Theresa Shearer FRSE

Theresa Shearer FRSE is an internationally recognised CEO, non-executive director and influential leader in public policy, transformational service delivery and board governance and strategy, working across the NGO, private and government sectors.

As CEO of Enable, an exemplar NGO based in Scotland with European impact and global relevance, she leads a team of 3,500 professionals supporting 15,000 people to live independently, work in a career of their choice, and participate in political and public life. Under her tenure, Enable has more than trebled income from £30m to £100m whilst growing its impact. She founded and scaled the award-winning PA Model (Personal Assistant) of human rights-based self-directed care; established and developed Enable Works to be Scotland’s largest and most impactful provider of employability services; and led the impact and influence of the charity’s campaigning and self-advocacy work, guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

With extensive experience as a Chair and non-executive director, she leads governance and navigates policy on a range of NGO, public and private boards; currently Vice President of the European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), and serving on the governing Council of Scotland’s National Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). She sits on the Company Board of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, as well as the Scottish Government’s National Care Service Advisory Board.

Influential in the field of academia, she sits on the Advisory Boards of both the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy and of the Adam Smith Business School, as well as co-founding Breaking Barriers with the University of Strathclyde and ScottishPower; a multi-award winning, inclusive education programme which embeds disabled students into mainstream university and work placements with world leading employers such as EY, Dayforce and Balfour Beatty.

Her advanced understanding of the NGO sector and its relationship with philanthropy, the private and public sectors saw her appointed to the Law Family Commission on Civil Society and to the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Shinkwin Commission on the Future of Inclusive Business. A globally recognised champion of charities, human rights and inclusion, Theresa is a former Board Director and Vice Chair of both Inclusion Europe and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO); former Chair of Impact Arts; and chaired the Scottish Fundraising review which established the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel.

Theresa is an alumna of Harvard Business School and the University of Strathclyde, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Chartered FCIPD), and holds the Institute of Directors’ Diploma in Company Direction (Dip IoD). An award-winning leader, recognised with an Honorary Doctorate (DU) from Edinburgh Napier University in 2024, the Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland Chair’s Award in 2023, and the University of Strathclyde’s Executive Leadership (STELAR) Award in 2020, Theresa is committed to driving impact with partners from the NGO, private, government and academic sectors to address societal challenges in Scotland, the UK and internationally.