Who we are
Leona Glennie
Registrar for The Scottish Register
Hi there, my name is Leona Glennie, my sign name is “Leona” (demonstrates). I am profoundly Deaf, have Ushers, and grew up communicating through British Sign Language.
I am originally from Aberdeen, and was up in the north east of Scotland, before moving down to Central Region. I have been working with Deaf and deafblind communities for over 12 years. During this time, I have worked in various places doing similar admin roles, and I am now working at the Scottish Register.
I was previously involved with the NAG (National Advisory Group), where we collaborated on the BSL Act, to ensure full access for all Deaf and deafblind BSL users.
I have an amazing guide dog, his name is Storm, sign name “Storm” (demonstrates). He is a crossbreed between a black Lab and Golden Retriever. He’s a beautiful boy, very friendly and loves to meet people, but he is also a wee bit cheeky!
Board members
Mags Greig
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Mags has worked in the Deaf sector for over thirty years, first of all as a residential child care worker, then as a manager, and now as a freelance BSL/ English interpreter. She is also a qualified social worker and holds her SQA Award in Leadership and Management in Care Services. Mags works part time as an SVQ Workplace Assessor for Health and Social Care. Mags joined SASLI in 1997 and has been involved with the Board of Trustees since 2015, becoming Chair in 2017.
Lesley Crerar
Member of the Board of Trustees
Lesley is a freelance BSL Interpreter with almost 20years experience. She is based in Aberdeenshire, lives with her husband Fraser and 17year old cat Macey. Her background is in healthcare having spent 25years as a registered Psychiatric nurse. She previously served as chair of SASLI and is passionate about raising standards in Scottish interpreting, she is very proud to be a Scottish interpreter and delighted to be on the Board of SRLPDC.
Iain Ferguson
Member of the Board of Trustees
Iain has a long and ongoing career in the media working as a photographer and journalist in newspapers, on radio, television, in media relations for various companies and for a Member of Parliament. As a major part of his everyday work is communicating with people, he feels that no-one should be excluded for any reason. He has been a founder member of two Talking Newspapers, Community Radio stations and serves on the board and as Trustee of various charities. He has also been the Chairman of a Sensory Care charity which provided support and service mainly to people with hearing impairment, but also to those with visual impairment. All of these posts have been entirely voluntary.
Alison Hendry
Member of the Board of Trustees
Hello, my name is Alison Hendry. I am profoundly Deaf and use BSL, and I am very excited to be involved with SRLPDC as one of their Trustees.
I grew up in Glasgow before moving to Edinburgh around 10 years ago, and I currently work as “Student Advisor” for Edinburgh University. I recently took up this position, but prior to that my role was “BSL Development Officer”, to oversee the first BSL plan at the University, to ensure there is more access for those who use BSL. Previous to this I had worked for various Deaf organisations, and now I am so pleased to be associated with SRLPDC.
I have been involved with interpreters for many years and have always firmly supported them. I also support Deaf and deafblind communities, making sure that the interpreter relationship with them remains strong.
I have a black dog called “Gerry”, he is a working dog, also known as a hearing dog for deaf people and he is fast asleep beside me here! I am really looking forward to what the future will bring working with SRLPDC.
Brooke Becker Blake
Member of the Board of Trustees
Brooke is originally from Texas, USA where she became certified as an American Sign Language interpreter in 2016. Brooke, her husband, and their border collie moved to Scotland in 2022, and currently reside in Aberdeenshire. She is honoured to be a part of the Board of SRLPDC and looks forward to learning more about Scotland, and the BSL community as a whole.