Ailsa is a senior creative leader with over three decades of experience operating at the intersection of the arts, research, policy, and education. A graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, she has established a successful career as a professional artist, designer, programme director, and strategic advisor. Her creative portfolio includes internationally licensed design work across fashion, interiors, and lifestyle products, with clients and collections represented in the UK, USA, Australia, and Germany. Alongside this commercial success, Ailsa maintains a vibrant personal art practice. Her work has been widely exhibited and is held in private collections nationally and internationally. Currently based in Dumfries and Galloway, Ailsa combines her creative practice with a leadership role in resilience research and knowledge exchange. As Programme and Research Centre Manager at the National Centre for Resilience, University of Glasgow, she specialises in climate adaptation, behavioural change, and community resilience, with a particular focus on creative methodologies and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has co-authored research addressing resilience in vulnerable populations and is committed to using arts-based approaches to support public engagement, wellbeing, and sustainable development. Ailsa’s professional expertise spans complex programme delivery, strategic planning, and cross-sector partnership development. She has led multi-agency initiatives across academic, public, and third-sector contexts, aligning policy with practice through innovative, evidence-led approaches. Her leadership includes operational and resource management, systems implementation, and capacity building across diverse teams and communities. In her role as Chair of DG Unlimited, Ailsa brings a deep understanding of the creative sector’s potential to drive social, cultural, and economic transformation. She is dedicated to advocating for the value of the arts in public life and to strengthening the infrastructure and visibility of Dumfries and Galloway’s creative community at regional and national levels.
