Team
Meet the Team behind the work
Ian Robertson
Chief Executive
Ian is passionate about creating informed access to the countryside.
Ian qualified from Jordanhill College of Physical Education where he studied sport in the community and was then involved with Scottish Rugby for 12 years as player, coach and development officer. Ian then moved to project manage the Scottish National Angling Programme followed by a spell managing the Country Sports Tourism Group. Before taking on his role as Executive Director of CLS Ian spent 4 years as wildlife manager at Pitcarmick estate.
Here he created a rural environment where recreational activity, volunteering opportunities, rural livelihoods, and traditional land uses can live in harmony through better education and understanding.
Contact Ian:
Alex McMichael
ADHD Rural Connect Project Coordinator
Alex is delivering the Pathways to Rural Work Programme as ADHD Rural Connect Project Coordinator. Alex has a varied background but formally worked as an Ecologist covering many of Scotland’s upland estates. Primarily he led a team to conduct upland bird surveys and carry out herbivore impact assessments. He also assisted in everything from habitat mapping and peat probing to butterfly and bat surveys. Using his enjoyment of the outdoors he aims to guide others to exciting careers in this dynamic and changing environment.
He is based in Angus and has a love of the rugged outdoors, from Munro climbing and scrambling to ice skating on frozen Lochans. When on more steady terrain he performs as the front man in a local band and stays active playing tennis.
Contact Alex:
alex@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Alice Mackenzie-Bennett
Youth Led Coordinator
Alice is delivering our Youth Led Project with a key focus on supporting the Youth Advisory Group (YAG).
Alice brings great experience, having studied a BA (Hons) Business Management and having worked in the oil and gas industry and the outdoor sector, before taking time off to raise her 2 children.
Alice was born and raised on the Black Isle, Inverness Shire. She currently lives in the Cairngorms where she enjoys the rural lifestyle with her family, working dogs and ever-growing brood of hens and turkeys! From working her dogs, cycling, skiing and shooting to being as self sufficient as possible with her vegetable garden and a ‘field to fork’ mentality, Alice is passionate about the rural countryside.
Contact Alice:
alice@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Anna MacKinnon
Rural Employability Coordinator
Anna is delivering the Rural Employability Scheme in Perth and Kinross. She was born and raised in rural Perthshire on a hill sheep farm.
Anna studied a BSc in Agriculture at SRUC in Edinburgh before working as a shepherdess for almost 10 years. She has been involved with organisations promoting local and seasonal produce as well as running her own Instagram page creating recipes and sharing tips which expanded to school visits and cookery demonstrations.
Anna enjoys spending time outside, looking after her ever growing team of dogs, chickens, and kune kune pigs. When she’s not running around after something or someone, she is also running for sport! Along with playing badminton and tennis.
Contact Anna:
anna@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Ellen Grant
Communications Officer
Ellen is delivering the Pathways to Rural Work Programme as a Regional Coordinator in the Cairngorms.
Ellen is born and bred in Nethybridge in the Cairngorms National Park.
Ellen studied BA Rural Business Management at SRUC Edinburgh and has always been passionate about working in the rural industries operating in the National Park and the wider world, from ski instructing at Cairngorm and Italy, being a countryside ranger at Rothiemurchus, beating on grouse moors to working on hill-country sheep and beef stations in New Zealand.
Being a busy-body, she has many hobbies including running, skiing, horse riding, travelling and having a good laugh to name a few.
Contact Ellen: ellen@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Douglas Gibson
Regional Coordinator
Douglas is delivering the Pathways to Rural Work Programme as a Regional Coordinator for the North West.
From a self – employed background in the tool hire trade near Glasgow, Douglas has lived in Gairloch for 35 years now. Throughout most of this time, his work has focused on rural community development work, covering a diverse range of projects from local radio, through to childcare, tourism, and IT training. Currently, he works not only for CLS, but also as a “Ranger” for Nature Scot. He was also once a coalman.
Hobbies (obsessions….) are Classic cars, music, real ale and curries. He also enjoys badminton & hill walking. He and his wife are jointly owned by two cats.
Contact Douglas:
douglas@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Kirstie Nelson
Communications & Fundraising Coordinator
Kirstie is the Communications & Fundraising Coordinator.
Her first degree is in Communications and she holds a Postgraduate diploma in Environmental Management. Kirstie has over 15 years experience working in marketing and communications in the financial sector, local government organisations and the charitable sector. She is passionate about Scottish nature and the countryside. Kirstie enjoys most things outdoors…..and can often be spotted hiking in the Ochil hills with her Jack Russell. She lives in rural Clackmannanshire with her family.
