Staff & Directors

Community Development Manager

Tina Morrow:

Tina has joined us as Community Development Manager. She has lived in the Highlands for 23 years and has worked in the voluntary sector for twenty years. Tina has a range of experience supporting local communities and has worked with communities across Scotland to develop services that meet their needs. She is currently on sick leave, and we all wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Community Development Manager (interim)

Kara Scott:

Originally from Elgin, Kara moved to Inverness in 2019, having previously lived in Fort William where she completed an Honours degree in Marine and Coastal Tourism. It was during this time she developed a strong interest in sustainable community development, which led her to complete an MSc in Sustainable Rural Development in October 2022. Kara joined Soirbheas in 2022 and brings a passion for supporting communities to thrive through sustainability and local empowerment. She is also a Director at the Moray Firth Coastal Partnership and volunteers regularly as a befriender with Glens Befriending. Kara has stepped up as interim Manager whilst Tina is on sick leave.

Administrator

Lindsay Treasure:

Lindsay moved to Struy in 2024 from Bedfordshire, after a long career in Business Consultancy. She joins Soirbheas as an Administrator alongside studying for a degree in Creative Writing with UHI. She is keen to be more involved in the local communities and looks forward to working with the organisations and residents in both Strathglass and Glen Urqhuart.

Glens Befriending Co-ordinator

Sarah Selby:

Sarah recently moved up from Dorset and has a range of experience from starting out in Design before moving into the Care sector working as Club Support, where she set up and ran new lottery funded clubs for the Elderly. Over the years Sarah has volunteered for a number of charities and community groups.

Board of Directors – Soirbheas Ltd

Karen Edwards – Director & Chair:

In 2025, Karen assumed the role of Chair. Karen moved to Tomich, Strathglass in 2018 from Cambridgeshire. Now living in the house that she and her husband used to rent for holidays. She has worked in the Charity sector for over 20 years firstly for a charity in Northamptonshire and now in Fort Augustus, managing projects for community benefit. Karen is keen to ensure that the community benefits as widely as possible from the impact of the growing number of wind farms locally.

Martin Croft – Director & Vice Chair:

Martin joins us as Vice Chair. Born in Nottingham, he earned a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Coventry. He moved to the Highlands three years ago and is now settled ‘at the top of the hill’ in Culnakirk. After running his own engineering consultancy for over 17 years, Martin is enjoying semi-retirement with walking, tennis, holidays, and gardening. His volunteering includes eight years on the governing body of a large academy school in Derby, and he’s currently Vice Chair of the Inverness Tennis and Squash Club. Martin introduced Pickleball to Drumnadrochit 18 months ago and recently started sessions at GUHS with help from the Active Schools team. He looks forward to helping improve life in the glens.

Erik Trelfer – Director & Secretary:

Erik has lived in Glen Urquhart for almost 20 years and works as a Chartered Insurance Broker. Erik is involved in the community of Glenurquhart as Clerk to the Congregational Board of Urquhart & Glenmoriston Church of Scotland and Youth group team member. For a number of years Erik has been interested in renewable energy and saw this as an ideal opportunity to get involved in a suitable project. He believes if we accept windfarms and power lines, then we should secure some of the wealth they generate and plough it back for the benefit of the community (in the way Shetland have with oil). This partnership in a small windfarm is a tremendous opportunity for the community to secure a long term income stream and enable it to become more self sufficient and independent.

Malcolm Wield – Director:

Malcolm came to Glen Urquhart in 1993 as Forest District Manager for the Forestry Commission, based in Fort Augustus. He ran the FC National Forest Land Scheme 2006 – 2016, transferring over 40 public forest areas to community ownership. He has always been passionate the outdoor environment and particularly about bio-rich native semi-natural woodlands. He was a member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters for 25 years and remains a member of both the Native Woodland Discussion Group (which he chaired 2021 -2024) and the Royal Scottish Forestry Society.

David Cooper – Director:

Originally from Glasgow, David lived in the South East for twenty years. David moved to Balnain with his family in 2017 being familiar with the area having walked and holidayed in the Highlands from a young age.
With a background in Electronics and Control System Engineering David is currently pursuing an interest in marine renewable energy.

David is aware of the benefits that community projects can bring and is keen to support local organisations.

Arlene Johnstone – Director:

Arlene has a passion for improving the quality of life for people within the community. Arlene has been working with adults living with learning disabilities in a variety of settings for over 20 years. She said she is now keen to explore “creative” ways of ensuring disabled people are able to lead rewarding lives. Arlene has been pivotal in helping us launch the Sunflower Home Care service in the local area.

Alison Strange – Director:

Alison moved to Bunloit with her husband in 2008. She worked as an ecologist and research scientist specialising in habitat restoration for almost 30 years and now helps to run a small croft with a wool business. She is passionate about textiles, home produce, community, fairness and equality.

Aron Rayner – Director:

Aron is originally from rural Essex and relocated to Drumnadrochit after visiting the area for his honeymoon. Falling in love with the region and its way of life, he decided to move with his two daughters, two cats, two dogs, and horses. Aron has worked in the commercial and domestic heating industry for around 20 years and more recently has focused specifically on the renewables sector. Additionally, he is a member of the RNLI Loch Ness lifeboat crew.

Jimmy Murray – Advisor:

Jimmy joined as a director in 2019 and lives with his family in Balnain. After six years of dedicated service as Chair, he has recently stepped down from this role but continues to contribute as an advisor. Jimmy leads business development and coordinates European R&D grant programmes for a Scottish marine energy company. Previously, he worked as a renewable energy consultant, specialising in supporting community organisations across Scotland to develop their own renewable energy projects. He remains committed to helping the communities of Strathglass and Glen Urquhart maximise the potential benefits of local projects. Jimmy holds an MSc in Renewable Energy Systems Technology from Loughborough University.

For information on joining as a Director, please visit our vacancies page.

Board of Directors – Soirbheas Trading Ltd

Andrew Castell – Director: Andrew is a Strathglass resident. He is a partner in Par Equity LLP, an Edinburgh-based venture capital firm and was a non-executive director of Highlands & Islands Airports Limited. His interest in Soirbheas stems from his belief that projects of this type can help draw together communities in the Highlands. He also has a professional interest in the renewable energy sector, as one of Par Equity’s key areas of focus is sustainability, which includes renewable energy.

Erik Trelfer – Director: See above.

Jim Barr – Director: Jim is also a Director of the Camanachd with responsibility for Finance and Coaching and involved in the Abriachan Forest Trust.