Aaron Hirtenstein
Aaron was a founder member of Agile Collective and helped develop CoTech.
He is currently providing finance and operational support to Open Food Network UK, a platform co-op.
Aaron is also the Community Lead for Open Digital Co-operative, a new multi-stakeholder co-op for councils and suppliers.
Brian Morgan
Through his mother, a trade unionist, Brian saw the power in truly working together. His own experiences and work in social care showed him that mutual aid is an effective way for people to live well together.
In social care, Brian noted some companies pretend to care but at heart are about profit. When he set up his own entity, Jangling Space, he made sure it was a co-operative so care was truly at its heart.
Since then, Brian has helped many groups and collectives consider co-operation as a business model, mainly in the cultural/arts sector. He co-researched and co-authored a NESTA report into cultural co-operatives in Scotland.
Brian graduated from the Barefoot course armed with tools & techniques to help build a wealth– and care–building community throughout Scotland.
Jaye Martin
Jaye is an experienced co-operative and community business adviser in governance, legal structures, co-operative organisational types, business planning, strategy, collaborative bidding, funding and investment opportunities, and signposting to support networks across Scotland. She’s also provides technical advice and input for briefing papers, webinars, case studies, training materials, policy and strategy.
Jaye has a background in corporate law, employee share schemes and equity investment, drawing on this to benefit community and co-operative businesses she supports. She’s a trustee on the board of Co-operative and Community Finance.
She has two young kids, likes exercise, reading and gardening. She was a hillwalker and mountaineer, pre-kids, and loves the Scottish hills with memorable adventures in the Alps, the Himalayas and Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Joanne Elston
Jo became interested in co-operatives when she first became involved with SHRUB Co-op, a multi-stakeholder co-operative promoting zero waste in Edinburgh. Jo was interested in the way that it felt to be a part of SHRUB compared to other more ‘traditional’ experiences up until that point.
After moving on from SHRUB in 2022, Jo did the Barefoot training course as well as training in Facilitation and Conflict Resilience with Navigate.
She is now working part time for South West Co-operative Development as a Co-operative Development Consultant where, as well as working with varied client groups, she has worked on updates to model rules.
Outside of work, Jo enjoys lino printing as a creative outlet and enjoys getting up into the hills when the weather allows it!
Louise Scott
Louise’s was first inspired by co-operatives volunteering with a women’s publishing collective in the 1980s. More recently, she’s had over 20 years hands-on experience in co-operatives including as a founder member of media co-op, as producer and general manager.
Louise is active in workers.coop, Co-Tech, is a former board member of Social Enterprise Scotland and represents co-ops on The Social Enterprise Code. She facilitates Glasgow’s monthly co-ops meet-up group.
She got her MBA while working at the European Commission in Brussels then went on to work as a consultant to public bodies and organisations in the UK and across Europe. She helped set up Europe’s first culture and heritage lobby organisation.
When not co-operating or volunteering, Louise is at her allotment, off on her bike or foraging and wild camping.
Martin Meteyard
Martin Meteyard has worked in and with a variety of co-ops for more than 40 years – starting off with 15 years at Greencity Wholefoods worker co-op, followed by a six-year stint as the Co-operative Group’s membership and community
affairs manager in Scotland, and more recently advising co-ops as a consultant for Co-operative Development Scotland, the Plunkett Foundation and others.
He has also been a passionate Fair Trade campaigner for most of that time, co-founding Equal Exchange UK, serving on the boards of Cafédirect and Zaytoun, and helping Scotland to achieve Fair Trade Nation status as chair of the Scottish
Fair Trade Forum.
When he can, he delights in making jam with fruit from his garden, and has accumulated far too many old books (mostly about co-ops!).
Mike Shaw
Mike is a co-founder of Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative (ESHC), the UK’s largest student co-op. He is a co-founder and, more recently, chair of Student Co-op Homes, a multi-stakeholder co-operative that exists to secure properties
for student housing co-operatives, and was involved with its community share issue. During his time at ESHC Mike became a director of Marchmont & Sciennes Development Trust and helped put together a community right-to-buy application.
Scott Erwin
Scott has worked at Greencity Wholefoods for over 25 years and is passionate about co-operatives and co-operative working. Scott also helped establish the Glasgow Fairtrade Co-op and was a Director of Kinning Park Complex for 9 years.
Tor Justad
Since 1994 Tor has run his own freelance business as a co-operative and social economy adviser, working both in the UK and overseas. He has been an adviser with Cooperative Development Scotland and the Plunkett Foundation as well as managing the Central Scotland Community Enterprise Support Unit.
His areas of expertise include effective governance, rural and island co-ops, co-op start-ups, co-op support and transnational study visits.
His voluntary roles include Chair of the Association of Community Enterprises in the Highlands & Islands (ACEHI) and Vice-chair of Highlands & Islands Community Energy Company (HICEC). He’s a Director of the Great Glen Energy Co-op.
He’s passionate about the potential for co-operative involvement in renewable energy. Tor is a keen coastal rower.