Staff Team
Catherine Newman, Engagement and Communications Officer
Catherine worked for a number of years in international conservation and international development NGOs. She became interested in sustainable development while researching the impact of tourism on indigenous people. Catherine has a Diploma in Learning for Sustainability and has a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing, and she enjoys combining her interest in global justice with her marketing background to engage and communicate about Fair Trade in Scotland.
Sissa D Rasmussen, Finance and Administration Officer
Sissa graduated from Glasgow Clyde College in 2020, with a HND in Administration and IT.
While at Glasgow Clyde College she became very involved with the Student Association and went on to become, first, Vice President, and then President of the Glasgow Clyde College Student Association (GCCSA).
She has a great passion for sustainable solutions, the fair treatment of people, and proper administration and organisation.
Martin Rhodes, Chief Executive
Martin became involved with Fair Trade through campaigning on a number of international development and trade justice issues. He was a founding member of the Glasgow North Fair Trade Group which joined with Fair Trade campaigners from across Glasgow to form the Glasgow Fair Trade Steering Group. He was elected as the Chair of the Glasgow Fair Trade Steering Group and later the Glasgow Fair Trade Co-operative. In September 2010, Martin was appointed as the Director of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.
Kiera Wilkins, Development Officer
Kiera became interested in fair trade through her work in social enterprise. Before joining us, she was involved in projects that sought to strengthen the capacity of social entrepreneurs around the world. In her role as Development Officer, Kiera works with members and partners to grow the market for Fair Trade in Scotland.
If you are interested in working with us, please see our vacancies or contact us on info@sftf.org.uk.
Volunteers
Sarah Aldred, Volunteer Schools Co-ordinator
Sarah has always been interested in justice and was active in Amnesty Youth at school. In summer 2009 she volunteered at Trama (Weft), a women’s Fair Trade weaving co-operative in Guatemala. She studied languages at Stirling University, has a diploma in Environment and Development and is currently a Spanish tutor with the Open University. Her involvement in Fair Trade began after attending a Scottish Fair Trade Forum Campaign Day.
Erin Barr, Campaigns and Communications Volunteer
Erin graduated from the University of Stirling with an MSc in International Conflict and Cooperation. She became interested in Fair Trade while studying international development and human rights issues across various African states, before becoming a community development volunteer in Togo.
Sara De Giorgio, Development Volunteer
Sara has a background in marine conservation, and became interested in development through her work with coastal communities in Guatemala. She studied international development, and in her dissertation researched value chains which support biodiversity in rural communities in Tanzania. She is pursuing a career in sustainable development to combine her interests in international development and nature conservation.
If you are interested in working with us, please see our vacancies or contact us on info@sftf.org.uk.
Board of Trustees
Andy Ashcroft
Andy, an ex-British diplomat, jointly founded Koolskools in 2010, shortly after leaving the Foreign Office to pursue a second career in business. His passion for Fairtrade is driven by his experience of living, working and running small development projects in lower income countries, where Andy says even very small amounts of hard currency can make a massive difference to marginalised communities.
Holly Brown
Holly works as the Sustainability Coordinator on the Environment team at the University of St Andrews. Her role is focused on engagement in sustainability initiatives and she works with students, staff and community groups in St Andrews to support and promote Fair Trade. Before joining the Environment team, Holly was a student at the University of St Andrews. She graduated in 2023 with an MA in Philosophy and is particularly interested in global justice and environmental ethics. Over the past few years, she has combined these interests with her passion for art, illustrating for UnEarth, an environmental issues magazine; and Climate Vanguard, a climate change research institute.
Josh Brown
Josh is the Education Officer for Paisley’s Fair Trade organisation, Rainbow Turtle, who he’s worked for since July 2014. Much of his work involves visiting schools, youth, community and faith groups with the aim of raising awareness of Fair Trade, how it works, how it benefits people and why it’s relevant to all of us as Global Citizens. He has also helped introduce the Rainbow Turtle Fair Trade Podcast, which ties local, national and international issues together to help connect the dots between our experiences.
Rachel Farey (Vice Chair)
Rachel is currently the Business Manager at One World Shop Ltd. Born in Singapore, she moved to England as a 2-year-old. Rachel studied at Kent University and subsequently moved to Edinburgh in 1984 when she first discovered the One World Shop, first joining as a volunteer and then becoming part of the staff team. In 1995, Rachel trained as a secondary school teacher at Moray House, Edinburgh and worked in several schools in Edinburgh and West Lothian. She is a founding member of BAFTS and is currently the Chair of the Edinburgh Fairtrade City Initiative.
