Our Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity, developing the organisation’s aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the governing documents, legal and regulatory guidelines.
In order to stand for election as a trustee, an individual must be nominated by at least two members of Scotland’s International Development Alliance. Trustee Nomination forms are made available through our website in advance of each AGM. The most recent AGM took place on 1st December 2022.
Cathy Ratcliff
CEO, EMMS International, and Director, Thrive
Cathy has supported the Alliance since before its founding in the first term of the Scottish Parliament. Her current trusteeship began in 2019. She has lived in Leningrad and Grenoble as part of an MA in French and Russian, taught in China, run Scottish European Aid’s Romania desk, managed Edinburgh’s One World Shop, lived and worked in Ethiopia, and since 1997 has led programmes departments in Mercy Corps, SCIAF and EMMS International. She founded small NGO Thrive in 2016 and runs it with 4 other women. Cathy completed a PhD in 2017 on attitudes and language on Africa, aid and development, and is now CEO of EMMS International, which improves health and healthcare in Scotland, Malawi, India and Nepal. Her interest in advocacy goes back to the 1990s, when she held several voluntary positions in World Development Movement (now Global Justice Now).
Jon Novakovic
Individual Member
Jon joined the Alliance board of Trustees in December 2020. Originally from Australia, Jon lived in East Timor and Afghanistan before basing himself in Scotland and continuing to work in peacebuilding and conflict. For five years he worked from the Edinburgh office of Mercy Corps in a range of roles, finishing as the manager of the global crisis analytics teams. Jon recently served as the Chief of Staff of the Scottish Conservative party.
Yankho Mataya
Country Director, WaterAid Zambia
The Country Director for WaterAid, Zambia, Yankho is an international development expert based in Lusaka, Zambia, with diverse experience in monitoring and evaluation, project management, partnerships as well as programme and business development. She believes that joint efforts are critical in responding to the climate crisis facing our world today and is proud to be part of Scotland’s International Development Alliance building on the strong relationship that exists with Scotland, Partner Countries and Partner Organisations.
Phillip Chidawati
Country Manager, Challenges Malawi
Phillip Chidawati is a seasoned development practitioner with knowledge in global development policies including global goals, African continent development priorities and Malawi Nation Development Priorities. He has successfully led the implementation of the CROPS Project in Malawi, funded by the Scottish Government from October 2018 to March 2023, which seeks to commercialise rural agriculture through increased crop productivity, aggregation, value addition and market building. He currently works as a Country Manager for Challenges Malawi and possesses a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship and a Bachelor’s in Agriculture.
Samantha Ross
International Programme Director, Link Education International
Sam joined the Alliance Board in 2019 and sits on the HR and Safeguarding Committee. Her day job is with Link Education International, where she is the International Programme Director and leads on strategy development, oversees quality programming and is Link’s safeguarding foal point. She is also progressing Link’s work on effective partnerships and shifting the power. Link supports governments and partners in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda to deliver quality education to all children. Sam studied International development at the University of East Anglia where she gained her Masters and Doctorate qualifications. She has over 15 years working in the international education and development sector with experience across Africa and Asia.
Agnes Holmes
Friends of Chitambo
A member of Friends of Chitambo, a small INGO. Agnes is a passionate internationalist and is a purposeful advocate for human rights, equity, gender equality, environment and climate change. Experience gained from director roles has enhanced her strategic and governance perceptiveness. She is enthused to be part of Scotland’s International Development Alliance Board of Trustees helping to accomplish the vision, mission and values of the organisation. Agnes is eager to make a concrete difference to people’s lives and see meaningful improvements.
Ben Wilson
Advocacy Manager, SCIAF
Ben Wilson is Advocacy Manager at the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). He oversees SCIAF’s campaigning and influencing work on issues such as climate justice, food justice and international development, in Scotland, the UK and internationally. Ben has particular experience in campaigning on climate issues at the UN level, especially in recent years on the issue of Loss & Damage. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Glasgow, which took a post-development approach to critically reflect on Scotland’s relationship with Malawi.
Amy Blake
Third Sector Consultant
Amy joined the board of the Alliance in 2018 and has served as a member of the Finance Committee. Amy has a MA in Political Science and has been involved in the Third Sector since 1998. She started her career at the British Red Cross working in income generation, focusing specifically on corporate partnerships in the UK and Internationally. She has held various senior positions within the sector including Head of Fundraising at Capability Scotland, Director of the International Voluntary Service from 2016 – 2019 and Chief Executive of Classrooms for Malawi until 2022. Her specific interests and areas of expertise are global citizenship, sustainability and climate justice and she is delighted to have been accepted to the 2022 intake of the MSc Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Cicely Clarke
Africa Senior Programme Officer, Mercy Corps Europe
Cicely joined the Alliance Board of Trustees in mid-2022. Cicely works for Mercy Corps and leads the Regional Programmes Team (RPT) for Africa in award management and new business development for all European funding in Africa. This includes Scottish Government, FCDO, Dutch Government, SIDA, AFD, EC, ECHO and so on. Cicely began working in humanitarian programmes in 2006 in Malawi, followed by roles in South Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cicely began working for Mercy Corps Europe in 2014, and her work has focussed on Syria, European refugee crisis, Middle East, and now Africa. Cicely has a MA in Poverty, Conflict and Reconstruction from IDPM at Manchester University.
Yulia Nesterova
Lecturer in International and Comparative Education in the School of Education, University of Glasgow
Yulia Nesterova, Ph.D., is Lecturer in International and Comparative Education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. She also acts as Academic Lead for Low and Middle-Income Countries Research Network at Glasgow and Associate Editor of Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education journal. Yulia’s research focuses on inequalities and injustices in education, partnerships and community engagement for quality education, youth-led peace, and education for peace, justice, and reconciliation. Prior to joining Glasgow, Yulia was with UNESCO MGIEP and Asia-Pacific offices working on peacebuilding, sustainable development, and youth engagement, and worked closely with a range of other international actors. She was educated in Sweden, Finland, and Hong Kong and has conducted extensive research in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific.