Our Trustees

The Trust is governed by Royal Charter through a Board of twenty Trustees who meet every two months to consider the business of the Trust including applications for grants.

Future Board Meeting dates:

2022

Thursday 24 February 2022 - Board Meeting

Thursday 28 April 2022 - Board Meeting and AGM

Thursday 30 June 2022 - Board Meeting

Thursday 25 August 2022 - Board Meeting

Thursday 27 October 2022 - Board Meeting

Thursday 15 December 2022 - Board Meeting

 

Andrew Croxford - Chairman

Andrew Croxford is a Chartered Accountant and is the Senior Partner at Thomson Cooper Accountants, based in Dunfermline. He joined the firm as a partner in 1990 and has lived in Crossford since moving to Dunfermline when he joined Thomson Cooper.

He is married to Judith and has two children, David and Hannah who are currently living in Canada and Aberdeen.

Andrew is involved with many charities, both professionally and personally.

  • He is a member of Carnock & Oakley Parish Church, where he shares his love of music by playing guitar during services. Andrew also enjoys golf, football and spending time with friends and family.

Dr Colin Firth

Colin became a Trustee of the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts in 2017.

Born in the Fife mining village of Ballingry, Colin was brought up in Dunfermline.

He qualified from Edinburgh University as a Doctor of Medicine in 1979 and went on to complete GP training and MRCGP in 1983. He then spent a year working in Paediatrics in Newfoundland and Labrador for the Grenfell Regional Health Service.

  • On his return to Scotland, he became a partner in his former training practice in Rosyth where he remained a GP for thirty-two years.

    During his tenure, the practice was noted for its innovative developments informed by health needs assessment and planning. Colin was a prime mover in the development of Dunfermline Local Healthcare Cooperative and the transition to Community Health Partnership. He was awarded FRCGP in 2000. In 2003 he became a GP Specialist in Addictions, working part-time with Fife NHS Addiction Service until his retiral from medical practice in 2016.

    Colin is married to Lynne and they have two children and two grandchildren. He was a warranted Scout Leader from 1986 until 2012 and awarded the Silver Acorn for distinguished service to Scouting.

    He continues to act as Duke of Edinburgh coordinator for a local Scout Group. He is a Munroist, keen alpine skier, fly fisher and keeps fit through golf and walking football.

Danny McArthur

Danny joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trust as a Trustee in 2014. Danny is a Partner with Hardies Property & Construction Consultants based in their Dunfermline office.

  • A past Director of Dunfermline Town Centre Management and past Director of Dunfermline Delivers.

    Danny was a member of Dunfermline Round Table for 15 years and now a member of the Dunfermline 41 Club and in these roles has enjoyed undertaking a considerable amount of charity work.

    Danny loves spending time with his family and enjoys golf, fishing and hill walking when time allows. Danny’s current roles in the Trust include being Sports Convenor and a member of the Birth Place Museum committee where he principally advises on building maintenance matters.

 

David Walker

David joined as a trustee in 2000 and was chairman from 2016-2018. He currently chairs the finance committee and the investment committee. 

David graduated from Heriot Watt University and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1982 before becoming a partner in Thomson Cooper, a local accountancy practice. 

  • David enjoys golf and all sports and is a keen hillwalker.

Fiona Robertson

Fiona joined the Board of Trustees in 2005 where she has held a number of roles including Hero Fund Convener and Chair from 2020, just as the COVID lockdown began.

She is a retired Physiotherapist with clinical and lecturing experience working in the UK, Australia and latterly in Fife at the Queen Margaret and Victoria hospitals.

  • She lives in Dunfermline and has been involved in many voluntary roles within the community. She is a Trustee of the Carnegie UK Trust.

    She was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Fife in 2007 and was appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant in 2015. In her spare time, she plays golf, enjoys her garden and spends time with family and friends.

George Murray

George has been a trustee since 2014 and is currently the Community and Arts Convener and sits on the investment and audit committees.

He has been involved in Community Education for over 20 years, he worked for Fife Council as a Community Learning and Development Worker with a specific remit for delivering informal learning opportunities to young people across Fife.

  • George managed a team of youth workers and young volunteers on various projects that improved the quality of life for young people in their respective communities.

    He has a particular interest in enabling young people to develop a strong voice through youth forums and to be active in the local and national decision-making process. He is currently working as a Local Area Coordinator for Fife Health and Social Care Partnership.

    In his spare time, George is actively involved in the music industry, he plays in various bands, assists in the organisation of an Arts Festival in Fife and has been involved in music management looking after local bands developing their careers.

    George is also a trustee of the Carnegie UK Trust, the chair of Youth1st and on the board of the Outwith Festival committee.

 

Gillian Mann

Gillian joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts as a Trustee in 2017. Gillian is a local headteacher with more than 25 years experience in education within Fife.  

She is passionate about leadership, learning and improving outcomes for young people.  

  • Gillian is married with a young son.  Beyond work and family Gillian enjoys walking, going to gym and travelling.

Ian Wilson

A BSc. Building and Construction Management graduate of Heriot-Watt University I spent my working life in the Construction Industry both on site and in the supply chain. Latterly I was the Divisional Managing Director of Turner Access Ltd, the steel system Scaffolding Manufacturer and Contractor, until my retirement in 2017. Currently, I am the Independent Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Employee Benefits Trust of Scott and Fyfe (Tayport) Ltd an employee-owned company.

  • I have been a Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trustee since 2002 and spent 11 years on the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie UK Trust.

    I have been married to my wife Margaret since 1979 and we have two sons and four grandchildren. I have lived in Dunfermline since I was 11.

Janet McCauslin - Vice- Chair

Janet joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts as a Trustee in 2008. 

