Meet the Team

Maree has over 20 years’ experience in the third sector, with 13 years as a charity leader. She joined Amma in 2022 following her role as CEO of the International Network of Street Papers, a Glasgow-based charity focused on poverty and homelessness.

During her time with Amma, Maree has co-chaired the Scottish Government’s Short Life Working Group on Racialised Health Inequalities in Maternity Care. She also sat on the development group for Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Maternity Care Standards, published in 2026.

Maree is a trustee of Voluntary Health Scotland (VHS), the national membership body for third sector organisations working to advance health equality across Scotland. She is also a Hunter Foundation Changemaker. She sometimes volunteers as a birth companion for Amma, having completed her training in 2022.

Comfort is a former Amma client. She was involved in many community projects in her home country and has experience of supporting vulnerable groups.

She is very passionate about giving back and is someone that others naturally migrate to. She has been involved with setting up the virtual peer groups within Amma and is a great advocate for our other clients.

Jenny is an experienced postpartum doula, breastfeeding counsellor and birth educator. She has extensive experience providing doula support to families from all walks of life and is committed to contributing to a fairer and safer landscape for all birthing people.

Jenny initially worked with Amma as a senior postnatal companion and mentor to the postnatal volunteers before taking on her current role as our Volunteer Manager.

Christelle is an experienced administrator and bookkeeper with a good financial background.

She has volunteered with the Scottish Refugee Council in Glasgow and has an extensive knowledge of the asylum process and realities asylum seekers face.

Christelle has been involved with Amma Birth Companions since 2019, starting as a volunteer before joining the staff team in 2021.

Louise has over 20 years of experience across the third sector and the NHS, with strong administrative expertise and a background in supporting families. An experienced group facilitator, she has delivered antenatal and postnatal groups for many years, and has extensive experience in infant feeding support, peer support training, and perinatal mental health.

She has chaired a maternity liaison committee, ensuring families’ voices were heard and driving service improvements.

Louise joined Amma as a volunteer in 2021 after moving to Glasgow with her Glaswegian husband, close to her three children who all live in Scotland. Outside of work, she is happiest in the water or lost in a creative project.

Lynn Gilgannon is the Peer Support Coordinator at Amma, bringing over 30 years of experience working with marginalised communities. With a background in community education and addiction, she believes deeply in the transformative space Amma offers and the vital role of peer supporters. Lynn loves meditation, cuddling babies, and her sphynx cats.

Linzi is one of our three Perinatal Team Leaders who look after our clients, leading small teams of volunteer birth and postnatal companions who provide care, information and advocacy to the people we support through pregnancy, birth and into early parenthood.

Linzi brings huge experience in birthwork to Amma: she studied Maternity Care at college, and has previously worked as a Perinatal Family Support Worker. Linzi is also a trained breastfeeding peer supporter and hypnobirthing teacher.  She lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children.

Leah joined the Amma team in September 2023 as the Peer Support and Learning Manager. She has an extensive background in social care where she worked with many groups of people from varying walks of life but all who faced marginalisation through disability, gender, trauma, race, poverty, addiction, and autism. Leah has a real passion for true inclusion, equity, and for learning.

She left her post as the Learning & Development Advisor after hearing about Amma and the work they do to support women’s rights and creating communities. Her aim is to empower new parents to create safe and nurturing environments to live and raise their children in.

Leah loves rural Scotland and spends her free time with her family and going on epic long walks with friends.

Swaathi is a communications and marketing professional with a background in journalism, PR, and strategic content. She currently works as Content and Marketing Officer at Amma, leading internal and external communications across a range of projects.

Her work is grounded in a belief that the right story, told well, changes things. She focuses particularly on the third sector, where accessible information and impactful narratives make a real difference. Outside work, she volunteers with third-sector organisations across Scotland and advocates for reproductive and disability rights.