Council member

One of GDA’s founder members, Tressa has been Chief Executive Officer of Glasgow Disability Alliance since 2006, steering GDA from its fledgling vision of supporting disabled people’s voices and tackling social isolation in 2001, to the multi-award-winning community of 5000+ it is today.

Background

For over 25 years, Tressa has held senior leadership roles in third and public sector organisations developing people led, participatory programmes which build on disabled people’s strengths and capacity to participate and contribute to their own lives, communities and wider society. During the pandemic Tressa has provided strategic advice to Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, highlighting the supercharged inequalities created by COVID to ensure that pandemic responses do not leave disabled people behind. She was a member of the Scottish Government Social Renewal Advisory Board and Co-Chairs Glasgow Disability Workstream of the Glasgow Social Recovery Task Force, now integrated into Community Planning structures.

A disabled person herself, Tressa has expertise around participative democracy and equalities, particularly disability equality including the cumulative impact of multiple discrimination e.g. disabled women, disabled LGBT people. She is currently Deputy Chair of the Disability and Carers’ Benefits Expert Advisory Group, member of the National Strategic Group working on Participatory Budgeting and member of the National Care Service Programme Strategic Board.

Tressa holds an MA in Music & Philosophy and a postgraduate Diploma and Masters in Social Work with specialism in Community Development.