MAINSTAY TRUST - Key Persons


Catherine Gilmour

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Catherine Kelly

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

David Perry

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Gillian Brown

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Gillian Dow - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
Gillian is the Operational Director responsible for the overall performance of the Community Service and Supported Accommodation Services provided by the organisation across the City of Glasgow as well as the strategic development and on-going financial viability of the organisation. Gillian started working with Mainstay Trust Ltd in June 2000. Her initial role as the Community Service Manager, had a remit to create a community-based service to compliment the Residential Services already provided by the organisation. Coming from a background of organising respite for Carers in her role as Project Co-ordinator of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers Centre based in the East End this was a natural step and by early 2001 community-based services were starting to be provided in Glasgow.

Jim Opfer - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board of Directors

Marion McKnight

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager
Marion is the Operations Manager responsible for the day to day running of both the Community and Supported Accommodation Services. Marion started working for Mainstay Trust Ltd as the Assistant Community Services Manager and then went on to be the Community Services Manager. Marion is well respected by both people supported and staff and engages with all Operational Activities. Marion is well known to family members of the people we support and also engages regularly with our colleagues from the various Glasgow Social Work Teams across the city to ensure the people we support can achieve the best day possible when being supported by Mainstay Trust.

Natasha Gordon

Job Titles:
  • Human Resources Manager
Natasha is our HR Manager. She has worked in the third sector since 2012 and previously worked in the NHS and private law. Natasha's responsibilities are for overseeing the day to day Human Resource functions for the organisation and supporting those with line management responsibilities to consistently and fairly apply our policies. She has the responsibility to ensure the HR policies and procedures comply with employment law as well as best practice. Natasha is responsible for delivering HR training workshops to line managers to helps provide all staff with knowledge and ability to experience the required supportive, capability, disciplinary and well-being led managment standards required in whiilst working in Health & Social Care settings.

Patricia Burns

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Scott Ritchie

Job Titles:
  • Service Development Manager
Scott is the Service Development Manager who oversees the Development Team and the Employment and Activities Co-ordinator. Scott has been with Mainstay Trust since March 2018 and Scott's role provides Internal Quality Assurance to the organisation and helps oversee it's Continuous Improvement Plan and Investor in People Framework progress. His role pulls together evidence of focused work that have been completed by our staff within the Operations Team. Scott has worked in Health and Social Care since leaving school in 2001 and has worked in Support Worker, Senior Support Worker, Service Manager, Registered Manager, and Operations Managers positions. He has a strong understanding of peoples roles and the importance of each of them, with emphasis on people working together. This role creates internal action plans for the teams to enable us to achieve the best outcomes for the people we support thus promoting self-evaluation. This has led Scott to having a keen interest in helping the staff develop and be SSSC ready. Scott delivers mandatory and bespoke training courses with focus on delivering our Practice Leadership Training and "Working People towards Outcomes" CPD Training to all staff within the organisation. Scott has also achieved a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde Business School in 2022.

Stewart Binnie-McKenzie

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair of the Board of Directors