Welcome
Dear Applicant,
I joined the Board almost 4 years ago having seen the difference UpMo was making to the lives of adults with learning disability and autism across the Lothians. It was different to what I saw within the sector, it was fresh, it was innovative, it adopted a different approach, it saw each individual students’ hidden potential and set about to bring it out.
I also saw a glimpse of the potential UpMo held to further develop, strengthen and expand that opportunity to others. And that couldn’t be truer today as we look to strengthen the Board of Trustees at this pivotal time as we re-design and provide innovative support and opportunity for and with our students.
2020 has been a crucial year for the organisation as we continue to grapple with the global pandemic and resulting implications for the organisation. We welcomed in a new Chief Executive to follow on from our visionary founder who established and led UpMo for over 13 years. With a bold new vision in place of creating our new student campus in Leith and developing our ’curriculum for dignity’, this is a truly exciting and meaningful time to join the Board of this special organisation. Supporting over 160 students, with a workforce of over 70 staff operating within a turnover of over £2m, we have bold ambitions and can provide future Trustees with the opportunity of influencing true transformational change.
I invite you to join us on this journey, to play your part in ensuring that adults with learning disability and autism have the opportunity to develop their potential and to play an equal and rewarding role in their communities.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Eric Mitchell
Chair of the Board
Upward Mobility
I joined the UpMo Board of Trustees five years ago for exactly the same reasons stated in both the advert and our Chairmans text. UpMo is organisation with a focus on providing support and opportunity - in that order, as with the right support and encouragement opportunities follow - for our students. Dignity and respect is at the centre of everything that UpMo stands for. I know- I am a parent. I am also a fellow Founder of another organisation and so know the courage and spirit it takes to implement a bold vision. Finally, I am a journalist and writer and will continue to create awareness about the vital existence of such a wonderful organisation as UpMo.
Sophie Dow
Edinburgh October 2020