QNIS Council
The QNIS Council has up to fifteen Trustees who meet quarterly to provide governance and direction on strategic, legal, financial, and operational issues. As ambassadors of QNIS, our Trustees help uphold its mission while ensuring compliance with Scottish charity law.
They also take collective responsibility for Council decisions and contribute to a shared sense of purpose in delivering the aims and objectives of the QNIS Constitution.
Erica Reid
Erica has served as a QNIS Trustee since June 2020 and was elected Vice Chair of Council in Spring 2022. She became Chair in August 2023.
Over a 37-year nursing career, Erica spent two decades providing direct patient care before progressing into senior leadership positions within both the NHS and the Scottish Government. She has played a pivotal role in shaping national policy and is the only nurse in Scotland to have been awarded the prestigious Institute of Healthcare Improvement and the Health Foundation Quality Improvement Fellowship. This enabled her to learn from global experts in healthcare improvement across North America and Europe. She studied Clinical Effectiveness at Harvard University and developed skills in leading community-based change at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
In addition to her clinical and strategic experience, Erica brings expertise in charity governance, public engagement, and executive coaching. With nearly four decades of work in healthcare leadership, delivery, and improvement across Scotland, she is deeply committed to building leadership capacity within the nursing profession.
Rhona Hotchkiss
A former prison governor, Rhona, a QNIS Associate Fellow, joined QNIS Council in August 2019. She was the Scottish Government’s first Director of the Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit. With 35 years of experience in the public sector in both health and criminal justice, firstly at practitioner level, then with the Scottish Government and laterally at Executive level, she has a good understanding of operational issues and governance arrangements from over 20 years of senior level experience. Rhona has a longstanding relationship with QNIS having been involved with the organisation in several capacities.
Jan Beattie
An experienced professional advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry, Jan joined QNIS Council in 20XX. Skilled in Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Organisational Development, and Business Process Improvement, she has strong business development expertise, having graduated from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement in Boston, USA.
Hazel Borland
Hazel joined QNIS Council in August 2022. She started in the NHS as a nursing auxiliary in 1984, going on to become a registered general nurse (RGN) in 1988. Hazel has held a number of clinical roles, most recently Nurse Director at both NHS Dumfries and Galloway and NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and Deputy Chief Executive at NHS Ayrshire & Arran. She was Interim Chief Executive for NHS Ayrshire & Arran, from June 2021 – January 2022, leading the organisation through a challenging time for patients, staff and families. Hazel retired from her leadership role in Ayrshire & Arran in March 2022. She is passionate about the profession and still proud to be a nurse after all these years.
Hazel is a Health Foundation Fellow, has an MSc in Leadership (Quality Improvement) and is an Honorary Professor at the School of Health and Nursing at the University of the West of Scotland. She also became Deputy Chair of Ayrshire Hospice in August 2023.
Mike Connor
Mike became a member of the QNIS Council in 2023, bringing with him over 35 years of experience in investment management. Throughout his career, he specialised in managing portfolios for a wide range of clients across the charitable, private, and public sectors.
Now retired, Mike offers valuable insight in his role at QNIS. His in-depth understanding of financial strategy makes him a key asset in liaising with our portfolio investment manager and supporting the work of the Finance and Risk Committee.
Nicky Connor
Nicky joined the QNIS Council in July 2018 and has over 25 years of experience in professional and leadership roles across health and social care. Driven by a passion for person-centred care, she has led and inspired teams to deliver meaningful change in communities throughout her career.
Her commitment to improving lives guided her through senior nursing leadership roles and into the position of Chief Officer and Director of Health and Social Care in Fife. Now serving as Chief Executive of NHS Tayside, Nicky has come full circle – she began her nursing career at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where her lifelong dedication to health and care first took root on the hospital’s medical wards.
Her diverse career spans acute care, including cardiology, as well as community nursing and health visiting. She has also led major initiatives focused on managing long-term conditions in community settings, bringing strategic insight and compassion to every role she undertakes.
Josie Murray
Josie joined the QNIS Council in 2017. With extensive experience in public health, epidemiology, and clinical leadership, she is currently a Wellcome Clinical Fellow in Multimorbidity at the University of St Andrews and serves as National Training Programme Director for Public Health at NHS Education for Scotland.
A Consultant in Public Health and Consultant Epidemiologist, Josie played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was the National lead for enhanced surveillance, a member of the COVID-19 National Incident Management Team, and an advisor to the Chief Medical Officer. She also co-led the inception and delivery of the EAVE-II project, which provided crucial data on COVID-19 vaccines – helping to demonstrate their effectiveness and inform decisions that brought lockdowns to an end.
Josie has contributed across the breadth of public health, including screening, healthcare public health, health improvement, health protection, research, education, and health intelligence. Her leadership spans the private, public, and third sectors. Starting her journey as a paediatric healthcare support worker in the community, Josie remains committed to the future of health and social care in Scotland – and to shaping what comes next.
Michael Stewart
Michael joined QNIS Council in 2022. He is currently Head of Litigation at the NHS Central Legal Office. He advises NHS Boards on a whole range of litigation issues, including negligence claims, interventions under mental health legislation, consent, incapacity, family health practitioner discipline, GDPR issues, organisational duty of candour and end-of-life decision-making.
Michael spent a decade sitting on the Children’s Panel. His experience of governance issues was first developed as Chair of the Parent Council at the School attended by his children. Later, he became increasingly aware of the importance of effective governance while overseeing the delivery of legal services to Health Boards involved in Public Inquiries.
Sian Tucker
Sian assumed her position on the QNIS Council in 2018 and brings a wealth of clinical and strategic experience to her role. She is Deputy Medical Director at National Services Scotland, which delivers critical services and expert advice to the NHS and the wider public sector.
Alongside her leadership responsibilities, Sian remains firmly grounded in frontline care. She continues to work as an Out of Hours GP in Edinburgh, providing care during evenings and weekends. For over five years, she has also served as a Primary Care Out of Hours Advisor to the Scottish Government.
Sian represents the Royal College of General Practitioners on both the UK and Scottish RCGP Councils, ensuring the voice of primary care is heard at national level.
David Williams
David was invited to join the QNIS Council team in 2018. He is Chief Executive of GMAC (Glasgow Media Access Centre), a charity dedicated to empowering underrepresented communities through film and storytelling – ‘Making Films; Changing Lives.’
With a lifelong career in the cultural sector, David has held roles with renowned organisations including Theatre Royal Stratford East, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, and the King’s Theatre & Theatre Royal Glasgow. He brings to the Council valuable expertise in organisational development and governance, along with a fresh and creative perspective shaped by his work in the arts.
Angie Wood
Angie, who joined QNIS Council in 2022, spent many years working in mental health community settings before moving to management within the newly formed HSCPs. Working in Aberdeenshire, she brought together teams from both health and social care to deliver placed-based integrated teams, focussed on improving outcomes for the people living in those communities. After 18 months as Interim Chief Officer in Aberdeenshire, Angie took up a role as Professional Advisor in Scottish Government before moving to her current Co-Director of Social Care and NCS Development role in November 2022.
Becoming a Trustee
QNIS Trustees work alongside staff to shape the future vision of our charity. If you are inspired to make a difference and would like to support our mission on a voluntary basis, you can check for any available opportunities.
Trustee opportunities