The Staff

Ethelinda Lashley-Scott has spent over two decades shaping Scotland’s creative and social impact landscape, bringing energy, passion, and a knack for making things happen. A former Curriculum Manager at Edinburgh College, she dedicated many years to Performing Arts Studio Scotland, helping students find their artistic voices while expertly juggling the demands of arts education that leads to employment opportunities.

Her dance journey began at London Contemporary Dance School, and in 1989, her career (and perhaps a touch of adventure) brought her to Scotland, where she joined Dundee Rep Dance Company (now Scottish Dance Theatre). Never one to stand still for long, she later founded Helter Skelter Dance Co., working as a freelance dance artist and choreographer with some of Scotland’s most inspiring theatre directors. Her work always centred on movement, expression, and ensuring the show went on, no matter the behind-the-scenes challenges.

Her passion for inclusive and socially engaged arts led her to work with Cutting Edge Theatre, an organisation dedicated to working with individuals with one or more protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. This reinforced her belief that the arts should be a space where everyone belongs, not just those who have traditionally had access to them. This project reaffirmed her belief that the arts are for everyone, with no exceptions.

In 2011, she earned an MA in Dance Theatre Practice from Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (accredited by John Moors University), expanding her research interests and commitment to using movement for storytelling, advocacy and healing and knowing there is always more to learn.

Beyond the stage, Ethelinda has played a key role in Scotland’s arts and education sectors. She sat on the Board of Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, and contributed to Advanced HE’s Anti-Racism Project, ensuring that diversity and equity remain at the forefront of discussions within Scottish Higher and Further Education. Ethelinda is completing her training with Education Scotland as an Anti-Racist Mentor and has just joined the Board of Ydance.

In January 2023, she stepped into the CEO role at Multi-Cultural Family Base (MCFB), a social work organisation dedicated to early intervention. MCFB works with children and families navigating significant life transitions such as starting school, moving to a new country, or processing loss and trauma. Under her leadership, the organisation champions equity, diversity, and inclusion, ensuring that all families, regardless of background, feel valued, supported, and empowered.

Alongside her leadership at MCFB, Ethelinda remains active in the performing arts and wellbeing sectors. A long-standing member of the Pilates Foundation, she still teaches in Edinburgh, balancing leadership with movement. She also launched the North Edinburgh Performing Arts Training (NEPAT) Project, designed to help young people (ages 17–24) access career pathways in the performing arts. Because if there’s one thing she knows, it’s that the arts can transform lives as it did hers. She is a full member of the Black Leadership Group, which is a not-for-profit company formerly known as the Black FE Leadership Group, established in November 2020, who envisions an anti-racist culture at the core of further education for both employees and students and wider society.

When she’s not advocating, teaching, or leading, Ethelinda enjoys volunteering, reading, cooking, gardening, and travelling. Throughout it all, she remains dedicated to creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and empowered—because real change happens when everyone gets a chance to take centre stage.

Beth is a qualified social worker who graduated in 2024. Her background mainly consists of working alongside children with additional support needs and adults with a range of complex needs. She has experience working internationally in both statutory Social Work contexts and community-based programmes. Beth is passionate about providing holistic support for children and young people which empowers them to achieve their full potential. She also loves to travel and learn about different cultures around the world. In her free time, Beth enjoys drawing, painting, reading, drinking coffee and fashion. Currently, she is a project worker with the 4-2-7 Project.

Carol is an experienced educator in early years and special needs who has dedicated over 25 years to supporting students with diverse learning needs. She specialises in providing personalised assistance to students with conditions such as visual impairments, ADHD, autism, Asperger’s syndrome, learning disabilities, and cerebral palsy.

Carol holds qualifications from the Scottish Qualifications Authority, a Master of Arts in Social Sciences, specialisations in Nutrition for Infants and Young Children, as well as a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education and a Diploma in Special Child Care Work. She has a deep understanding of complex family backgrounds, including experiences with parental illness, mental health, and immigration challenges. Her proactive approach to active listening and empathy allows her to identify and address not just the educational needs of her students but also any emotional or familial challenges they may face. Carol is skilled in early detection of issues and facilitating appropriate interventions, ensuring the holistic well-being of her students and their families.

Carol is also a strong advocate for team collaboration, having worked closely with various professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and educators. Her interests outside of work encompass drawing, playing the piano, cooking, photography, and travelling. Her commitment to supporting multicultural families is driven by her background as an ethnic minority in the UK, and she is determined to apply her expertise and talents to bring about a positive impact in their lives.

Elizabeth is the Business Operations Coordinator at MCFB. She supports her colleagues by managing the day to day 'business' running of the organisation as well as taking a strategic look at how to move the organisation forward into new spaces. She wears many hats; she helps to manage finances, conducts HR procedures such as staff and student induction, manages annual leave entitlement, promotes health and safety procedures, maintains the premises and supplies within, liaises with external suppliers, and supports the staff and students in various other ways, including emotionally! She also works as the social media and website admin and uses her graphic design skills to promote and market the organisation. Elizabeth heads up the Young Ambassadors project, which is for young people aged 12-16 from racialised backgrounds who are interested in advocating for anti-racism and positive change in the world.

Elizabeth started with MCFB as a befriending volunteer with the Safe Haven project, and a group worker for the 4 Corners project, which works to help children become successful learners and confident young adults. She then became the Office and Communications Manager and then helped shape this new role as the "BOC". As an aunt and a long-time volunteer with children across various ages, projects, and countries, Elizabeth has had great insight into how much children can change the world. 

