Our members

Tara Shivaji is a Consultant in Public Health Medicine and head of the drugs team in Public Health Scotland. Tara leads on the development of a Public Health Surveillance System for drugs in Scotland. A strong believer in empowering people, communities, and front-line staff in the design and development of public health systems, she has led and supported initiatives where partners influence priorities to achieve shared ambitions. Outside of work, Tara can be found tending to the vegetables on her plot.

Rebecca Wood works in recovery development across two council areas, North Lanarkshire and Forth Valley. With her lived experience of recovery from addiction, including opiates, she has a unique understanding of issues for those who are using, their families and the impact of the wider community. Since finding sustained recovery at the beginning of 2016 she has been involved in local and national work in the recovery sector firstly to gain insight and support, then as a volunteer and with a professional background in care and community work, joined Forth Valley Recovery Community as a Recovery Development Worker in 2017. Rebecca is committed to creating a safe space for citizens to find and maintain recovery, give a voice to those who are stigmatised and support communities to flourish. Being a member of the DDTF supports this commitment.

Professor McQueen was the former Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland from 2015 to 2021. In this role, she provided senior leadership in the Scottish Government’s early response to the coronavirus pandemic. Professor McQueen joined the nursing profession in 1982 and was made an executive nurse director in 1993, firstly in Lanarkshire and from 1999 in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. Professor McQueen is an honorary professor at the University of West of Scotland and was chair of the Scottish Executive Nurse Directors group, as well taking an active leadership role in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Kenny is Head of COPFS Policy and Engagement, with particular responsibility for engagement with Scottish Government and stakeholders in relation to legislative change and the development of Prosecution Policy. He has almost 30 years’ experience as a prosecutor.

Jason has been in recovery from substance use for over a decade. He is currently employed by Scottish Drugs Forum and manages the Volunteering and Engagement Team. He has been involved in Drug Death Prevention Work since 2006-07 (Glasgow naloxone pilot) He has worked in several roles and was the national lead for Naloxone Peer Education in Scotland. Jason has worked on several research projects in the last 10 years across Scotland and the UK.

Gary is the Patient Safety Manager for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). Gary is leading on work streams in SAS that have been funded by the taskforce, related to ‘take home naloxone’, staff development and education, and collaboration with drug support services. Gary is also part of the research team on a taskforce funded research project related to ambulance call-outs to people who have experienced an overdose.

ACC Ritchie is the strategic lead for the Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing portfolio (reporting to DCC Local Policing) with responsibility for developing new approaches to working with other Scottish public services to achieve better outcomes for communities. He is also Police Scotland's lead for Drug Strategy.

Fiona has worked in Public Health for over 17 years and with Borders ADP since 2012. She has strategic responsibility for ensuring the implementation and performance of local drug and alcohol strategies on behalf of the ADP as well as lead for adult and communities health improvement.

Ewen Stewart is a General Practitioner working in Fife and since 1994 has had a clinical interest in helping people who have problem drug use. He works for NHS Lothian as Clinical Lead for the Viral Hepatitis Managed Care Network. He is also Lead for the RCGP Scotland Certificate in the Management of Problem Drug Use.

Dr Susanna Galea-Singer is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Lead for Addiction Services, and Clinical Innovation Champion for NHS Fife, Scotland. She is also co-chair for the Faculty of Addictions, RCPsych, in Scotland. Susanna has worked in mental health and addictions for more than 20 years. “Making a difference in people and their families affected by mental health or addiction problems” is what drives Susanna’s passion, expertise and leadership in the field. Dr. Galea-Singer is known for her ability to bring together different disciplines to work towards the one goal of ‘respectfully improving the outcomes for those affected by mental health and/ or addictions’.

Diane has a long career within Dundee City Council Social Work Department, initially working with older people in care homes and day care services. Holding the role of Chief Social Work Officer since 2019, Diane maintains a strong commitment to improving outcomes for people and believes this can be strengthened through the promotion and development of strong working arrangements and investment in the workforce.

David began his police career with the Metropolitan Police in 1980. In 2001 David was appointed chief constable of Dumfries and Galloway Police, acting as president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland 2004/05. In 2007 he became the last Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders, before it was amalgamated into Police Scotland in 2013. In 2013 David became Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, a post he held for five years. In 2018, David chaired the Independent Inquiry into Mental Health Services in Tayside.

Colin joined the board of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs in June 2017 and recently took over as Chair. Colin trained as a SMART facilitator before he and his wife established a group for Family and Friends in West Lothian in 2015. His personal experiences have convinced him of the need to extend support for families and their key role in saving lives.

Dr Hunter has extensive experience in community pharmacy across Scotland and England. Since 2002 she has been employed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where she is the Lead Pharmacist for the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services with responsibility for planning , development and implementation of pharmaceutical services for drug and alcohol use. She was a member of the 2017 independent expert working group for the Drug Misuse and Dependence UK Guidelines on Clinical Management. In 2018 she was appointed to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

Alison Munro (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Drug Use Research at the University of Dundee (School of Health Sciences) and has over 20 years of experience in researching drug use and harms prevention. Alison currently leads a programme of research within the Drug Harms Prevention Research Group.