Trustees and governance

My career has been mostly in forestry where I am particularly interested in promoting natural environments and spaces for the contribution they make to our personal and collective wellbeing.

I am the Camphill Scotland delegate for Milltown Community. I have been a Camphill co-worker for over 35 years – first in Northern Ireland and then in Scotland. I have been actively involved in the work of Camphill Scotland since its beginning and am currently the Vice Chair of the Council. I have a keen interest in the on-going development of the Camphill communities and in issues to do with the development of the world wide movement of intentional communities in general. I am a founding member of the Camphill Scotland Research Group.

I have been at Camphill School Aberdeen since 2005 and I was recently appointed as Executive Director. I have an MA in Dutch employment and company law, a BA in Social Pedagogy and an SVQ 4 in Leadership and Management level 10.

I graduated from St Andrews University in history/economics in 1970 and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1974. I worked mainly in senior financial positions in the oil industry until appointed bursar at Robert Gordon’s College in 1991.  I remained in that post until retirement in 2011, gaining considerable experience in charity law and finance.  I am currently a trustee of Camphill Beannachar, Camphill Social Fund and Lathallan School.  I am married with two children and two grandchildren.

I grew up in a Camphill community and achieved a BA (Hons) in Social Work from Robert Gordon University; my passion is to bridge the gap between these two realms. I strongly believe that both traditional social work and the Camphill movement must work in harmony to be able to be mutually successful in the present world.

As the General Manager at Corbenic I see my task as:

• To maintain a leading edge in the development and delivery of exceptional social care
• To provide secure home environments that protect, nourish, and enable the individual development of all members of the community
• To be well integrated within our local community
• To formulate messaging and communication methods to promote the Camphill ethos
• To form part of a wider connected and mutually supportive network of Camphill communities
• To ensure a strong and sustainable financial basis for the growth and development of our community.

I joined the Camphill Blair Drummond community in early 2008 as their Director of Operations. I have over 24 years’ experience in health & social care, with a range of roles in both the private & third sector. Since joining Camphill Blair Drummond, I have had the pleasure in leading the community through a significant period of growth and change. I believe that the knowledge and experiences gained from various roles and my interest in supporting people to realise their potential, will enable me to support the work of Camphill Scotland and the growth of Camphill communities in the future. I am also a trustee for the Camphill Central Scotland Social Fund, Ochil Tower School and Loch Arthur Community. The balance to all this is my wife and three girls who provide a different range of joys and challenges!

I live at Loch Arthur community in one of the shared households and have done so for most of my adult life. Since arriving in 2004 I have studied Social Pedagogy, become a mum and had different roles and responsibilities within the community. My main focus (after being a mum) is the running of one of our shared houses together with my partner. I’m also an active member of several of our organisational meetings especially our internal social work group. This is as wide ranging as looking at situations of people we are supporting and new applications for supported tenancies to implementing new government legislation into community policies and working with external regulatory bodies.

My interest is shared living within a Camphill community setting and how to make it sustainable into the future. Within this context I feel passionate about building real and meaningful relationships through living together and working collaboratively.

I am Camphill Scotland’s youngest trustee, however, I hope that my forty years of Camphill experience together with my fresh outlook can be a positive influence for promoting great practice, embracing diversity and understanding the importance of community.   Growing up in Camphill was a privilege in that I was able to share experiences with lots of unique and wonderful people from all over the world. I have also experienced the challenges that are faced in community. This has given me an extensive tool box for responding creatively to change.  As one of the registered managers in Tigh a’ Chomainn I have a variety of roles which include cooking as well as office work. However, I am always happiest doing things together with others.

I am the Camphill Scotland delegate for Tiphereth Camphill in Edinburgh. I have lived and worked in our community, facilitating its development, for over 16 years.  Starting as a co-worker in our community within our Day Service working in the craft workshops, I have had many roles; from Day Service Manager to House Coordinator and from Residential Manager to Quality and Public Relations Manager. Throughout the diversity of roles my interest has always been in working alongside others and in supporting and promoting the Camphill ethos, which underpins our daily life within a framework of quality legislated care.

I have worked in the education sector; with school governors, with the Waldorf Intensive School of English and in the Bristol Steiner Waldorf School.  I am motivated by environments where social relationships are based on mutual care and respect and where people have the opportunity to develop both individually and together.

I have worked for many years within a broad range of social care settings, working in a number of residential schools where I was at one stage a Head of Care. Prior to this I was a House Manager within care homes in community settings. I have externally managed a Family Centre, a service supporting families with children affected by their additional support needs, Youth Homeless projects and a residential care home for children with complex needs. I have been involved too with Family Placements within Shared Lives models and I am delighted to now be at Ochil Tower School as their CEO at such a significant time in the school’s history.

I am particularly interested in developing the social pedagogical model that lies at the centre of our interaction with each other as staff, and with children and young people. I have long been interested in developing care approaches that are strength-based and build the capacity for resilience for young people. The Camphill ethos underpins the work that we do and enables us to work with children and young adults using a range of cultural activities that inspire positive outcomes.

I am one of five registered general managers and the HR representative for Newton Dee Village, where I have lived and worked as a vocational coworker since November 2006. I have a BA(hons) in Psychology from the Open University and have been awarded SVQ 4 and an RMA. After four years as a vocational coworker in the Sheiling Schools in Hampshire, I spent several years in the South of France providing holidays for groups of residents and coworkers from Newton Dee and other organisations across Europe.This diverse experience has shaped my passion for developing the intentional community model into the future. I am keen on discovering and developing talent within our community and encouraging delegation and leadership development across all areas.

We hold an AGM in August to update Members on our work on their behalf over the course of the past year. We like to make the event as participatory as possible, including a contribution from the host Member community along with opportunities for discussion and feedback from all members.

Please follow this link to read our latest annual review.