Isla Campbell Lupton

Head of Fundraising and Communications | Cerebral Palsy Scotland

Isla has been fundraising, volunteering and campaigning since she was 15, after she discovered Amnesty International in a modern studies class and set up a letter writing group. Isla’s first role was as a Community Fundraiser for Action for Children. From there she joined Poppyscotland where she became Deputy Head of Fundraising. Over 12 years Isla helped to run Scotland’s largest public fundraising appeal, and developed the learning outreach project #PoppyBud. In 2019 she moved to Music in Hospitals & Care as Head of Fundraising and Communications and most recently to the same role at Cerebral Palsy Scotland. Isla is passionate about developing fundraisers, enabling continuous professional development and mentoring. She has been a member of the Scottish Fundraising Conference committee since 2014.

Gary Kernahan

Executive Director | THINK Consulting Solutions

Gary is an experienced fundraising leader, with an excellent track record of developing and delivering diverse, cost effective, income generation activities to achieve growth in sustainable income.   

He is currently the Head of Interim and a Senior Consultant with THINK. Previously he has held senior roles at Cancer Research UK, the National Autistic Society, Muscular Dystrophy UK and Children 1st. As a volunteer with the Institute of Fundraising Gary champions fundraising expertise across the sector and was awarded the Fundraising Excellence Award in 2018 in recognition of his work. 

Virginia Anderson

Chief Executive Officer | Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK) 

Virginia is chief executive of Disability Snowsport UK and a trustee of Glasgow North West Citizens Advice Bureau. She has been involved in the third sector for more than 20 years as a fundraiser, funder, trustee, and volunteer. Virginia has been involved with the Scottish conference committee and CIOF Scotland as a volunteer since 2015. She has a keen interest in strategic giving and the role of fundraisers in organisational success, particularly in small to medium sized charities

Claire Mackie

Legacy & In Memory Development Manager | Marie Curie UK

Claire is an experienced Legacy and In Memory Fundraising Manager with a background in community fundraising, mass participation events and individual giving. Currently working at Marie Curie UK, Claire leads a team of 14 inspiring Legacy and In Memory fundraisers who are regionally based throughout the UK. Her true passion is raising the internal awareness of the importance of Gifts in Wills which, within a palliative care charity, brings it’s own unique challenges along with championing the specific marketing requirements within the Devolved Nations. Claire has been a member of the CIoF Scottish Fundraising Conference Committee since 2018.

Susan Williams

Director, Fundraising Operations | Mercy Corps

Susan has worked in the Third Sector for over 20 years, taking up post at Mercy Corps in 2023 after supporting the charity as a consultant.  Susan has worked with many organisations on a variety of fundraising projects and interim positions. Susan has an in-depth knowledge of fundraising operations, advising on team structure, donation management, database management, along with previous experience of working across all disciplines of fundraising. Susan is once again delighted to be involved in the creation of a great conference held in Scotland and looks forward to catching up with this fantastic community once again. 

David Page

Director | Triceratops Training

David is a product of small charities having experience as a service user, volunteer, staff member, leader, consultant and trainer. He has been a fundraiser for 20 years, starting with large NGOs before following his heart to specialise in smaller organisations. 

In 2019 he saw a lack of provision in high quality, accessible training targeted at the unique challenges of small charitable organisations, and so launched the equally unique Triceratops Training in early 2023. Since then he has had the pleasure of partnering with several sector infrastructure organisations, supporting hundreds of small charities and CICs, and delivering training and coaching across the world. 

Dan Rous

Freelance Church and Community Developer | CommunityDan

Dan has been running and developing Community and Social Enterprises in Scotland since 2003.  He has a heart for developing projects that enable people and communities to be developed.  Now working freelance as CommunityDan, he specialises in Church and Community Development, with a lot of time spent helping bring old buildings, especially church buildings, back to life again.  

Dan likes people, community, church, development, and social enterprise, plus he throws in a bit of radio broadcasting besides.  Dan supports a wide range of organisations large and small with visioning, funding, governance, marketing and many other development needs, plus he also sits on the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel.

Jonathan Mitchell

Head of Fundraising | MND Scotland

Since starting as a Community & Events Fundraising Assistant in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne over 10 years ago, Jonathan has gone on to lead fundraising teams in national charities across Scotland.  Currently the Head of Fundraising at MND Scotland, Jonathan is passionate about the development of the teams he leads and so being involved in the Scottish Fundraising conference is the perfect fit. 

Whilst this is the first year for Jonathan on the Scottish Fundraising Conference committee, he also sits on the Scottish Heads & Directors SIG committee. When he’s not fundraising, Jonathan is a volunteer for the Dementia Dog project, looking after assistance dogs and assisting with their ongoing training.