It is all change for the personnel at SOA
26 February 2024
It is all change for the personnel at the Scottish Obesity Alliance
After a fantastic two-years as the Chair of the Scottish Obesity Alliance (SOA), Shona Hilton, Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow, plans to steps down as Chair, stating:
“I was honoured to be asked to Chair the SOA and have been delighted to work so closely with so many wonderful member organisations. I would like to take this opportunity to convey my thanks to the team who helped support me, Marissa Smith, Caroline Vaczy, Ashleigh Kellerman and of course Lorraine Tulloch. Together, it has been a rewarding two-years and we have achieved great success in a number of important areas. I also want to thank all our members, for their dedication, engagement and hard work, it has been a pleasure to work with you all.” - Shona Hilton
Shona continued: " It seems an opportune moment to reflect on some of our key successes working in partnership with our members and external stakeholders. I am particularly proud of the co-produced video we developed as part of a research project with young people about their experiences of food marketing. The video captures the young people’s authentic voices and tells their story to decision makers of wanting more protection to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing. You can see this video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXgV4T8X7DQ
Other highlights include contributing to the Scottish Government’s 2022 consultation on restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt and facilitating a virtual conference for SOA members in November 2022. We also successfully hosted several webinars featuring a guest speakers and publishing numerous blogs on a variety of topics such as holiday food promotions and the inclusion of health-promoting policies as a component of the Scottish Government’s wellbeing economy."
SOA remains committed to continuing to work towards creating a Scotland which promotes health and wellbeing, and where healthy food and physical activity are easy, acceptable, affordable and sustainable for all.
Lorraine Tulloch, Programme Lead of Obesity Action Scotland hosted and administered the running of the SOA. Lorraine will be stepping down from her post at the end of February 2024 to take up a new position as Chief Executive of Greenspace Scotland.
Lorraine was instrumental in setting up SOA and has provided oversight and operational support throughout its existence. An excellent public health advocate and leading voice in working towards a healthy weight for Scotland’s population, her contribution helped ensure the success of SOA.
“Partnership working has been an important component of building support for the changes we need to see in the food environment. I would like to thank all the members for their engagement and enthusiasm. It has been a pleasure to work with them all and with Shona as chair.
I wish SOA all the best for its future as its work continues to be needed to protect the health of children in Scotland.” - Lorraine Tulloch
Earlier this year SOA Project Support Officer Ashleigh Kellerman completed her time with us and returned to the USA. Ashleigh was instrumental in delivering the day-to-day operations of the SOA and made a significant contribution in a short time.
This is a time of change in terms of personnel. Members will be kept informed about future working arrangements and the delivery of commitments to build on the youth advocacy work that took place last year and to ensure we continue to deliver on the priorities of the members.
The Scottish Obesity Alliance wishes Shona, Lorraine and Ashleigh the best of luck in their roles and remains committed to its goal of creating a healthier Scotland.