Board of Directors

The Wild Scotland board is made up of a diverse range of highly-skilled, motivated and passionate individuals from varied backgrounds which all connect to Scotland’s Great Outdoors.

The board works closely with the Executive team to advise and support when required. Skills include leadership, sustainability, digital, marketing and legal. Five members of the board operate in the sector with experience ranging from wildlife and nature to adventure and marine. 

The key focus for the Wild Scotland board as we move towards recovery post COVID-19 is to support, inspire and motivate members and businesses in the sector to deliver sustainable and responsible experiences that align with the Wild Scotland Best Practice Principles and Guidelines, and help Scotland's outdoor tourism sector make a positive social, economic and environmental impact .

Russell Henderson Biopic

Russell Henderson, Board Chair

Russell’s career has been in Digital. He previously founded 55degrees, one of the first digital agencies in Scotland, developing systems and content for clients extending from the likes of National Trust for Scotland & Riverside Museum to Red Bull & Morrison plc. He has since consulted widely on digital transformation and productisation and is currently focusing on opportunities for Data & AI to support Net Zero.

Russell is a strong believer in the value of community and has supported the growth of the Scottish tech ecosystem through driving initiatives such as Product Tank Edinburgh, ScotStartups & StartupSurf. StartupSurf introduced tech workers from the central belt to the joys of surfing in Scotland and used that as a way to develop community through shared adversity and celebration of place. To support that initiative Russell trained as a Beach Lifeguard & Surf Instructor which introduced him to the community of providers which Wild Scotland serves. After a few summers guiding & instructing sea activities in the Outer Hebrides, he decided to deepen his involvement with the sector through Wild Scotland.

Russell is excited by the opportunity that Wild Scotland has to support the sector. He believes it is uniquely placed to help address some of the key challenges that society faces, through the activities of its membership.

Angela Mercer Vice Chair Portrait

Angela Mercer, Vice Chair

Angela Mercer has an honours degree in biological sciences from the University of Edinburgh and after a spell at York University, she worked for the Cranedale Centre in the Yorkshire Wolds teaching environmental education courses for school and university groups, before moving permanently back to Scotland in 1995 to bring up their family. Angela’s other great passion is art and in 1998 she and a friend set up and ran the acclaimed and successful Flat Cat Gallery in Lauder. She was also chair of Wooplaw Community Woodlands and helped set up the Lauder Path Network.

To fulfil their ambition of running a wildlife watching business Angela and her husband moved to the Highlands in 2007 and ran Glenloy Wildlife until 2022. Living in the Lochaber area they were keen to promote wildlife tourism here and for several years were instrumental in organising the ‘Wild Lochaber’ festivals and several seashore festivals. A member of Wild Scotland since 2008 she has been on the board since 2014.

Angela has a keen interest in woods and trees and has been very involved in community woodlands, she was a founding director of the Community Woodlands Association and was also on the South Scotland Regional Forestry Forum. Currently Angela is a director of Arkaig Community Forest and is enjoying being involved in large scale forest and landscape restoration. She is also enjoying producing more of her own art and illustrating books.

To relax she can be found either on the water in a kayak or wild swimming.

Carol Ritchie Europarc

Carol Ritchie

Executive Director of the EUROPARC Federation, the principle membership association for Europe's parks and protected areas.  Previously Carol worked as a Countryside Ranger and laterally Manager of the Pentland Hills Regional Park.

Carol is conversant in environmental, land management and sustainability agenda at both a Scottish and European level.

Being a trained teacher and ecologist Carol has a particular focus and expertise on communications, capacity building and training and is the principal creative force behind most of the communications outputs of EUROPARC Federation, including an award-winning film on Sustainable Tourism.

EUROPARC created and manages the European Charted for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Area, an internationally recognised tool to deliver sustainable tourism as a partnership between tourism businesses, local communities and protected areas. All with the goals of creating sustainable destinations that are both good for business and for nature.

EUROPARC has just developed the STAR awards a new award for sustainable tourism businesses working to conserve and protect the landscapes within which they work.  

Tim Chamberlin

Tim Chamberlin

Tim works as an outdoor adventure instructor. For Tim, Scotland offers the opportunity for amazing adventure where inspiring landscapes, unique wildlife and the wonderful people who live, work and visit these places and who call this place home at some point in their life. All of these create a fabulous fusion of heritage, culture and diverse experience with tourism as a way forward to help both nature and community.

With 15+ years of experience working with children, students and scientists, including with award-winning Wild Tree Adventures, Tim is passionate about connecting people with nature. Qualified as a zoologist and sculptor, he further holds specialised industry qualifications relating to safety, inspections, rope access and advanced canopy access techniques and tree climbing rescue.

Using skills in rigging and risk management as an outdoor instructor and tree climbing expert, I safely bring people into potentially dangerous environments, using tree climbing an inspiring way to explore our environment. Previous clients include BBC Studios, Caledonia TV, Forestry Scotland, Paxton House, South of Scotland Eagle Partnership and Woodland Trust Scotland.

As an active volunteer Tim is a Verifier for the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree Inventory and also works on rare raptors in partnership with forestry. Experience in monitoring rare and specially protected wildlife gives him an insight into the pressures facing high-impact tourist locations, complex issues of land management, tourism and the adventure tourism sector.

Become a Wild Scotland Board Member

As a board member, you’ll have responsibilities for the organisation, ensuring financial security and stimulating support and growth for our industry.