Our board
The board of The Lens is made up of a diverse range of skills and experience from the public, private and third sectors.
Francis Lake is the Chair of our board of trustees. He is the founder of Green Juniper Ltd, a people advisory consultancy built on two decades of experience in transforming the performance of people and organisations. Francis brings a combination of research, thought leadership and a hard focus on landing change in organisations to drive superior performance.
James is a public policy professional, focusing on economic development, working with the Scottish Government.
At present he is heading-up engagement and programme management on Scotland’s approach to Foreign Direct Investment. Prior to this James established and led the Scottish Government’s entrepreneurship agenda, pioneering an ecosystem approach to economic development and business creation & growth through Scotland CAN DO. This work ranged from involvement in creating initiatives like the Scottish EDGE Fund and Unlocking Ambition through to the aspirational platform of Scotland’s Enterprising Schools and to the Lens through which the value of the entrepreneurial approach is being shared with third sectors organisations.
Prior to this James has had a varied career in the Civil Service, with experience in HMRC and the DWP, and in roles ranging from large-scale operational management to strategy and from internal consultancy to European fisheries reform.
Since retiring from her academic post at Glasgow Caledonian University, Janice has worked as an independent consultant and trainer across the public and voluntary sectors.
Janice worked in social work for many years before moving into higher education, where she was a lecturer and latterly a senior lecturer in social work at Glasgow Caledonian University. She understands the operational pressures on social work services, and appreciates the substantial challenges that lie ahead, and the need for significant change. As a board member/trustee, she had experience of the Aberlour Edge programme and its impact on developing intrapreneurial skills within the staff group.
Jan Beattie joined The Lens' Board in 2023. Having formally worked for Alzheimer Scotland and the National Autistic Society, Jan brings a wealth of experience from across the third sector. She is now Professional Advisor to the Scottish Government and is passionate about building relationships to influence change and creating environments for people to flourish.