Luke Watson

Chair

Born in Berkshire and now rooted in Dornoch since 2021, Luke brings 15 years of experience in the employability and skills sector, primarily with the charity Shaw Trust. His journey with Shaw Trust includes diverse roles, from managing enterprise projects nationwide to overseeing the Work and Health Programme in London. 

Since moving to Dornoch, Luke has taken on the role of Senior Operations Manager for Triage, focusing on delivering employment and skills contracts for local and national government. 

 Despite not showing much interest in gardening during his time in England, it has become a newfound passion for him in the Scottish landscape. 

In the summer of 2021, Luke became a Director of the Dornoch Area Community Interest Company, where he now serves as Chair. His excitement for future opportunities and projects reflects his commitment to the wellbeing of IV25 residents, showcasing a dedication to positive community impact. 

Glen McGill

Vice Chair

Aside from working as a civil servant in the Netherlands for two years before backpacking his way around the world for a year, Glen spent most of his life in Kirkcaldy, Fife.   

After his globetrotting, he settled to a 20-year career with Lloyds Banking Group, initially in marketing and press relations with Scottish Widows, before moving to Lloyds TSB Scotland as Head of Press and Public Affairs. Following five years leading the media and events teams for Lloyds Business Banking UK-wide, he spent the next seven years caring full-time for his mother who was living with Alzheimer’s. 

Glen moved to Dornoch in 2021 and began volunteering with DACIC as a visitor ambassador before becoming a Director in 2022 and getting more involved in community engagement with the establishment of the Tuesday Club and the Community Transport Scheme.  He speaks French, German and Dutch, which is finally paying dividends in his new role as a tour guide throughout the cruise season at Invergordon Port. 

As a long-term amateur actor and singer, he also played several lead roles in Edinburgh and across Fife and as a vocalist with operatic group Ensemble, he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for 15 years and twice played a series of concerts in Germany. 

 He loves the strong sense of community in Dornoch and has really embraced his new life in the Highlands. 

Jim McGillivray

Board Director

Jim is already very well known in the community as an independent councillor for the area serving on Highland Council. This is Jim’s fourth term representing East Sutherland and Edderton, having been elected in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022. 

He attended Dornoch Primary, Dornoch Academy and Golspie High School and went on to teach at Tain Royal Academy for thirty years. Jim lives in Embo in the family home built by his wife’s great grandparents in the early 1900s. 

His strong local credentials are further boosted by his long-term support of the Scottish Crofters Union and the Sutherland Agricultural Society, where he also served as President from 2000 to 2003. 

Jim helped resurrect Embo Football Club as well as helping form the Embo Trust where he is currently Company Secretary. He has simultaneously been a director of both DADCA and here at DACIC for several years.

Emily Lacey-Teagle

Board Director

Emily is a graduate of Sparsholt Agricultural College in Winchester where she studied equine and leisure management. And though she moved to Dornoch in 2014, she hasn’t always been a country girl having grown up in Brixton and Pimlico, London. 

With husband Ashley having family connections in Dornoch, they knew it was a great community to raise their three children, all of whom now attend or have attended Dornoch Primary and Dornoch Academy.    

Emily initially took a few years out from her career to raise the children, but now works in employability with Triage based in Inverness. 

Her love of horses endures as does her support for Arsenal Football Club and she also enjoys going to the gym, travel and supporting her husband’s and children’s sporting endeavours which include boxing and basketball. 

She is keen to get more involved in the local Dornoch community and give back to the town that welcomed her family here ten years ago.  

Could this be you?

Board Director

Paula White 

Manager & Secretary

Born and raised in The Netherlands, Paula first moved to the UK at the age of seventeen, working initially as an au pair and in a number of hotels in front of house and housekeeping roles. 

Married to a Highlander and a mum to three teenagers, she has now lived longer in Sutherland than she did in Holland. 

Excited by the development opportunities at DACIC, Paula joined us from her role as finance manager with Lairg Learning Centre. 

As well as being Secretary to the DACIC Board, Paula is also manager of DACIC where she looks after many and varied aspects of the business including finance, administration, grant applications, care of our tenants and visitors and upkeep of our premises. 

Paula likes to be creative, so she particularly enjoys adding to the activities we offer in the community, whether expanding the range of classes and clubs available, or supporting larger projects such as the Community Transport Scheme and the development of the MUGA.