Donald Anderson is a founding trustee of Space2face and has been the Chairperson since the founding of Space2face in Shetland. He also works part time as a teacher of English and part time as a therapist. When he is not teaching or counselling he writes poetry and songs, plays in a band, occasionally performs in local drama, and goes fishing for trout.

I joined the board of Space2face in 2020 after a period of volunteering with the charity. Having grown up in Shetland, I now split my time between Shetland and London where I work for a small charity. My experience in the third sector means I’m used to manipulating small (almost non-existent) budgets and getting the most out of them to deliver great fundraising. As the youngest board member, I also help advise our on our social media pages. My favourite hobbies include discovering new brunch restaurants and running that brunch off by swimming.

I first become aware of Space2face when a friend and I attended the charity’s annual seminar in 2015. Hearing people’s stories of how restorative practices had transformed lives and outlooks, was inspirational. I continued following Space2face and 2 years later, became a Trustee. In 2018 I set up my own business and have become quite good at juggling lots of different demands. I like organising events, especially those involving cake! Recently, I achieved a long-held ambition to go open water swimming and now really look forward to my early morning swims.

I first became aware of Restorative Justice while studying the Penal System at University and was totally inspired by the whole concept. In my role as a Lecturer at Shetland UHI I became involved with Space2face when they came in as guest speakers to my Criminology class.  I started taking part in their annual seminars, took part in training in restorative practices, and was delighted to be asked to join the Board of Trustees in 2017.  In my spare time some of my interests are walking, knitting, baking, voluntary work and travel.