Contact Kirstie:
kirstie@countrysidelearningscotland.org.uk
Suzy Haworth
Regional Coordinator
Suzy is delivering the Pathways to Rural Work Programme in Grampian.
Born and bred in Edinburgh, Suzy always felt the Highlands were her true home, so she jumped at the chance to move north from Bedfordshire in 2014.
Her background is in journalism, storytelling and event facilitation. After years of writing about the disconnect between the skills employers need and the skills young people can bring to the workplace, she wanted to move from talking about the problem to doing something practical about it. She is particularly passionate about helping young people discover opportunities they may never have considered — especially careers that get them outdoors, working with people, animals, land or nature rather than spending their lives behind a screen.
Suzy is an avid outdoor swimmer and can be found in Loch Insh all year round. She’s also a keen mountain biker, skier and hiker.
She lives in Kincraig with her husband, two teenage sons and dog, Tess. To balance all the testosterone in her household, she also runs the local community network Women Support Women.
Contact Suzy:
Tors Hamilton
Regional Coordinator/Administrator
Tors is delivering the Pathways to Rural Work Programme as a Regional Coordinator in Tayside.
Tors’ background was originally in education, as a qualified Geography teacher in secondary schools in Scotland. Working for the Field Studies Council for over 10 years allowed Tors to share her passion about the natural environment and being outside with a wide range of ages from toddlers to adults. When not working, Tors can usually be found outside hillwalking or swimming.
Contact Tors:
David Ritchie
Education Consultant
David comes from a farming background and holds an honors degree in Agricultural Animal Science.
He is a qualified teacher of biology and has taught in South Korea, England and Scotland over the last 17 years. David is also a passionate salmon angler and is the founder and chairman of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Schools Network. Time outdoors hillwalking is another spare time pursuit. David lives with his family in rural Perthshire.
Our Trustees
Nicola Simpson
Alister Aitkenhead
Jim Drysdale
Julian Pace
Tony Stevenson
Chris Stockwell
Our Ambassadors
Chris Tiso
Chris Tiso, is our first ambassador. He is the CEO of Tiso Group, the leading national retailer of Outdoor Clothing and Equipment which was founded 60 years ago. Chris took over the running of the eponymous business in 1992 and has led its growth to its current position. The company has 14 stores across four facias covering Scotland and the north of England with a group turnover of c £50m and approximately 400 employees.
In 2023, Chris was appointed MD of JD Specialist Outdoor.
He is a Trustee of Alpine Training Centers and the Polar Academy, which he co-founded.
Chris is an ambassador for Dyslexia Scotland, Countryside Learning Scotland and is a past President of Scouts Scotland. He is also the recipient of several Scottish Business Awards and is an honorary fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
An experienced yachtsman, skier and mountaineer, he has participated in and led climbing and sailing expeditions all over the world including to the Antarctic, Arctic and Himalayas.
Chris lives on a farm in Kinross-shire with his wife, their children and assortment of animals.
Doug McAdam
Douglas McAdam is involved in a number of senior roles across the rural sector covering wildlife management, conservation, tourism, careers and education. He is the independent Chair of a Deer Management Group. He also chairs Wild Deer Best Practice which is a public-private partnership developing and promoting best practice standards in Scotland. He was until very recently Chair of Wild Scotland, the organisation representing businesses in the tourism sector and he was recently Chair of Countryside Learning Scotland. More generally, he has nearly two decades of rural estate, conservation and land management experience having held the role of CEO of Scottish Land & Estates.
Jame Campbell Morrison MBE
With a background and a passion for skiing and sailing, Jane has always championed the benefits of participation in the outdoors to anyone who would listen. Having grown up with skiing and sailing parents, it was inevitable that Jane would choose to become a skiing and sailing instructor for 11 years.
She then became the Development Manager for the Royal Yachting Association Scotland, before taking on the role of CEO of Snowsport Scotland after a serious illness.
Due to a change in personal circumstances, Jane had to leave Snowsports, to go on to become the Senior Inspector for Scotland for the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority. Once this role ceased to be required, Jane then became a peripatetic trainer and inspector for RYA Scotland, before going on to set up Findhorn Watersports at the tender age of 56.
Jane is passionate about getting people into the outdoors, and campaigns to not only increase participation across disciplines, but to also support the sector itself and ensure it can be sustained in the long term.