Tracie Dick was born in Edinburgh and grew up in Lancashire. She spent a number of years living and working in various places around the Midlands and southern England, including London, predominantly in banking, with a particular focus on training and development and the creation of online learning programmes and management systems. Tracie moved to Blairgowrie, where most of her family is from, in 2010 and in 2016 co-founded a social enterprise supporting local creative talent in the town. Nest Creative Spaces is now a community interest company that provides a creative hub for the local community and which is committed to improving wellbeing and reducing loneliness through crafts, while at the same time keeping reusable material from going to landfill.

Born and brought up on Milton of Drumlochy Farm near Blairgowrie, William attended the local primary and secondary schools before leaving home to serve an engineering apprenticeship and attend college in Edinburgh. Now retired, William’s career was in mechanical and electrical consultancy where he was responsible for the design, supervision and project management of building services required in the construction industry. He worked on projects throughout the UK and overseas and has vast experience in project management and engineering. As well as being a Trustee of BRDT, William is also on the committee of Blair in Bloom and is particularly involved in the development of the community garden in the town.

Phil was brought up in Essex. He studied modern history at Kingston University and American history at Birmingham University, gaining a BA Hons and MA respectively. He spent more than 30 years working for Royal Mail in various human resources roles, including five years developing national policy. Phil moved to Scotland in 1987 and worked as a senior manager and board member in various HR roles, both as a generalist and subject specialist. Having taken early retirement more than 10 years ago, he has since devoted much of his time to support various voluntary organisations, including being involved in the creation of BRDT. He has a great love of music, both playing and listening, and enjoys attending concerts and gigs.

Laura returned to Blairgowrie with her family a couple of years ago after having lived and worked away for almost 25 years, and is now a property manager within the town. She is also president of Blairgowrie Cricket Club. Returning to Blairgowrie, she was inspired by the huge number of volunteers in the town making a positive difference locally and was keen to get involved and play a part in that. Laura is the BRDT Trustee leading the new Business Focus Group and is looking forward to supporting work to deliver the aspirations highlighted by the community in the Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Action Plan and the Local Place Plan for the town.

Leith Hill is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, in the USA and before moving to Blairgowrie, she lived in Brooklyn, New York. She currently works as a business consultant and executive coach. Leith has also volunteered in the non-profit/charity sector for decades, mostly around fundraising and donor relations. Leith has two adult sons, and since moving to Blairgowrie has picked up the ukulele and the fiddle.

Bob and his wife moved to the area 22 years ago when they bought the Bridge of Cally Post Office, which they ran until 2025. His background is in retail finance, particularly in banking and residential mortgages, and he worked for several lenders over a number of years. In May 2017, Bob was first elected as a local councillor for the Blairgowrie and Glens ward, and he was subsequently re-elected in 2022. This role has given him ample opportunity to meet and talk with various groups that support the town. Bob joined BRDT as a director in 2024 and hopes to be able to help develop Blairgowrie and Rattray as a viable and diverse centre for residents and visitors alike to enjoy.

Kenneth’s professional focus is sustainability in the built environment, with expertise principally in both domestic and commercial energy retrofit, traditional building retrofit, microgeneration, renewable heating, energy storage, and smart energy technologies. He has previous experience in roles spanning specialist advice, community engagement, consultancy, and project management across public, private, and third sector organisations. He also takes a keen interest in the intersection between energy, sustainability, and urban planning, has a master’s degree in urban strategies and design, and is a member of the Scottish Ecological Design Association.

Nathan has an energy and climate background having studied environmental science at the University of East Anglia before working on Suffolk County Council’s BEE (Business Energy Efficiency) Anglia programme and Groundwork East’s sustainability projects in the east of England. Since then he has been developing his own sustainability consultancy for small businesses and charities while travelling in New Zealand and moving to Scotland. Nathan has a keen interest in action on the ground to improve energy efficiency, fight climate change, and improve people’s lives.

BRDT’s finance officer Darren Kane is originally from Perth. Now based in Wormit in Fife, Darren has strong links to the local community through his involvement in the Strathmore Centre for Youth Development (SCYD) and the town’s wrestling scene. A qualified accountant with several years of experience working for a number of companies, Darren runs his own business, Figure Four Accounting, and has a number of clients in a range of sectors.

Clare has 30 years’ experience in both journalism and public relations - including more than a decade spent working in the corporate communications department for VisitScotland, and 13 years as the local roving reporter for the Blairgowrie Advertiser as well as the Strathearn Herald and Perthshire Advertiser. As the creative director behind CraicN Communications, which offers strategic, practical and tailored communications services, Clare supports a number of community organisations to connect with corporate and consumer audiences across a broad range of sectors through both print and digital media, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the National Union of Journalists.