Micheline Brannan
Co-Chairperson
Micheline Brannan was a career civil servant in the Scottish Government from 1976 to 2007 working mainly on Justice and Equality issues. In 2008 after retirement she retrained as a nurse and subsequently worked in the NHS for 4 years.
Micheline is Vice-Chair of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and editor of the Edinburgh Star, the magazine for the Edinburgh Jewish Community. She has a special interest in India and in Israel.
Rajnish Singh
Co-Chairperson
President, Edinburgh Diwali
Rajnish Singh is an MBA with more than 25 years of professional experience in IT industry. A British citizen of Indian origin based in Edinburgh since 1999.
He has been active in Community engagements since 2002. He is one of the founder members of Edinburgh Diwali, a registered Scottish Charity, and currently its President since 2020. Also, one of the patrons of Scottish Indian Arts Forum where he was the President 2016–2020, and on the board of ELREC, Edinburgh Mela and Bihari Community of Scotland. In the past he served as Secretary of Edinburgh Hindu Mandir and Cultural Centre 2013–2016
Huda Alarishi
Vice-Chairperson
Huda Alarishi has degrees in Business Administration and Software Engineering, and MSc in Managing IT Innovation, from Glasgow Caledonian University. She was been working in voluntary sector in the UK for over 17 years. She is currently chairperson of the Scottish Arab Women Association (SAWA).
Elwira Grossman
Secretary
Dr Elwira Grossman is an academic working at the University of Glasgow in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures where she teaches Polish and Comparative Literature. She has been involved in the work of GRAMnet (Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network) since 2010 and joined the Board of BEMIS in 2014. Since Migration and Intercultural Studies are part of her research interests, by joining BEMIS she has combined her life experience as a migrant with her professional interests and is pleased to serve and represent ‘ invisible ethnic minorities’ of Scotland today.
Ephraim Borowski
Treasurer
Ephraim is the Director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, which he was instrumental in establishing at the time of Devolution as the democratic representative umbrella body for the entire Jewish Community of Scotland.
Before his unfeasibly early retirement from Glasgow University, he was head of the Philosophy Department, employee representative on Court, and President of the Association of University Teachers. He also taught at Oxford and the Open University, where he sat on the Academic Board and Scottish Committee.
He is the immediate past Convener of BEMIS, and was a member of the Scottish Executive’s Race Equality Advisory Forum, the Scottish Committees of both the CRE and the EOC, and the Scottish Interfaith Council, and chairs Police Scotland’s National Independent Strategic Advisors Group. He has held many elected positions in the local and national Jewish Community, and is immediate past chair of the Regional Assembly of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and remains a member of its Executive.
He was a ministerial appointee to the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and Convener of its Investigating Committee, is a Lay Member of the Employment Tribunal, and sat on the Conduct Committee of the Scottish Social Services Council. He is joint author of the Collins Dictionary of Mathematics and other reference books, was an SQA Consultant, Governor of Hutchesons’ Educational Trust, and President of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (of which he is only the third Hon Member since Einstein!) Ephraim was awarded an MBE for services on behalf of the Jewish Community in Scotland.
Margaret Lance
Margaret Lance has a background in Community Education from the University of Edinburgh. She currently works for Waverley care as female community Outreach Coordinator. Her role is raising HIV awareness encouraging people to know their status by going for an HIV test. Margaret is a feminist and very passionate about her work with women, encouraging them to recognise their own skills and ability to achieve their full potential. She delivers workshops and trainings on HIV and gender-based violence. She is facilitator for Talk2 Glasgow—supporting parents to talk to their children about body development, relationship and sexual health at an age. She is also an accredited facilitator for Positive Parenting programmes – Central Parenting Team Glasgow, supporting and equipping parents with the skills to manage misbehaviour in children with emphasis of Getting It Right for every child (GIRFEC).
On a voluntary basis, Margaret is involved with a number of women’s groups and organisations in Glasgow and Internationally. She is an elder with the Church of Scotland Glasgow Cathedral and also a member of the World Mission Council (Local Development Committee.) Margaret is fluent in English and French.
Jani Lang
Jani Lang is a Hungarian/Roma musician and a resident of Scotland since 2005. He is a busy performing artist who earned his degree as a classical musician and after years of self study he became an expert of various traditional music styles. In recent years he toured in Europe, America and Asia with his band Dallahan and he is also a sought after music producer. He is a founding member of Ando Glaso, a Glasgow based charity organisation aiming to promote and nurture Roma culture and talent.
