Prior to retirement in 2019, Andrew served at Director level or above with Scottish Natural Heritage, The Woodland Trust, The National Trust for Scotland and the John Muir Trust. In these roles he had direct responsibility for operations and policy matters on access, site designation, species policies and land use management.

Among the most satisfying areas Andrew was involved in was as lead Director in SNH on land reform and access during the passage of the primary legislation, the preparation of the Outdoor Access Code and the role-out of support to Access Authorities. He has extensive knowledge of Scotland’s access rights, conversation framework and the workings of Scottish Government and its agencies.

Allan Taylor, Bothy ballad singer of renown, Allan has been a guest singing at many festivals and concerts in Scotland, England and Ireland and is the current Chair of the Aberdeen TMSA. Allan worked for thirty three years with Lloyds TSB,  twenty two of those in Branch, Risk and Compliance Management roles. He spent 10 years in Golf Club Management and currently runs Taylor Bookkeeping Services which he established in 2017. He is the past director of The Traditional Music and Sang association and Golf Aberdeen City and Shire Ltd.

Jackie is a retired teacher with over 30 years’ experience spanning Nursery to S6, including additional support needs. She has a passion for story and has run various storytelling clubs and workshops for young people and school staff in Aberdeenshire.

She is a founder member of the Grampian Association of Storytellers which was established to support storytellers and encourage the development of storytelling in the north-east of Scotland. Through this group she has led various workshops (both in person and online) for those who want to develop their storytelling skills.  Currently she works part-time for the Elphinstone Institute at Aberdeen University where part of her remit is to support the development of diversity in storytelling in the north-east.

John is the author of the Scottish Guitar Tutor book published by Taigh na Teud and which was part funded by Creative Scotland. He was a board member of the Scottish Culture and Traditions organisation for several years and prior to that, secretary of Aberdeen Folk Club. He has written articles on the role of the guitar in traditional music for several magazines, is an experienced performer and takes an interest in many genres of music.

From 2012 to 2024 he held senior lecturing and managerial posts at Aberdeen, Oxford Brookes and Glasgow Universities. Prior to lecturing, he was in involved in planning, environmental, regeneration, marketing and tourism roles in a variety of public sector related bodies and mainly in north-east Scotland.

Traditional Scottish folktales and Traveller tales form the basis of Heather Yule’s repertoire. A fine musician, her storytelling is often enriched by music from the clarsach (Scottish traditional harp). She has performed and led workshops all over Scotland and abroad, including Iceland, Norway and the USA.

Heather grew up surrounded by storytelling, literature, theatre and music. When she was eight years old her mother, Dr Barbara McDermitt, began her PhD on folk narrative at the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University. Heather was very fortunate to be taken by her mother on many recording trips over the following years. These included visiting the Gaelic tradition bearer Nan MacKinnon on the Island of Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides; the master storytellers from the Scottish Traveller tradition, such as Stanley Robertson and Betsy Whyte; and the Appalachian storyteller Ray Hicks in the USA.

Dan Serridge is a storyteller, community artist and facilitator who creates vibrant and exciting storytelling projects for all ages and abilities. He tells stories and helps people to tell theirs, supporting everyone to see their experiences as pieces of artwork waiting to be told. Through a combination of the personal and the folkloric Dan explores the power of metaphor and meaning that sharing stories can hold.

Dan is now based in Glasgow, following several years developing adult training programmes and managing projects for The Village Storytelling Centre he now has extensive experience of working in all contexts and environments.

Dan has worked for a variety of organisations including Theatre by the Lake, Macrobert Arts Centre, Tramway, Simon Community Scotland, Sense Scotland and NHS Scotland.

Pamela King is Professor Emerita of Medieval Studies and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow. Before her return to Scotland, she held academic, managerial, and governance posts in the Universities of York, London, Cumbria and Bristol. Her still-active research and publications focus on editing and critiquing Scots and English early poetry and drama, as well as theatre and performance history. She also has a long-standing interest in European civic festivals – survivals, revivals and reinventions.

From 2013-2021, she took over her family’s property in Assynt, and lived there between April and September, running an eco-friendly tiny house on the NC500, keeping bees, leading walks focused on the Clearances, and acting on the Board of Historic Assynt. Currently she is Treasurer of Edinburgh Folk Club, a member of the Board of the Scottish Text Society. She is also a crafter, specializing in silver-smithing, and is fluent in Early Scots and in Doric.

In alignment with TRACS’s vision and strategic plans, Edinburgh-based queer visual artist, craft maker, and activist Mare Tralla brings a wealth of expertise in navigating cultural landscapes across the UK, Estonia, and beyond. A passionate advocate for EDI and LGBTQ+ rights, she draws on her lived experience and an impressive 30-year track record in exhibiting, lecturing, curating, crafting, and activism.

For the past 15 years, Mare has championed sustainable slow living through her heritage craft-making practice, sharing her extensive knowledge of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), craft, and sustainability.

Wendy Timmons advocates for dance nationally and internationally both as the Convenor for the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland Board of Trustees and the Health and Wellbeing Trustee at Dance Base, Scotland’s national centre for dance. She also serves on the Editorial Board for Research in Dance Education Journal. Wendy is a Senior Lecturer in Dance Science and Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh.

With over forty years’ experience working with dance artists and teachers, she completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh and continues her research in dance medicine and science seeking to enable dancers to realise their full potential.

Image by Bluesky Photography 

Jen’s journey encompasses a diverse range of roles that collectively illustrate her enthusiasm and commitment to the music industry and her drive for continued learning. Within the music landscape, she set up and runs The Bothy Society, concentrating on Contemporary Scottish Traditional Music. Concurrently, she holds significant roles as a live booking agent at Apex Music International and an A&R Scout for Fiction Records under Universal Music Group. In academia, she contributes as a senior lecturer and module leader, guiding the development and delivery of specialised BA Hons courses in Music Business & Marketing at the award-winning music production school Point Blank. She has coordinated tours and managed logistics for chart topping and multi award-winning artists at Sound Travels Live, promoted events with DF Concerts, and led label management at King Tuts Recordings. She also serves on the boards of the Scottish Music Industry Association and MusicALL Scotland.

Anne Martin is an experienced performer and teacher of Gaelic song both in Scotland and internationally. She has a background in Community Education work and is an Associate Facilitator for the Social Enterprise Academy, delivering courses for community groups and individuals at home and abroad. Anne is based on the Isle of Skye, where she has been a partner in the family business (outdoor education and accommodation) since 1995. She was co-founder of Feis Throdairnis (Feis Trotternish) and is a former Trustee of Urras Throndairnis (Trotternish Development Trust). She was chairperson and co-founder of the charity Slainte Productions. She was Music Advisor to Scottish Arts Council 2004–2006, and founder and co-organiser of ‘Ceol on the Croft’ 2014 and 2015.

Anne has appeared as a singer and an actress in TV, film and radio and participated in international festivals. Highlights include Kayseri, Turkey 2019 and Yirramboi First Nations Festival, Melbourne 2017. She has produced and performed in the show An Tinne from 2022-24, linking a collection of songs, stories and objects across the centuries between Scotland and Australia.

Eleanor is a dance artist and teacher in both Highland and Step Dance.

She is an associate member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing with a Masters in Arts and Cultural Management. With close connections to the Hebrides and Northern Isles, Eleanor taught Highland Dance in the Western Isles for a number of years before leaving to travel abroad.

Eleanor now works in arts marketing for a community arts and heritage venue in Argyll and plans to continue her practice as a teaching artist in the near future.