About us

Caroline founded WSC in 2022 following research into risks of exploitation in Scotland and worker power and representation. She has over 15 years’ experience of working with isolated and marginalised workers to prevent exploitation. From 2012-19, she co-founded and directed the UK charity Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX). Prior to this she led global policy for the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW) and co-founded the Anti-Trafficking Review Journal (ATR). She sits on the ATR Editorial Board and GAATW’s Women at Work Advisory Committee. She has an MA in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies. Caroline speaks English, French and Spanish.

Valeria joined WSC in 2023 and has over ten years’ experience in establishing, developing and delivering programmes on local, national and international scales. This work has been focused in the UK and international refugee, migration, trafficking and violence against women sectors. She has fulfilled front-line and managerial roles in major third-sector organisations. Valeria speaks Italian and Russian, lives in Glasgow and is a trustee for a small community-led organisation based in the Southside. She loves spending time with her family and friends, being outdoors and reading. Valeria speaks Italian, English and Russian.

Lynda is a qualified Chartered Accountant and trained with BDO.  After leaving BDO in 2004, Lynda has worked in the not for profit sector initially as a Finance Manager for a Fairtrade charity, Twin and since 2011 as an independent consultant to a number of charities. Lynda has a wealth of experience in preparing SORP accounts and project reporting for major donors (EU, Comic Relief, DFID).  Lynda has acted as a project consultant to the International Division of the British Red Cross and currently works with a portfolio of smaller charities.

Iryna provides support and advice to seasonal workers in agriculture. She has previously worked on English and Scottish farms picking soft fruits and at a packhouse under the Seasonal Worker visa scheme. She has a Master’s in TEFL and over 10 years’ experience in teaching at agricultural college and working as interpreter and translator for businesses and individuals. She speaks Ukrainian, English, Russian and Hungarian.

Margarita has over 3 years’ experience supporting farm workers in Scotland. Her interest in workers’ rights comes from her personal experience as an agricultural worker back in 2004. She has since joined the University of Dundee where she earned three degrees, MA European Studies and International Politics, MLitt International Security and Politics and MSc Social Research Methods, and progressed her knowledge in migration and refugee studies, human rights, social equality and inclusion. She has worked in various projects that promote human rights in Scotland. She speaks Lithuanian, English, Russian and Kurdish Kirmanji.

Graham has worked in human rights for 25 years, across the UK. This experience has mainly been in legal policy, working with and for people in forced migration and using equalities and human rights legislation, with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). During the past decade Graham was policy manager at Scottish Refugee Council, where he specialised in asylum, accommodation and anti-destitution. Achievements include (a) writing the CRE’s submission to the Britain wide Discrimination Law Review (2007); (b) initiating, managing, and writing the Inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland with Baroness Helena Kennedy KC and EHRC, followed by (c) drafting with Jenny Marra MSP the private members bill on a human trafficking act for Scotland that led to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) 2015. 

Francis holds a PhD in the political economy of Zimbabwe’s development from The Open University and is a Chartered Accountant. He also earned a Master of Commerce in Development Finance from the University of Cape Town. His professional experience spans the UK, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa, across both the private and non-profit sectors. Driven by a commitment to social justice, Francis co-founded the Pan-African Workers’ Association (PAWA) to address the hyper-exploitation of migrant care workers in the UK. Francis speaks Shona, Ndebele and English.

Dmytro Yareshchenko was born in Poltava, Ukraine and studied at Kharkiv State Agricultural University from which he gained a specialist diploma in area land management, measurement and registry, and during his studies he worked in seasonal agriculture in the UK.  Following this he held a range of roles at the Regional Land Registry centre in Dnipro and helped establish and develop the system of land registry in Ukraine. He later formed his own business and helped establish the Association of Land Organization Specialists of Ukraine which now has over 1000 members. He also served as a member of the Qualification Commission for land measurement and registry under the Ukrainian Government.

In May 2022, along with his wife and 3 children, he was forced to leave Ukraine because of the Russian aggression. They found refuge in Scotland using the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Dmytro joined WSC in June 2025. He speaks Ukrainian, Russian and English.

Talgat has over fifteen years’ experience in the legal field and operational management in the public and private sectors. He is an expert in high-value contract negotiation, legal compliance, procurement, and project coordination. He also has experience of working in seasonal agriculture in the UK. Currently Talgat provides support and advice to seasonal workers in agriculture and is enrolled in a Master of Science programme at the University of Dundee. During his studies he conducted some research related to migration processes. He speaks Kazakh, English and Russian.