Who we are Our board of trustees Our Board of Trustees Our Board of Trustees is made up of outstanding & committed individuals from academia, business and NGOs. Sniffer's board is responsible for our governance and setting our strategy. Alison Macdonald (Chair) Alison is a Chartered Banker and senior risk professional, with deep experience of Governance & Risk, Resilience & Scenario planning and also in developing the response to climate change, managing both physical and transition risk. As a Trustee of Bank of Scotland Foundation, Alison has experience in shaping a number of programmes to support charities across Scotland address poverty and social exclusion, by funding core costs, multi-year change funding and also unrestricted funding. Alison has broad insight into fund raising and income generation in the third sector. Through the assessment of grants and in meeting with charities, Alison understands community and place based initiatives, where collaboration, connection and empowerment can deliver real and sustainable change, delivering a legacy for years to come. Alison is currently Resilience Director with Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group. Sophie Beier Sophie has over a decade of experience in knowledge exchange & impact, stakeholder & community engagement and fundraising in the third, public and private sector. She has worked in various countries (Chile Mexico, Canada, Germany, etc.) and within various sectors (NGO/Foundations, science and university sector) and stakeholders (governments, scientists, UNFCCC & UN-CBD negotiators, local authorities and businesses, indigenous communities). Sophie is passionate about transformational change and as Program Coordinator for COP21 developed the Transformative Actions Program (TAP) which not only fundraised and gathered transformational projects from local authorities across 5 continents, but also developed an assessment framework for the projects transformational quality. Sophie returned to Scotland 5 years ago, initially working at the James Hutton Institute where she led the Flooding & Coastal Erosion and Sustainable Communities themes at the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) and now works for the NHS where she leads on the ACHSCP’s climate change programme and evaluates transformation projects. Anne Marte Bergseng Anne Marte is a climate change adaptation specialist and knowledge exchange expert with experience from research management, stakeholder engagement and corporate communications. With a background from broadcast journalism, she has worked in knowledge exchange on environmental and sustainability issues for over 20 years, and sits on the Steering Group for the National Centre for Resilience. Anne Marte has volunteered in environmental organisations and outdoor education, and with the NHS, for more than 15 years, and is also a trustee for Edinburgh based outdoor learning charity The Green Team. She works for ClimateXChange, Scotland’s centre of expertise connecting climate change research and policy, managing a portfolio of research, engagement and knowledge exchange projects across climate resilience and social change. Richard Dryburgh Richard played a key role with the 2050 Climate Group, acting as the charity's first Treasurer before taking on the role of Chair for two years. Richard helped the 2050 Climate Group to communicate the role of young people in acting as ‘changemakers’, using their own spheres of influence to enact change across Scotland and further afield. He helped launch the 2050 Climate Group’s first Young Leaders Development Programme as well as the Malawi Climate Leaders Project and also played a key role in income generation and stakeholder engagement. In 2018 Richard left the 2050 Climate Group to take on a role within the Scottish Government’s climate change policy team, focusing on the ‘people’ part of climate change, leading on a new national public engagement strategy and the sponsorship of Scotland’s Climate Assembly. Richard currently leads on lifetime skills and careers policy at the Scottish Government. Rachel Freeman Apart from having 18 years of professional experience in agile tech SaaS environments with a focus on soft AI, Rachel has been interested and involved in projects focusing on conservation, culture and the environment. Her MLitt thesis at University of Edinburgh focused on the Making of Place with research done on the Isle of Lewis. She had volunteered at zoos, an aquarium and a seabird centre in NYC, Edinburgh, New Zealand and North Berwick. She currently serves as a trustee for The Edinburgh and Lothian Green Space Trust and as a NED for Prop Tech sustainable start-up Grand Bequest. She is a special advisor with the ESG Foundation and has completed short courses in Sustainability Leadership with Climate Change and Net Zero angles at both SAID Business School and CISL. Spare time sees her singing bass with award winning Forth Valley Chorus and racking up miles for marathon training. Will Humpington Will is an experienced environmentalist with various roles over the past 15 years in the public, private and third sector across England, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. Holding an MSc in Climate Change and Risk Management and a BSc in Geography with Earth System Science, Will enjoys the intellectual rigour, diversity and depth of climate change adaptation and resilience praxis and feels the inextricable links with planning and development to create an equitable and positive future for all highly compelling. Will brings experience of corporate and institutional fundraising, grant management, board and corporate reporting, and project delivery within multi £million, multi-year, bilateral and multilateral climate finance initiatives. Ian Morgan Ian has spent his career in global manufacturing businesses in the private sector, latterly with twelve years in operational risk and compliance at a large privately-held US conglomerate. Qualified in corporate governance and risk management, and holding a degree in Environmental Studies, he is also an experienced pension trustee with an interest in ESG investment. Ruth Wolstenholme Ruth trained as a natural and social scientist and has a Masters degrees in both. Ruth is a passionate facilitator with a keen ear for a good idea. She has been involved in Sniffer from the start and enjoys working for a small company that brings people with different perspectives together to find creative approaches to ensuring a fairer and flourishing future for all. As well as building on a scientific and policy evidence base, Ruth is a strong advocate weaving in local knowledge, climate justice and the role of cultural practice in changemaking. Manage Cookie Preferences