor including several years in a role with a focus on enforcing the housing rights of the BME community. Lindsay was also one of two solicitors directly employed by a consortium of Citizens Advice bureaux in Glasgow to set up and deliver a project to deliver legal advice and representation to CAB clients in the first project of its kind in Scotland.

As well as being a passionate defender of housing rights Lindsay has an interest in Equality and Human rights issues and obtained a masters degree in research in Equality and Human rights in 2015.

Lindsay Paterson- declaration of interests

Over the past decade, Abhi has committed himself to effective governance. He has served as Board Member and Chair of the Grampian Housing Group. He is currently a Non-Executive Board Member of NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland and was recently appointed as the Regional Chair of Forth Valley College. He was also a Non-Executive Director of Kirkgate Developments Limited. 

Abhi's voluntary work and personal experiences as a service user have shaped his understanding of societal inequalities. He recognizes and appreciates the rich diversity within our communities, actively seeking solutions to address pressing issues. In 2022, Abhi received the title of Burgess of Guild of the City and Royal Burgh of Aberdeen in recognition of his contributions to community betterment in Aberdeen. 

Abhishek Agarwal - declaration of interests