Former Director of Education takes on island equality role

Tuesday 20 March 2018

A new Chair of the Equality Working Group has been appointed to succeed Vanessa Spiller who is leaving the post.

Alan Brown; who has a 33 year career in education, including most recently being Director of Education, will be taking on the role.

The Organisation itself was established in 2016 to help accelerate the equality agenda in Guernsey. It has since pushed to ensure equality legislation is seen as a States priority and to promote equality across the Bailiwick, while providing input in to new policies.

Mr Brown has a keen interest in inclusion and equality issues, as he was previously the Headteacher of Oakvale School, Le Rondin School and Centre and Le Murier School.

Before moving to Guernsey, Mr Brown was a teacher in the Midlands in mainstream and special schools. All of this experience combined means he has worked with children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities and their families over many decades. 

“I am excited to be appointed to the role of chair of the Equality Working Group," Mr Brown said.

"I look forward to working with the highly committed and professional representatives from across the Guernsey community as we strive to promote and develop further the equality agenda throughout the Bailiwick.”

The Equality Working Group also welcomes a new Vice Chair, Natasha Newell.

As a barrister at Mourant Ozannes she has extensive experience in dealing with equality issues, having practised as an employment specialist at a leading set of London barristers’ Chambers for more than a decade. She was also Chambers’ equal opportunities officer during that time.

Karen Blanchford, Founding Member of the Equality Working Group said: “We warmly welcome Alan and Natasha to the Equality Working Group committee and look forward to utilising their experience and energy to progress the broad equality agenda in Guernsey.

"This is especially timely as legislation and the Equality Rights Organisation (ERO) are at such a critical stage and have the resources and the right prioritisation attached to them to progress these key projects."