Senga Gall
Senga is the General Manager of Equal Exchange, an Edinburgh based worker co-operative that has been importing Fair Trade and organic food and drink since the early 1980’s. She has been a worker member there for 16 years and over that time has been inspired by, and learned from, the many dedicated people in the Fair Trade movement around the world. Born in Dumfries, Senga studied and lived in Paisley and Glasgow before moving to Edinburgh in 1997 where she now lives with her husband and two sons.
Karena Jarvie
Karena was a secondary maths teacher before she trained as an Educational Psychologist. She has been involved with Traidcraft stalls for about 25 years and is now the Chairperson of the Perth and Kinross Fairtrade Group and a member of the Kinross-shire Fairtrade Group. She wishes to encourage churches to support Fair Trade, schools to work towards being Fair Achieving Schools and Local Authorities to promote Fair Trade in as many ways as possible in our Fair Trade Nation. She is keen to promote ideas such as the 90kg challenge and the use of Bala Sport balls.
Liz Manson (Vice Chair)
Liz is the Community Planning and Engagement Manager at Dumfries and Galloway Council and has been involved with the Fair Trade movement since she became a volunteer in her local Fair Trade Group in Castle Douglas in 2007. During her time with her local group she was the secretary and worked with local schools, faith groups, business and the local Food Town initiative, Castle Douglas became a Fairtrade town in 2010. When responsibility for developing Fair Trade in Dumfries and Galloway Council became part of her portfolio at work, she stood down from her local role to take on this wider challenge. Over the past two years, Dumfries and Galloway Council has established a Regional Steering Group, seen improvements in their procurement arrangements, produced their first Regional Newsletter and become a Fairtrade Zone.
Sarah Middlemiss (Treasurer)
Sarah works for Ecometrica, an environmental monitoring company that uses satellite data to measure environmental impacts and risks in supply chains of commodities such as cocoa, palm oil and soy. She is passionate about international development, and in her role works to ensure environmental protection aligns with protecting and improving livelihoods, particularly in supply chains dominated by smallholder farmers. Before joining Ecometrica, Sarah volunteered at the Forum and then joined as a part time member of staff to support the Fair Trade Nurseries scheme.
Aimable Nshimiye
Aimable is the Managing Director of the Abateraninkunga Ba Sholi Cooperative in Muhanga district, Rwanda. Aimable is responsible for coordinating the coop’s staff team and bringing the farmers together to share information on farming practices. He is also responsible for promoting and selling Sholi coffee and forging business relationships with partners and international buyers. As a farmer himself, Aimable enjoys advising other farmers on their projects and developing the cooperative members’ knowledge and skills.
Tabitha Nyariki
Tabitha was born in Kenya and currently resides in Glasgow. She is the Race Equality Charter Project Officer at Glasgow Caledonian University and previously she worked as a Sabbatical Officer at their Students’ Association. In this role her work was mainly focused on campaigning on the issues around racial equality in Higher & Further Education. In 2022, Tabitha won the NUS Equality & Diversity Award for her commitment towards Equality & Diversity in higher education. Tabitha is a graduate of Glasgow Caledonian University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Applied Psychology. She advocates for child literacy and has done this through various channels including starting a literacy NGO in Kenya she co-founded, Kosi Africa where she works to ensure young children in Western Kenya have adequate learning and reading material. She is passionate about making the world a fair place for all. In her spare time Tabitha loves watching football and traveling with friends.”
Michael Ross
Michael is a solicitor with a practice focused on immigration and employment matters. Primarily based in Glasgow, he also represents clients across Scotland. He has been a member of Scotmid, one of Scotland’s biggest retailers of Fairtrade products, since 1995 and was elected to its West Regional Committee in 2003 and its Board in 2015. He is a former councillor and during his time as a local elected representative, he was the Council’s Fair Trade Champion and was a member of the Motherwell Fair Trade steering group which, over the years, has successfully achieved and sustained Fair Trade status for Motherwell and the surrounding villages.
Charles Sim (Chair)
Charles is a member of the East Ayrshire Fair Trade Group. He has been active in the Co-operative and credit union movements for over 25 years. He is a Director of Fenwick Weavers and has an interest in Scotland’s contribution to co-operative heritage. Charles served for many years as a firefighter in Glasgow and Ayrshire.
Ndiuzayani Zaya
Ndiuzayani works as a business studies teacher at Blantyre Baptist Academy. Her mother is a farmer with Kasinthula Cane Growers’ Association and thanks to this, all of Ndiuzayani’s education was funded by the Fairtrade Premium. She lives with her mother and three sisters in Sadulo village, Chikwawa district of Malawi and sometimes helps with planting and weeding on her mother’s smallholder farm.