Elizabeth moved to Edinburgh from the States in 2018 to do her Masters in comparative public policy, with a focus on migration. Her Masters dissertation at the University of Edinburgh (placement at Wits University, Johannesburg) was on Burkinabe migrants in Côte d'Ivoire and the challenges they face in accessing healthcare. Her social anthropology undergraduate thesis at Brown University was on refugee artists and how they create in interact with conceptions of place through their work. She hopes to start her PhD on a similar topic sometime in the near-ish future! Elizabeth sits on the Steering Committee of the Migration Health and Development Research Initiative (MHADRI), a global research network. She studied theatre for a few years as an undergraduate, and currently runs her own paper-cutting art business, which takes up a lot of her spare time! She acts as a graphic designer for several different projects globally, including for a fulltime software engineer. She is a devoted cat mum, and her beloved Vail is her ‘studio supervisor’, which really just means eating paper and chewing on the ends of pencils.

Hannah first came to MCFB as a student social worker in May 2019 and stayed on as a volunteer for the Mosaic Project. She is now runs MCFB's Junior Groups and is a co-facilitator of the Mosaic Project. From January 2020 she started working in the Footprints Project. Hannah is very passionate about working with children, young people and families and has an interest in inclusion. Previously she has worked in Early Years Education and Disability Services.  Other interests include arts and crafts, eating bread and looking at the moon. Four years after moving to Scotland from Northern Ireland, Hannah is still very excited to see Deer in the wild.

Heather is an experienced art therapist and an Early Years Project Worker.  She enjoys working with individuals and groups through creative approaches and is inspired by psycho-dynamic ideas.   She has also undertaken training in group analytic work.   She has a highly infectious sense of humour and likes charity shops. Currently she is supervising an Art Therapy student from Queen Margaret University,who is based at MCFB for two days a week.

Isabelle is a qualified Social Worker and joined MCFB in 2013, working within the Early Years Service, after spending several years in a local Children and Families Practice Team. She is also a Practice Educator, supervising social work students on placement. Prior to embarking on her social work journey, Isabelle graduated in Social Anthropology and worked with the Scottish Refugee Council.

Within the Early Years Service, Isabelle's practice focuses on infant mental health. She is fascinated by the richness of parent/infant relationships within a cross-cultural context, infants' communication, and the potential for growth and mutual understanding. She is a qualified Infant Massage Instructor, and a Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO) practitioner. Isabelle completed in 2023 a MSc in Psychoanalytic Observation and Reflective Practice: Therapeutic Work with children and young people, with Human Development Scotland/Strathclyde University.

Isabelle moved to Scotland from Quebec, the francophone part of Canada, in 2000. She loves cycling, cooking anything Ottolenghi-inspired, watching subtitled films, and taking her family on travelling adventures. 

Hi, my name is Maddie! I am Sri Lankan and Italian and I have lived in Edinburgh since 2020. I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy and have experience offering therapeutic services to children, teens and adults. I started my journey as a school counsellor in Wester Hailes, where I encouraged young people to express themselves freely by offering a nurturing, creative and judgement-free environment. I am also trained in play therapy. 

I was also a trainee therapist on placement at the Health Agency and at VOCAL in Leith, where I supported unpaid carers by empowering them to explore their unique feelings and experiences, as well as coping mechanisms and mindfulness techniques. I am passionate about offering support to children and young adults who have neurodivergent and additional support needs.

I am excited about joining MCFB as a worker on the 4 Corners project! I believe in the healing power of community and learning about different cultures together.

In my spare time I love writing and performing stand-up comedy, drawing silly comics, cooking delicious meals, reading romance novels and going to karaoke.

Originally from Syria - I came to Scotland in 2020 after living in Greece and Germany. I am passionate about supporting refugees like myself and have worked providing legal info on Europe's borders in Greece and in Calais and I have supported Arabic and Kurdish speaking kids in Schools here in Edinburgh. 

 Recently I have completed an HNC in counselling. I have seen how vital it is to help people fleeing war and trauma to talk about their experiences. It is so important to let the pain out to make room for happiness.

 My mother tongues are Kurdish Kurmanji and Arabic. I also speak Kurdish Sorani. In my spare time I love playing with my two year old daughter and inviting friends over for delicious Syrian brunches and BBQs.

Nurul Batrisyia is a Malaysian who’s recently moved to Edinburgh for higher education. She holds a BSc in Psychology (Hons), and has just graduated from  the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in Global Mental Health and Society. Throughout her postgraduate studies, she has greatly emphasised the importance and urgency of systemic change for collective liberation, notably through her thesis: “The Olive Branches Beyond Borders: A Poetic Inquiry on Decolonising Resilience in Palestine and Rwanda”. 

Her interests and on-the-ground experiences span widely across different communities and social issues, which can be seen from her vast volunteer work and professional experience as a community-based project worker, community care worker, and co-facilitator for humanitarian training programs. From Malaysia, to Vietnam, Egypt and now Edinburgh, Nurul has engaged with refugees, victims of abuse and natural disasters, Indigenous groups, disabled kids and elderlies, low-income mothers etc. Through all of this, she is most significantly determined to further explore knowledge and practices that are rooted in decolonial and participatory approaches, in order to champion Indigenous and community-driven values. So far, Nurul has co-produced a community Arts program under the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Rohingya refugee women, as well a Psychological First Aid training program with low-income mothers in Kuala Lumpur. As part of her own initiatives, she has also pioneered an Arts for Wellbeing and Equality (AWE) program to encourage Malaysian communities’ discourse and practices of mental wellbeing in ways that transcend communication, socioeconomic and cultural barriers— which were explored through various mediums of art.

Outside of work and academia, Nurul spends her time reading and writing poetry (she is now finishing up a manuscript on self and collective liberation inspired by Sufi poetry). She also enjoys babysitting her friends’ kids (they bake, play music, learn the Qur’an, do arts and crafts, exercise and more on a weekly basis), and to wind down, Nurul is mostly found immersed in nature.