Janet has spent a lifetime working in education and skills, from Primary teaching through to Further and Higher Education management and finally in the field of R&D in workplace development.

  • Over the years has been involved in volunteering in the community and in her church, and enjoys gardening, walking and staying active as well as spending time with family and friends.

 

The Rev MaryAnn Rennie

I’ve been a parish minister for over 20 years, and became minister of the Abbey Church of Dunfermline in 2012.  My role at the Abbey allows me the opportunity to meet not just with the congregation, but local people and visitors to the town. 

I have the opportunity of working with young people and families through chaplaincy to two local schools.  As part of my responsibilities to the wider Church of Scotland I am currently the Vice Convener of the Business Committee of Fife Presbytery and the Chair of the Church of Scotland Housing and Loan Fund for Retired Ministers and Widows and Widowers of Ministers.

  • I’m married with two young people, one at university and the other completing their time at school.  

    In my spare time, I like walking, and I’ve decided to further my education by studying part-time for a Doctorate in Ministry through Pittsburgh Seminary.

Mike Reid

Mike is a Trustee of the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trust as well as the Carnegie UK Trust.

He also serves as a Justice of the Peace.  

He lives in Dunfermline with his wife, Louise, has two adult children and will often be found on the golf course when not doing something useful.

  • Mike's career spans thirty-four years and has focused on the opportunities created by the convergence of technology, marketing and the transformative capabilities of digital. 

    In January 2016 Mike retired as Managing Director at Sapient where he led the UK business from a start-up in 1998 to be recognised as the top digital agency by 2013. In 2015 Sapient Corp was acquired by Publicis Groupe.   

    Mike now has his own advisory business, Nine Patriots Consulting, which helps businesses grow and scale to the next level.  

Rachel Doyle

Rachel joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts as a Trustee in 2021.

To date Rachel has held senior roles in private industry, the public sector and in a regulatory context. She has many years’ experience of strategically leading health & safety, wellbeing, risk management, emergency response and business continuity functions to deliver operational excellence, continual improvement, and commercial advantage.

  • Her most recent role was as the Head of Safety, Health and Wellbeing at the University of Strathclyde, which she left in February of 2021 to set up a care at home company based in Dalgety Bay.

    Having been a Community Councillor in the town for many years, she had a desire to support elderly people in her local community to live happy, healthy, fulfilled lives independently at home for longer.

    Outside work, her interests include spending time with family and friends, participating at the ParkRun event in Pittencrieff Park and supporting the athletic interests of her two sons.

 

Dr Ruth Strain

Ruth joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts as a Trustee in 2021.  She is a fundraising professional with over a decade of experience securing gifts at University of Oxford colleges, the University of Edinburgh and, most recently, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

  • She also sits on the Finance and Redevelopment Committees for the Abbey Church of Dunfermline and served for nearly three years as Vice-Chair for the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Scottish Major Donor Special Interest Group.

    Through these experiences, she has seen numerous examples of how philanthropy can be truly transformative and is looking forward to sharing her skillset to help deliver Andrew Carnegie’s vision of bringing ‘more of sweetness and light’ by promoting the welfare and happiness of people in and around Dunfermline.

    Originally from southern California, Ruth has now lived in Dunfermline for five years and is continually discovering its many historic and cultural gems, as well as its warm and welcoming community.

    Her walks in Pittencrieff Park stops by the Abbot House gift shop, visits to the Tiffany Window in Dunfermline Abbey, and a multitude of other joyful moments in her day-to-day life are a constant reminder to me of the ways the Trust has positively impacted Dunfermline.

Cllr Sam Steele

Sam Steele was delighted to be elected in May 2022 as the SNP Councillor for West Fife Coastal Villages. 

She is a mum of three and has worked in NHS Fife for 33 years, as a Learning Disability Nurse and as a Midwife. 

Sam has an interest in community food growing, having previously volunteered for four years with the EATS project in Rosyth.

  • She currently volunteers at High Valleyfield Community Garden and is hoping to get involved with other similar projects.

    She is an avid reader and animal lover, currently a member of the RSPB and Bat Conservation Trust. 

Thomas Docherty

Thomas is Head of Public Affairs for Which?, the Consumer Association, championing the interests of all UK consumers, but particularly those from the nations and regions.

He is a former Chairman of Dunfermline Round Table and a member of the Dunfermline Beer Festival Committee, that has raised over a third of million pounds for local charities and good causes over the past two decades.

  • He is on the Board of Directors of Fife Law Centre and a member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, the body that prepares draft rules of procedure for the civil courts and advises the Lord President on the development of the civil justice system in Scotland.

    He was the Member of Parliament for Dunfermline & West Fife from 2010 to 2015.

 

Victoria Simpson

Victoria joined the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts as a Trustee in 2021.  Victoria is a solicitor specialising in charity law and private client work. She is a director at Anderson Strathern and Head of the Charities Practise.

She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in charity law.  She sits on the Law Society Charity Committee and the ICAS Charities Panel.

  • Victoria lives in Dunfermline and is also a longstanding trustee of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

    In her free time Victoria is a keen hill walker and outdoor enthusiast, completing her Munros in 2009. She is passionate about protecting wildlife and local heritage.

    Victoria also plays the oboe and is a member of the Really Terrible Orchestra.

Cllr Brian Goodall

Cllr Brian Goodall was put forward as a Trustee by Fife Council's South and West Fife Area Committee. Brian is one of the Councillors for the Rosyth Ward, covering Rosyth, Pattiesmuir, Limekilns, Charlestown and Crombie. He was previously a Councillor for the Dunfermline South Ward for ten years from 2007.

  • Brian is Fife Council's rep on Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) and has been a peace campaigner all his adult life. He's also a keen birdwatcher and wildlife gardener. He took up jogging at age 50 and describes himself as a slow runner.