Governance and Accounts

Jim Conway – Chair

Jim is now in his fifth year in the role. He has served on the Board in two separate periods, previously contributing nine years before stepping down during the COVID restrictions to focus on caring responsibilities at home.

Married for over 40 years, Jim has four daughters, two of whom have severe and complex needs.

With a background in finance, he retired early to help care for his daughters.

His lived experience as an unpaid carer strongly shapes his commitment to supporting carers across East Lothian.

Dorothy Bartholomew

Dorothy is a retired teacher, who decided to retire over 10 years ago from being the Headteacher of one of East Lothian’s secondary schools. She had wanted to travel more extensively, but the disability of her husband put paid to these dreams, and she found herself propelled into a full time caring role. Dorothy was totally unprepared for the challenges which came with that role and, fortunately for both her and her husband, she was given the number for CoEL. Dorothy explains that it took a bit of courage to phone, but many tears, tantrums and 3 years later, she feels that she is a better carer and in a much better position, mentally and socially, because of that contact. In 2024, Dorothy joined the Carers Panel to try and help with their mission of supporting all carers in East Lothian. 

Dorothy was proud to become a member of the CoEL Board of Trustees in 2025.

Jackie Tagg 

Jackie has over 20 years’ experience working in the industrial welfare sector – providing health and social/emotional care to employees in a variety of settings. The death of her brother and subsequent move of her elderly parents to live in North Berwick near her, prompted a change of life. At first, she worked part time locally [you may recognise her from the Westgate Gallery and the Harbour Office] but then became a full-time carer for her parents at home.

Now on her own she has joined the board of CoEL, an organisation that helped her navigate the difficulties that a caring role brings.

Jackie is also a volunteer driver for the North Berwick Volunteer Car Scheme and regularly makes soup for The Beacon lunch club in St Andrew Blackadder.

In her spare time, she loves meeting friends for gentle walks and lunch or a cuppa of course. It took her a year of mourning before Jackie felt able to enjoy getting out and about again.

Jackie joined the board in 2025, looking forward to contributing in some small way to helping CoEL go from strength to strength.

Ashley Galloway

Ashley has a professional background in health and social care, with experience in change management and delivering high quality, person- centred services. She is passionate about social justice and committed to amplifying issues that are often overlooked or under-presented in society.

Alongside her professional experience, she brings lived experience as a carer. She understands first- hand the impact caring responsibilities can have on individuals and families, including the emotional toll and the challenges of navigating complex and unfamiliar services. This perspective strongly informs her approach and motivation to contribute meaningfully to the CoEL board. 

Ashely lives in East Lothian with her family and enjoys spending time along the beautiful coastline.