Alan Brown has been appointed to succeed Vanessa Spiller as Chair of the Equality Working Group.
Alan has a 33 year career in education including most recently as Director of Education until December 2017 and prior to that Deputy Director, Headteacher of Oakvale School, Headteacher at Le Rondin School and Centre and Headteacher of Le Murier School. Before moving to Guernsey, he was a teacher in the Midlands in mainstream and special schools.
Alan has worked with children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities and their families over many decades. He is passionate about inclusion and equality issues. Alan commented “I am excited to be appointed to the role of chair of the Equality Working Group. I look forward to working with the highly committed and professional representatives from across the Guernsey community as we strive to promote and develop further the equality agenda throughout the Bailiwick.”
The Equality Working Group also welcomes a new Vice Chair, Natasha Newell. Natasha is a barrister at Mourant Ozannes. She has extensive experience in dealing with equality issues, having practised as an employment specialist in a leading set of London barristers’ Chambers for over a decade. She was also Chambers’ equal opportunities officer during that time. Natasha is an expert in European and International Human Rights and holds a postgraduate diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She was a legal adviser to the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture and volunteered for Amnesty International for many years. Natasha is currently Chair of the Housing Appeals Tribunal. Natasha is keen to help improve equality rights on the island.
Karen Blanchford, Founding Member of the Equality Working Group commented:
“We warmly welcome Alan and Natasha to the Equality Working Group committee and look forward to utilising their experience and energy to progress the broad equality agenda in Guernsey. This is especially timely as legislation and the Equality Rights Organisation (ERO) are at such a critical stage and have the resources and the right prioritisation attached to them to progress these key projects”
