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John Thorburn - Chair of Board
Community activist and champion John Thorburn has been the Chair of the Board of ng homes since 2017 and boasts over 14 years of experience campaigning in the social housing sector.
After joining the Board in 2004 as a Board Member, John utilised his 27 years of experience in the Civil Service and exemplified his value to the Association as the Board Treasurer. John’s history in the Civil Service dealt primarily with contract management, specialising in the purchase of energy and dealing with contractors directly.
John became Vice Chair of the Organisation in 2016, before becoming Chair in the October of 2017.
John has also sat on a variety of Boards in his home City of Glasgow including those of Glasgow City Council and the Community Planning Partnership for Springburn and Robroyston. He also sits on the Executive Committee, Staffing Sub-Committee, Audit Sub-Committee and ng property Board. He remains dedicated to improving the lives of those living in the North Glasgow community.
Richard Porter MBE - Vice Chair of Board
Richard Porter has been an ng homes Board Member since 2013 and Vice Chair of the Board since 2017. He has played a key role in the development of the both the Association and North Glasgow. His work in Community Choices, an initiative which looks to put the power back in the hands of local people, has been a huge success in North Glasgow, with Richard facilitating the Your Voice Young Choice initiative in 2017 which received £60,000 grant funding from the Scottish Government. Richard has also chaired the Glasgow Parent Council Forum, attended the Glasgow City Council, ‘Children and Families Committee’ and was Deputy Glasgow representative for the National Parent Forum of Scotland, all the while maintaining a demanding Civil Service Role. His commitment to the North Glasgow community saw him receive the Community Champion award from Partick Thistle Football Club in May 2017. Richard is also the Chair of Springburn Academy Parent Council.
Richard has played a key role in supporting young people in North Glasgow to explore the development of a Youth Forum/Board to give them a “voice” and an opportunity to be further involved in the community.
Richard sits on the Executive Committee, Staffing Sub-Committee, ng2 Board and is Co-Chair of the Regeneration Sub-Committee and Chair of the Audit-Sub-Committee.
Jim Berrington - Board Secretary
Jim Berrington worked as a concierge with Glasgow City Council and ng homes before voluntarily finishing up his employment 7 years ago. From there, Jim always wanted to know what things were like from an employer perspective, rather than from an employee’s. He believed he could put something in as an ex-employee of the Association. Originally joining the Area Committee in 2015, Jim has been on the Board since 2015 and has held the position of Board Secretary since October 2018.
Since Jim has been at the Association he has already overseen the renewal of MSF claddings, the refurbishment of Broadholm St and the expansion of ng2. He is driven for all of this and more to continue. Jim has spent time on the Boards of Glasgow Disability Alliance and Inclusion Scotland and is now a member of the People’s Forum for Epilepsy Connections.
He has ambitions to be a long-term member of the Board and is a champion of diversity and inclusion across the Association. Jim also sits on the Regeneration Sub-Committee, the ng property Board, the Executive Committee, the Staffing Sub-Committee, and is Vice Chair of the Audit Sub-Committee and Area Committee.
Allan Gow (Councillor)
Allan Gow had a long career in local government and policing finance prior to entering politics. He is a Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Chartered Public Finance & Accountancy body CiPFA. He was elected SNP Councillor for Canal Ward in May 2017, and became the first SNP City Treasurer to pass a budget in Glasgow.
Born in Possilpark, Allan was appointed to the ng homes board by Glasgow City Council as their representative in 2017.
His role at ng homes is to assist the board with strategy, ensuring good governance and that tenant and Council interests are represented.
Allan has overseen property development and strategic planning for future growth, investment in fire safety and community engagement during his time on the Board, but also fulfils a visionary role. He is passionate about the future of North Glasgow and making a difference to it, and firmly believes snow is the region’s time.
Isabella Cross
Isabella Cross prides herself on her pioneering role in many initiatives that are prevalent today. From food collections to pensioners’ dinners, to furniture reuse and bike and tool hire, Isabella played a key role in these initiatives in 1970s Ruchill. It was here she first got involved with social housing.
In 1992, she moved to the Carron scheme and after the Chairperson role became available, she was ushered into it because of her experience. During this time Isabella worked closely with others to make the area flourish. Her experience has been invaluable since she joined ng homes after a stock transfer in 2002.
She has overseen the development of some of the most challenging areas in North Glasgow and continues to attend and support local community events beyond her role on the Board. A firm believer in the housing process, she is determined to help ng homes have a lasting impact on people’s lives.
Isabella also sits on the Audit Sub-Committee, the ng2 Board, the Regeneration Sub-Committee and the Area Committee.
Gino Satti
Civil Servant Gino Satti has a wide array of public sector experience, including several years working in day-care for the elderly and those with a diagnosis of dementia. He has over 30 years experience in voluntary third sector work including time with the Children’s Hearing Service as a Panel Member, an Authority Chairperson and Safeguarder. He has also spent time as a Lay Member Inspector for her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education for primary, secondary and special needs schools. He was involved in a Council run Community Grant Scheme, serving as the Chairperson for six years. He has spent a number of years as a Board Member with Addaction Scotland and is currently a Trustee with the organisation Generations Working Together.
