Our structure
Girlguiding Scotland is a Scottish charity supporting 45,000 girls and young women and 11,000 amazing volunteers.
We’re part of the UK-wide charity, Girlguiding, with half a million members across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions.
Through Girlguiding we belong to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), a huge movement of ten million girls and young women across the globe.
Local guiding
Girlguiding Scotland has six regions – Ayrshire & South West, Central, Grampian, Highlands & Islands, Lothian & Borders and Strathclyde.
Each region is divided into local areas known as counties, for example Perth & Kinross, Glasgow and Moray.
Each county has its own lead volunteer known as a county commissioner who runs guiding in the area, supported by Girlguiding Scotland and a team of local volunteers.
Some counties are formed of several divisions, for example Stirling and Elphinstone.
Counties or divisions are broken down into districts, for example Stenhouse and North Lorn.
Last but not least, each local guiding area is made up of units – groups of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers – for example the 53rd Glasgow Guides and the 1st Dingwall Rainbows.
Find out more about guiding near you
Find out more about how Girlguiding Scotland is structured by downloading a map of our counties and have a look at who’s part of our Scottish Executive – or trustee board – and on our staff team.
If you’d like to contact a county commissioner or a Scottish adviser about a particular topic, for example accessibility, then please get in touch.
If you’d like to raise something at trustee level speak to your district or division commissioner, or your county commissioner. They can raise issues with your area’s regional representative on our Scottish Executive, which meets four times a year.
Our Trustees
Girlguiding Scotland’s work is overseen by our Scottish Executive, a group of trustees appointed for their skills, expertise and commitment to our vision. Led by the Scottish chief commissioner, our most senior volunteer, Girlguiding Scotland’s Trustees make sure everything we do helps us achieve our mission to inspire and empower girls in every community in Scotland. The Scottish Chief Commissioner is supported by the chief executive and her team of staff.
Moira McKenna
Scottish Chief Commissioner
Moira is our lead volunteer in Scotland, with overall responsibility for making sure we deliver our aim of empowering and inspiring as many girls as possible to find their voice through Girlguiding across the country.
Gail Fox
Deputy Scottish Chief Commissioner
Gail Fox supports the Scottish chief commissioner and, along with the other Deputy Scottish Chief Commissioners Carol Morwood and Lisa Millar, provides individual support to Girlguiding Scotland counties.
Carol Morwood
Deputy Scottish Chief Commissioner
Carol supports the Scottish chief commissioner and, along with the other Deputy Scottish Chief Commissioners Gail Fox and Lisa Millar, provides individual support to Girlguiding Scotland counties.
Mr Brian Lawrie
Honorary treasurer
Brian is our honorary treasurer on our Scottish Executive. This role involves keeping the trustees informed about financial duties and responsibilities, as well as our performance, and supporting specific activities as required.
Emma Ritchie
Chair of the guiding delivery committee
Emma is our new guiding delivery lead volunteer – she will coordinate the volunteer team that delivers Girlguiding Scotland activities and events for our members and ensure we have a thriving membership.
Matilda Lomas
Marketing and communications chair
Matilda is our lead volunteer for communications, supporting our network of PR volunteers to share the excitement of Girlguiding Scotland through the media, events and online.
Alison Coyle
Chair of the membership growth and development working group
Alison Coyle is the new lead volunteer for membership growth and development working group. The working group promotes Girlguiding Scotland and Girlguiding and support the Scottish growth strategy.
Linda Holden
Business management & finance committee chair
Linda Holden is the business management and finance chair on our Scottish Executive. She helps the Girlguiding Scotland staff team support members with property, governance and charity matters too.
Mike Winter
Adult member
Mike is part of our Scottish Executive. He’s one of three of our Adult Member trustees.
Helen Welsh
Adult member
Helen has joined our Scottish Executive as one of two trustees who represent our local volunteers and adult members across Scotland.
Eleanor Swift
Young member
The youth member on our Scottish Executive gives all of our young members a voice in important trustee decisions and discussions.
Liz Thompson
Lothian and Borders region
Liz is one of six regional representatives who sit on our Scottish Executive. She represents Lothian and Borders and is also the county commissioner for West Lothian.
Janice Coates
Central region
Janice is one of six regional representatives who sit on our Scottish Executive. She represents the central region. She also shares the role of county commissioner for Dundee with Lesley Blyth.
Jill Elborn
Strathclyde region
Jill is one of six regional representatives who sit on our Scottish Executive. She is also the county commissioner for Glasgow as well as running a Guide and Senior Section unit in the thriving city.
Alison Williams
Grampian region
Alison represents the Grampian region on our Scottish Executive. She’s also the county commissioner for the Moray area.
Suzanne Docherty
Highlands & Islands region
Suzanne is one of six regional representatives who sit on our Scottish Executive. She represents the Highlands & Islands region and is also the county commissioner for Inverness-shire.
Diane Hope
Southwest region
Diane is one of six regional representatives who sit on our Scottish Executive, representing the Southwest region. She has a wealth of experience in Girlguiding and is the county commissioner for Dumfriesshire where there are around 900 member and 50 units.
Our staff team
We also have a team of staff who work in our Scottish Headquarters and shop in Edinburgh. The Chief Executive and staff team supports the work of the Executive Committee.
Denise Spence
Chief Executive
Denise is responsible for delivering Girlguiding Scotland’s strategy and managing our staff and finances. She works closely with the Scottish Chief Commissioner to ensure Girlguiding Scotland provides the best possible support for our members.
Kirsty Gray
Head of Business Management and Finance
Kirsty leads on money and business matters at Girlguiding Scotland. She also runs our shops and online store, helping to generate income as well as oversee the spending of it! Kirsty supports our members with advice on tricky property, governance and charity matters too.
Laura Wright
Guiding Delivery Manager
Laura runs the Girlguiding Delivery team, which works with volunteers to get big events like our Tartan Gig off the ground. The team also builds external partnerships.
Carolyn Fox McKay
Communications, policy & fundraising manager (currently on maternity leave)
Carolyn manages the Communications team, responsible for raising the profile of Girlguiding Scotland, communicating with members, public affairs and last (but definitely not least!) promoting the voices of our young members.
Louise Henderson
Membership Development Manager
Louise manages a small team who are responsible for attracting and retaining volunteers, and helping Scottish guiding units to grow and thrive.