Marieke Dwarshuis graduated in Law from Utrecht University in The Netherlands, and her career in Scotland spans 30 years in the public and voluntary sector in a wide range of roles. She was director of Consumer Focus Scotland, and a member of the team that established the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. She has held positions in the Scottish Government, where amongst other things she worked on Access to Justice issues, prior to which she was depute director at Shelter Scotland.

Marieke started her career in Scotland at Citizens Advice Scotland. She was a member of the board of Hillcrest Housing Association for a number of years. Marieke brings expertise in regulation, in corporate governance and in leading and overseeing organisational change.

Lindsay Paterson is a practising Scottish solicitor who has spent her career assisting vulnerable people with various aspects of social welfare law. Lindsay is currently the head of the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Civil Legal Assistance (CLAO) in Edinburgh where, as well as being responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Edinburgh office, she advises and represents tenants and those experiencing homelessness with various aspects of housing law.

Prior to moving to Edinburgh, Lindsay worked for CLAO in Inverness where her role involved travelling throughout the Highlands and Islands to assist and represent people with civil legal problems – again with a particular focus on housing law.

George Walker, chair of the Scottish Housing Regulator, said: “I am delighted to welcome Marieke and Lindsay to our board. They are both talented and skilled women, who bring a wealth of skills and experience from across the legal, public, regulatory and voluntary sectors. I look forward to working with them both. 

“We had a really positive response to Scottish Minister’s recruitment campaign. I would like to thank everyone interested in our work and also all our stakeholders who helped to promote the opportunities.”

The appointments will be for four years and will run from 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2025.