Heather is Secretary General of Eurodiaconia (www.eurodiaconia.org) which brings together churches and Christian organisations concerned with social services and social justice across Europe.
With over 30 000 service providers in 32 European countries Eurodiaconia is the largest network of its kind and has been recognised as a key partner by the European Commission and the European Parliament. The network is particularly concerned with poverty, inequality, the provision of social and health care services and the identity of church based/Christian motivated social action and services. Eurodiaconia is based in Brussels Belgium.
Professionally, Heather has worked with homeless young people in Glasgow, Scotland and then with an international youth organisation focused on the engagement, participation and education of girls and young women before joining Eurodiaconia in 2008. She has extensive experience of the development of civil society in Europe, including Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and has worked on partnerships with other parts of the world including the Arab world.
Until May 2015, Heather was President of Social Platform, the Europe wide network of Social NGO’s. She is currently a board member of Social Services Europe and the International Society for Research in Diaconia and Christian Social Practice and is on the Advisory Board of several European level projects on social and economic policies. Heather is also a lay reader (minister) in the Church of England.