Our Trustees are volunteers who use their diverse range of professional skills to make sure our charity is run properly and to help set our strategic direction.

Professor Catherine Heymans
Patron

Charlotte Encombe
Chair

Daniel Baigrie
Vice Chair

Carole Macartney
Secretary

James Richardson
Treasurer

Louise Murray
Board Member

Claire Maclaine
Board Member

Ruth Saunders
Board Member
Charlotte is an experienced Chairperson and active campaigner on behalf of her local community. She started the charity Greener Leith and is currently Chair of Leith Central Community Council. She is also a carer’s representative on an NHS sub-committee that aims to promote patients’ wellbeing at the Astley Ainslie hospital, Edinburgh.
Daniel is a Senior Communities and Lifelong Learning Worker. He has a wealth of experience across the statutory and third sector in the areas of youth work, community development and adult learning.
Carole was diagnosed with MS in 1993 and has been a regular user of the Centre’s services since 2004. She was an HR professional in the NHS for many years, prior to her retirement. As well as her role as Secretary, Carole represents service-users’ views in Board discussions.
Miguel holds a Bachelor´s degree in Business Management & Administration as well as a Master´s in Financial Management. He is an experienced Finance Manager and works in the financial sector.
Sarah is an HR transformation specialist. She is highly experienced in developing and implementing HR strategies, analytics, and technologies to drive organisational effectiveness and to enable strategic change.
Louise was a marketing professional in major financial institutions in Edinburgh, London, and the Isle of Man for many years specialising in product & service development and communication. She has led several non-profit groups in her local community.
Prof. Catherine Heymans is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, appearing regularly on BBC Radio and TV to talk about the latest discoveries in outer space. Before developing Long Covid (ME/CFS) in 2022, she was a globe-trotter, using some of the world’s largest telescopes to map out invisible dark matter in our Universe. Now Catherine is a regular client at Compass for Oxygen Therapy in our Barochamber. We’ve been so happy to see her energy levels rising and her health steadily improving and are delighted that she has agreed to support Compass by becoming our Patron.
You can read more about Catherine’s amazing career and her experiences with Long Covid in these two articles.
James is a Financial Accountant who has worked in the insurance industry in Edinburgh and the South Coast of England for the last decade. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Claire studied Speech Pathology and Therapy and has worked as a speech and language therapist across acute, rehabilitative, and community neurological services in Scotland, England, and New Zealand. She works as a rehabilitation case manager with people across the UK who have sustained catastrophic injuries. She loves the creative arts and living in the Festival City she watches and participates as much as possible.
Ruth was diagnosed with MS in 2015. Prior to taking medical retirement in 2017, she worked as a solicitor and has experience of trusts and charities from that time. Ruth is a regular at the centre, taking advantage of the many services offered by Compass, and is well placed to represent the views of clients in board discussions.