Theona Morrison
Theona lives on a working croft in Uist in the Outer Hebrides. She has attended all the Scottish Rural Parliaments prior to becoming Chair in 2020. A founding director of http://codel.scot/ (Community Development Lens) which first identified young adults returning, settling and staying in the islands contrary to the dominant narrative. Redefining Peripherality is a movement which emerged out the Northern Periphery and Arctic research led by CoDeL on the economic impact of Covid. This evidenced that on balance, rural and island communities demonstrated considerable resilience and overall performed better. She has considerable knowledge of Scotland’s rural and island economy. Theona has presented such findings at The World Rural Health Conference in Limerick in June 2022, The European Rural Parliament in Poland in September 2022 and the Arctic Circle Assembly in October 2022. She co-wrote and delivered a strategy which linked education with economic opportunity designed to stem population decline.
Brian Cameron
Descending from a long lineage of west-coast crofters, Brian chose a career in the car industry and spent over twenty years in the employ of British Leyland, Honda and BMW. In 1997 Brian moved back to Scotland to join the board of Highland Distillers plc and bought the croft of Campbell Cairns near Craigellachie in Speyside. Since the sale of Highland Distillers in 1999 Brian has worked independently around the world with board positions on public listed companies in New York and London and has been instrumental in the development of several companies including The Knockando Woolmill Company supporting the extensive restoration of one of Scotland’s oldest district mills. His personal business interests include the growth of Elchies farming business – a small, local enterprise which Brian and his wife Julie have built with the ethos of strong community links and sustainable practice.
Sjoerd Tel
Now based in the Highlands, Sjoerd was brought up on a smallholding in a rural area of the eastern Netherlands with family roots in the Frisian cultural and linguistic minority group. He migrated to Scotland over a decade ago and has lived and worked in several different places including Caithness and Arran. He is an active member of his community who previously spent several years volunteering for Scottish Mountain Rescue. Sjoerd is a keen musician who takes part in various orchestras and bands in the local community and the Highlands.
Aimee Spence
After spending her first few years living in urban Western Australia, Aimee’s family moved back to Scotland and settled in her mother’s rural hometown of Campbeltown in the Mull of Kintyre. While growing up, Aimee became all too familiar with the ups and downs of rural living. In 2016, Aimee decided to pursue a career in journalism and moved to Edinburgh to attend University.
Upon completing her degree, Aimee’s graduation coincided with the Covid-19 Pandemic and put her career plans on hold. Fortunately, she was able to find employment through lockdown with a social enterprise based in her hometown that had a focus on rural community development. This is when Aimee realised that she had a passion for rural life and helping to improve the lives of those who live there. Aimee attended the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) in 2022 in this role and spent time in Rural Victoria where she learnt from isolated communities.
Ann McGuinness
Ann is a passionate environmental campaigner with equality and the empowerment of others as her motivation. Having lived experience of both poverty and disability, she has a breadth and depth of knowledge of some complex topics often under-represented in our national discourse. She is a committed feminist and active in local and national politics, having worked with others across the political spectrum to train, motivate and empower our women politicians of the present and future. She sits as Co-Convener of the Scottish Green Party Women's Network. Above all, she is committed to getting things done rather than just talking!
In her home home-life she home-educates her children (16 and 9), enjoying learning with them every day. She has renovated 2 homes and has hands-on building experience, never afraid to roll up her sleeves and get dirty. She turned her oversized garden into a bio-diverse mini-holding, where she grows fruit and veg, and where she takes care of 8 rescue hens and a very cheeky cockerel. She is also a part-time OU student, studying social psychology.
Flora Donald
Flora grew up on a croft in Wester Ross and her first job was on the Outer Hebrides where she lived for four years. Along with her professional experience in the environmental sector, she offers an informed understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing rural communities. With a commitment to amplifying rural voices and fostering inclusive, sustainable solutions, Flora recognises the need for bold ideas and policy changes to address issues such as renewable energy, sustainable tourism, and rural employment. Flora also brings valuable skills in evidence creation, stakeholder engagement and strategic messaging, with a vision of improving rural lives through collaborative action and advocacy. Flora is currently a Tree Health Policy Officer with Scottish Forestry, and volunteers as a Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland Vice County recorder for Banffshire.
Emilia Pietka-Nykaza
Emilia brings a rich academic background in sociology, refugee studies, and political science to her research on integration and settlement processes. Her focus extends to exploring the impact of diverse population mobility patterns on the sustainability of rural communities, particularly examining the connections of young people to rural areas and fostering community relations among residents with varied migration histories. Emilia is an academic migrant herself and is keen to support sustainable rural communities. Emilia is currently a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy and Programme Leader for Social Sciences at the University of West of Scotland.
Brendan O’Hanrahan
Brendan is an Irish habitat ecologist and land management consultant who’s spent 30 years in the Highlands and Islands. An irrational Germanophile, he also spent five years in Germany. Politics, whether party, community, land reform, land use, has occupied him for over 40 years. He’s been active at the intersection of land use, policy, agricultural support and communities since 2010. Having been brainwashed into seeing the world through crofting spectacles by his neighbours in Lewis in the ‘90s, he was involved with the Scottish Crofting Federation for 5 years and through that became involved in housing activism. He is a director of the Communities Housing Trust and leads on housing for Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust.
Brendan now lives on a croft in Elphin, in Assynt in northwest Sutherland, where he provides unskilled assistance to his partner. Away from Scotland he set up a political violence monitoring organisation called PIRUSA2020 to assist peace-building and civil society organisations in the US in autumn 2020, based on a background as a mapper, media and data nerd. He also has a passion for community radio and helping to run small-scale music festivals.
Kim Dams
Kim Dams is a new Scot who calls rural Galloway her home. After a decade in London and Southern England, she made the move to Scotland a few years ago and says it was one of the best decisions ever.
Kim is a member of several Third Sector organisations, as well as DPOs, has been a volunteer for the SRA and attended the 2017 European Rural Parliament. She is Treasurer/Director of DG Voice, a charity that gives Disabled People across Dumfries and Galloway a voice.
Kim has a professional background in Finance, Risk, Strategy, Change Management and Compliance and has a strong passion for Equality and Human Rights. She is engaged in her local community and keen to address rural issues, especially with a focus on intersectionality in areas such as inequality, poverty, lack of infrastructure, 21st century broadband availability and co-production opportunities.
Kim was elected as a Director of SRA at the AGM on 16th November 2018.
Chiara FIgland
Chiara is a dedicated advocate for rural and island communities, using her diverse experience in architecture, community activism, and environmental strategy to empower local voices in shaping their places and addressing the climate emergency. Through co-founding a Community Interest Company - Imagine If.Space. - focused on inclusive participation, facilitating community-led planning processes, and collaborating with various stakeholders, including youth groups, Chiara actively fosters agency and resilience at local level. Chiara is currently an Environmental Strategy Officer with Fife Council.
Tori Cook
Tori has a deep-rooted understanding of rural life from her upbringing in Sutherland, from residing in Caithness, and experience living in the Outer Hebrides, she cares about addressing overlooked issues in rural areas. Tori has strong organisational, communication, and IT skills, along with experience in business development, marketing, and web design. Tori's role in managing and enhancing social media engagement for her employer underscores their ability to use digital platforms for community outreach and advocacy, helping to driving positive change in rural communities. Tori currently delivers two roles with Connecting Carers – Young Carers Online Development Worke and Communications Officer.