He brings invaluable knowledge, experience and dedication to the ng homes Board and has been with us in his current capacity since 2016. Gino also sits on our Executive Committee, Staffing Sub-Committee, ng2 Board, ng property Board and is Co-Chair of our Regeneration Sub-Committee. Gino is also the Chair of ng2.
Gino is determined to deliver ng homes vision of a community where people can flourish and prosper in all areas and for all people in the community.
Margaret Thomson
Margret Thomson has been an active and positive member of the North Glasgow community for the vast majority of her adult life. With over 50 years of experience as a community activist, her commitment to the area has been recognised time and again through awards. Whilst working as a machinist, this passionate woman served as a shop steward and championed workers’ rights. After she retired she then voluntarily ran a tearoom and bingo hall for 20 years, before joining Carron Tenants’ Association.
Following a stock transfer to ng homes in 2002, she joined our Board. Margaret also sits on our Area Committee, Regeneration Sub-Committee , ng property Board and Audit-Sub- Committee and she is the Vice Chair of subsidiary ng2. She has been recognised through the awards listed below. A proud North Glasgow resident, the brave Margaret is willing to put her neck on the line and speak out whenever she feels it is right. She continues to put an immense amount of time and effort in to the North Glasgow community.
Awards: International participation award – TIS, TPAS Award, Firhill Community Champion, Mary Barbour Award nomination.
Matilda Dow
Matilda Dow is a ng homes Board member and joined after a stock transfer in 2014. Matilda also sits on ng homes' Area Committee, Audit Sub-Committee, ng2 Board and Regeneration Sub-Committee.
John Macleod
John Macleod is one of the newest members of the ng Board but his role and experience are already proving invaluable. John is the Chair of the Balgrayhill Forum and played a key role in the dissemination of important information to our MSFs in the wake of the Grenfell Tower Tragedy. Such was his impact and role in Balgrayhill he was invited to join the Board by the Association. A Springburn resident for over 50 years, John has worked closely with a variety of Housing Groups during his time here. He has always had a positive, progressive relationship with ng homes.
John is eager to see what he can bring to the Board and has been observing the inner workings of it since he joined in 2018. He sees his role at the Association in working out ways to get more people involved in tenant participation and decisions about their homes.
Robert Maguire
Robert Maguire, Ph.B., LL.B., D.Prof. is retired and has been on the Board of ng homes since 2016. He enjoys taking part in other activities that were not always practicable prior to retirement.
For many years, he was a Projects Manager, working with Local (including NGHA), National, European and International Partners on a wide range of publicly and privately funded projects. These were mostly concerned with regeneration, engineering restoration, training, ICT, social inclusion and marine based projects.
He was also a law lecturer (tertiary education) and author of several law teaching packs, a practitioner and training consultant for commercial and public agencies (specialising in contract law, contract management, purchasing/procurement). During the 1980s he undertook research into asbestos induced diseases for Thompson Solicitors, primarily in connection with the shipbuilding, engineering and merchant shipping industries.
This legal background and interest are invaluable to the Association in our quest to transform working and living in North Glasgow. Robert also sits on our Regeneration Sub-Committee.
Catherine Rossine
Catherine Rossine has worked primarily in the business world in office administration, bringing to the Board experience in accountancy, architecture, legal offices and property management.
She has been a Board Member since 1995 and joined the Board to improve local housing and the environment.
As a Board Member, Catherine sees her role as ensuring the Association adheres to its principles and policies. She has overseen the awarding of Investors in People (Gold) Awards and the Customer Service Excellence Award, putting these down to the hard work of staff.
Her skills in administration and motivation are highly valuable to the Association as a whole and Catherine will play a big part our group’s future.
Catherine remains committed to making a positive difference in North Glasgow, starting by supporting the staff and tenants of ng homes.
Catherine also sits on the Executive Committee, Staffing Sub-Committee, Area Committee and is the Chair of ng property Board.
Allan Murphy
Allan has worked in the Housing sector for over 30 years and is presently the Chief Executive Officer at Dunbritton Housing Association. He previously worked at a national housing association as Area Manager for the West of Scotland, providing housing & support services to over 2000 clients. Prior to this he was based at the Hamish Allan Centre and specialised in services for homeless people across the city of Glasgow. His qualifications include a Postgraduate Diploma in Housing Studies from Glasgow University, HNC in Business Studies and an SVQ Level 4 in Health & Social Care and he is a Chartered Member of Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) (Scotland). While studying the Diploma in Housing Studies he was awarded the CIH ‘Malcolm Smith Award’ for his housing dissertation. He was a Board member of Melville Housing Association from 2011 until 2018. Allan joined the ng homes Board in 2018 and also sits on the Staffing Sub-Committee.
If you would like to know more about what the Board's responsibilities are, visit our Governance page.
