David Kendall
“Dave Kendall is the current chair and has been since the charity formed in 2018. He has recently retired (end of May 2025) after more than 5 years in the role of Chief Officer at the Church of Scotland, one of Scotland’s largest charitable organisations which is navigating through a time of major change. Prior to this he was the Director of Programmes in a Research Centre at the University of Strathclyde for 2 years after 37 years in the electricity supply industry where he held a wide range of senior operational and head office roles. Dave loves to be in jobs or voluntary roles where he can make a difference and thrives on challenges. He is fully committed to the voluntary role he continues to hold at Skills Exchange and is also involved in his local Church as both an elder and worship leader.
He brings significant experience to the Trustee Board in the areas of people management, finance, leadership, fund raising, academic/charitable organisations, operations, networking, training and delivery of commitments.
Dave is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry having graduated as a Chemist before moving into engineering and senior management”.
John Bryers
I’ve recently retired from the nuclear Energy sector after 34 years
I was recognised as an industry expert in radioactive waste management and power station decommissioning and was adviser to governments north and south of the border in these areas and sat on a number of govt advisory committees.
I held a variety of leadership and senior management positions over 3 decades. – I’ve formed and lead large multi disciplinary teams and multi million pound projects.
I was for several years responsible for the strategy and management of a nuclear, liabilities portfolio of 24 billion pounds.
I’m a chartered engineer with an Honours – degree in chemical and process engineering I also have a Masters in Business Administration.
My skill set is: Leadership, project management, financial and provisioning planning, strategy development, business optimisation, training and mentoring.
I’m delighted to be a trustee and keen to actively contribute to skills exchange and make an impact.
Lyndsey Gaja
Lyndsey previously worked with Skills Exchange SCIO as an employer hosting work placements and was delighted to join the Board as a Trustee in June 2019.
She is passionate about supporting and empowering people to reach their full potential and has seen first hand the positive impacts Skills Exchange has on the clients it works with.
Lyndsey brings over 15 years HR and Learning Experience to her Trustee role.
Helen Dunlop
I trained initially as a teacher of Home Economics and subsequently undertook the additional qualification in (what was then called) special educational needs. Over a period of 35 years, I worked in psychiatric hospitals, a Social Work service for individuals with physical disabilities, 2 FE Colleges and a residential Special School.
In 2017 I stopped working in the formal education sector.
Consequently, when I saw the Skills Exchange advert for Board Members I recognised a way in which I could still contribute to educational provision that has the potential to change and improve learners’ lives.
Nowadays, in addition to my Board activity, I run sewing tutorial groups and do bridal alterations.
Louise Stewart
Louise is a Director at WithYou, a drug and alcohol charity, where she oversees the operational delivery of frontline services across Scotland and the North East of England.
With 25 years’ experience in the third sector, Louise is an experienced charity trustee and a strong advocate for delivering high-quality, responsive services that make a tangible difference in people’s lives. She leads on innovation, collaboration, and partnership approaches, creating pathways across multiple service areas. A lifelong South Lanarkshire resident and mum of four, Louise is deeply passionate about equity of access and opportunity for all..
Elaine Connelly
Elaine joins us as an experienced Operations and Business Development Manager with over 20 years’ experience leading teams, securing funding, and delivering innovative training and employability programmes across the public, private, and third sectors.
Earlier in her career, she served as a Mentor for The Prince’s Trust and as a Community Choreographer, using creative arts to engage and inspire young people. Elaine holds a BA in Business Management alongside professional qualifications in Education & Training, Internal Quality Assurance, and Assessing Competence in the Workplace. She’s passionate about developing talent, creating opportunities, and supporting organisations to achieve operational excellence..