THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP NETWORK

By Olivia Khan

Dawn and I have worked together at South Ayrshire’s Champions for Change since its inception in 2017. Dawn as the Corporate Parenting Lead and me as a Participation Assistant. In late 2025 she shared with us that she was taking on a new challenge in Moray with the care experienced community there. This is my blog post reflecting on adapting to this change of leadership. 

When Dawn told me she was leaving I knew for sure that our relationship was not over. In fact I was excited to experience this new chapter in our connection! To learn from her experience working with the care experienced community but to also have an excuse to visit our beautiful Highlands more often. I was thrilled for her.

I was on the interview panel that hired Dawn into her role as Corporate Parenting Lead back in 2017. At that time I knew I wanted to do something to support other care experienced people like myself but I had no idea what. After Dawn was in post I was lucky enough to get one of the Participation Assistant roles at the newly formed Champions Board.

I hear Dawn’s impact on me when I am educating a group of my friends about their human rights at a dinner party. Or when I speak up at our Quarterly Champions Board meetings for the entitlements for our care experienced community. I believe we are a product of the people who we spend the most time with. In these moments I feel a special honour to have spent so much time with such a powerhouse of knowledge and courage.

Describing Dawn as a manager feels cold and not at all representative of our relationship. She is also not just a friend or a mentor. Without a mum to guide me through my womanhood I have used elements of other women to replace this role. My foster mother, my older sister, my grandmother and Dawn. She would support me practically with completing tasks and understanding how to do my work to a professional standard. But she also offered me emotional support when she noticed I overstepped my own boundaries or was masking my feelings.

People keep saying that the new person will have big shoes to fill. I know what they mean but I think it is not exactly the case. The new person in this role will come with their own shoes. Dawn came with her own experiences and skills and so will the new person. The Champions Board in South Ayrshire will be led differently now. I am excited for the opportunity to be a part of the team for this transition.