We are a community that shares a passion for people, places and the planet. With the support of more than 2,700 Members and c120 volunteers, we are a small, flexible organisation, striving to promote greater geographical understanding.

Staff

Day-to-day delivery of our work programme is undertaken by a team of four full-time and two part-time staff, all based at the HQ in Perth.

Chief Executive Mike Robinson

Mike has been Chief Executive since 2008, overseeing the RSGS move to Perth and rejuvenating the charity’s purpose, positioning and profile – and that of geography and geographers in Scottish civic society too. Through this role – and over the course of the last 25 years – Mike has been instrumental in informing policy through joined-up, collaborative action, particularly in sustainability and climate change.

For example, in 2006 he established Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), the largest coalition ever formed in Scotland, which was so instrumental in delivering the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the Scottish Climate Justice Fund, and the 2019 Emissions Reduction Targets Act. Currently, he co-chairs the Farming for 1.5°C inquiry, and is hosting a series of Climate Emergency Summits with more than 40 organisations to identify suitable responses to the emergency, and to inform government thinking. He is also leading development of a new qualification, Climate Solutions, for business leaders with the University of Stirling and University of Edinburgh Management Schools, and the Institute of Directors. Amongst others, Mike sits on the Scottish Government’s ADT Stakeholder Forum, the Board of Transform Scotland, the Vacant and Derelict Land Taskforce, and Perth City Development Board.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Scottish Environment Link and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), and has won a number of awards for his contribution to climate change, including the 2001 Best Renewable Energy Initiative, the 2009 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for the Environment, and the 2017 Bernier Medal of the RCGS.

Development Manager Susan Watt
Communications Officer James Cave
Finance & Membership Officer Linda Davidson
Office & Events Assistant Anne Daniel (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime)
Office & Events Assistant Katrina Strachan (Wednesday to Friday)

Trustees

Our overall strategy is guided by a Board of Trustees – volunteers who bring their experience and expertise to help the Society. The majority of Trustees are elected by our Members; some Trustees represent the volunteer Committees which have responsibility for certain areas of work; the Geographer Royal for Scotland (appointed by Her Majesty The Queen to a position we helped to reinstate in 2015, after it had been in abeyance for 118 years) is an ex officio Trustee.

Chair Professor John Briggs FRSGS
Vice-Chair Alister Hendrie FRSGS
Treasurer Tim Ambrose
Collections Committee Chair Margaret Wilkes FRSGS
Education Committee Chair Alastair McConnell
Local Groups Committee Chair Lorna Ogilvie
Geographer Royal for Scotland, and Research & Knowledge Exchange Committee Chair Professor Charles Withers FRSGS
Other Elected Members Meredith Adams
Helen Ord
Co-Opted Member Professor Ian Simpson

Honorary Post-Holders

RSGS has a formal network of honorary post-holders in addition to the Geographer Royal for Scotland. We benefit from Royal Patronage, from the support of a dedicated President and Vice-Presidents, and from the inspirational contributions of our Explorers-in-Residence and Writer-in-Residence. We also have an extensive network of Medallists and Honorary Fellows whom the RSGS has recognised for their outstanding contributions to geography.

Patron Her Majesty The Queen
President Professor Iain Stewart
Vice-Presidents HRH The Princess Royal
The Duke of Buccleuch
Erica Caldwell FRSGS
Professor Dame Anne Glover FRSGS
Sir David Hempleman-Adams FRSGS
Baron Nickson
Dr Frederik Paulsen
Professor Bruce Proudfoot FRSGS
Professor William Ritchie FRSGS
Professor John Rowan
Professor David Sugden FRSGS
Lord Wilson of Tillyorn
Explorers-in-Residence Craig Mathieson
Luke & Hazel Robertson
Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf FRSGS
“As a Professor of Science Communication, I am thrilled to be the President of the RSGS, a well-respected and dynamic educational charity that works with a wide range of partners and audiences, from youth and community groups to academics and politicians, to inform and inspire people about a wealth of fascinating geographical stories, and to encourage a broader engagement with the geographical sciences.”
Professor Iain Stewart, 19th President of the RSGS