Eileen grew up in the industrial North East of England and has always had a keen interest in working for equality of opportunity. After gaining University degrees in London and New York she returned to Manchester and trained in Social Work.
Together with her husband she then moved to Glasgow where she worked for 24 years in Social Work, mainly in some of the most deprived areas of the City including Cambuslang, Royston, Glasgow North East and Easterhouse, as well as several years in headquarters posts. This, along with attending the same church in Castlemilk for over 30 years, has given her a wealth of experience and understanding of what works and what does not work in urban priority areas.
On leaving Social Work at the end of 2000 she then worked voluntarily as the coordinator of Castlemilk Churches Together Refugee Centre. The Centre closed when the local high flats were to be demolished having run successfully for 5 years. She and her husband loved their work with asylum seekers and remain involved in supporting refugees and asylum seekers in various areas of Glasgow including Sighthill.
Eileen was elected to South Lanarkshire Council in May 2007 and has enjoyed the new challenges this has presented. As the Council is a minority Labour administration this gave her the opportunity to be Deputy Chair of the Social Work Committee and Chair of the local Integrated Children’s Services Group, whilst remaining an opposition Councillor. She has been involved in several successful local campaigns, most notably working with local parents to obtain a unit in a local primary school for children with autistic spectrum disorder. She is also part of the Steering Group which is well on the way to establishing Rutherglen and Cambuslang as Fair Trade Towns.
