Who's In Charge?

As a charity, Rossie is run by a Board of Governors, who deliver all responsibilities though the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Leadership and Management Team.

Our Board of Governors work with the Senior Leadership and Management Team to make Rossie a well-organised, cost-effective and sustainable organisation. The Board of Governors are volunteers, each with different areas of expertise, who together contribute their knowledge and capabilities to develop the charity’s work.

Meet our Board of Governors

Eddie Frizzell – Chair 
Eddie worked for the Government in Scotland and had senior roles in relation to Justice, Business & Industry, Further and Higher Education, and Finance. Since his retirement from the civil service he has served as Chair of Court at Abertay University, Chair of Trefoil, a charity providing financial support to young people, Chair of the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, and Vice- Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service. He has been a Governor of Rossie since early 2021.

Lesley-Ann Parker
Lesley-Ann previously worked in manufacturing, the creative sector and was CEO of Moray Chamber of Commerce.  She ran her own graphic design and marketing company for many years supplying advice to companies from all different sectors of business.

Edward Russell
Edward’s background covers finance, commerce and farm management.

Fi Troughton 
Fi has had a wide range of experiences having lived abroad for many years.  More recently she has been on the Tayside Panel for Children’s Hearings Scotland for nearly 20 years and has many voluntary interests in and around Angus.  She has a large family, multiple dogs and is looking forward to being an active member of the Rossie Board.

Jeannie Maclean
Jeannie’s background is in teaching. She has been a member of the Children’s Panel, and most recently has worked as a Depute Manger for Children’s hearings Scotland learning Academy at west Lothian College.

John Sutcliffe
John has expertise in the worlds of commerce and farming. He was heavily involved in the development of Rossie’s new secure building. This was recognised when he was awarded the MBE for services to young people.

Ellenore Foulis
Ellenore is a lawyer who has recently retired after working throughout Scotland for 40 years as a court solicitor, university lecturer/tutor, curator and safeguarder to Children’s Panels throughout Scotland.

Meet our Senior Leadership Management

Mary Geaney – Chief Executive Officer
Mary Geaney has held the position of CEO of Rossie since June 2016. She is an experienced senior executive who has worked with multiple stakeholders in complex political environments up to and including Ministerial level. She has worked within the public, private and charity sectors – delivering change programmes at local, regional and central government levels.  She has extensive experience of strategic planning, change management, commissioning/providing services, within robust contract management frameworks.

As CEO she achieves results through leading and developing high performing teams within a context of appropriate governance and financial management. She has led on transformational organisational change as well as large start up programmes of large financial value.  Her preferred leadership style is collaborative, working with key stakeholders/partners to achieve results operating within principles of reciprocity– however she is extremely competitive for her organisation at all times. She has achieved formal recognition and awards in a variety of roles for her organisations throughout her career – and always ensures her staff are recognised in any such achievements/awards.

A double Masters level academic with relevant degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science,  and Warwick Business School – she is committed to continued professional development to deliver excellence for her organisation.

Since taking up post she has increased revenue year on year, achieved efficiencies, won a new 4 year contract, won 4 National Awards for the organisation, gained formal commendation in Holyrood for the organisation on 2 separate occasions. Most recently her own leadership was recognised by The Association of Scottish Businesswomen National Business Awards when she won the Professional of the Year 2018.

Kevin Northcott – Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Northcott has been employed as a manager at Rossie since May 2020, where he had direct managerial and operational responsibility for the Secure service, before being appointed as Deputy CEO in May 2022.

Kevin has previous care sector experience having been Head of Operations within an organisation for 5 years.  Kevin is a qualified Teacher along with having a MSc in Management & Leadership.

Kevin is currently a CALM Instructor and is passionate about restraint reduction within the care sector and working towards positive outcomes for the most vulnerable young people in our society.

Serena Brown – Service Manager, Management Support 

Serena Brown has worked at Rossie since 1994. Prior to joining Rossie, she held a number of positions within NHS Tayside in the Finance team, initially within administration and latterly in junior managerial positions. Today, she is responsible for the delivery of the Management Support function of the organisation, leading a team of 13 staff in various disciplines including Human Resources, Management Information, Clerical and Administration.

Serena works closely with CEO and senior colleagues in the delivery of the organisational Business Plan and strategic Priorities ensuring Rossie has a sustainable future for both staff and young people.

Martin Brown – Service Manager, Business and Facilities

Martin Brown has worked at Rossie since 2007, initially joining to work on the development and commissioning of Rossie’s new £12m premises. Today, his role also oversees the organisation’s facilities, capital development, procurement, security, health and safety, IT services, and marketing, along with the catering and household teams.
Prior to joining Rossie, Martin spent over ten years in similar roles elsewhere in the UK, and advised on the design and operational details of several other new secure units in England, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.

Aileen Ingram – Specialist Intervention Health and Wellbeing Manager

Aileen Ingram has been employed at Rossie since 1998 in a variety of roles. Aileen has extensive experience of working within the Secure and Residential Care Services, Specialist Interventions team and Throughcare.  During this time, she has been promoted from frontline practitioner to different management roles, joining the Senior Leadership and Management Team in March 2022.

Aileen oversees the Specialist Intervention and Health Team as well as the Learning and Development Team. She has a keen interest in the development of others and is an SVQ Assessor and Internal Verifier.  Aileen is a qualified Social Worker and has a Degree in Health and Social Care as well as a post qualifying qualification as a Practice Educator.

Lesley Mollison – Service Development Manager, Secure 

Lesley Mollison has a long and proud history working at Rossie for over twenty years.  During this time, she has held a range of positions and been promoted from a frontline practitioner, to operational leadership and management roles within the secure and residential services.  She joined the Senior Leadership and Management Team in 2023.

Lesley’s professional qualifications include BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care and PGDip in Management, Leadership and Child Welfare and Protection.  She is responsible for the Secure Care Service and ensures that her highly skilled staff teams deliver the highest standard of care and support to complex social, emotional and behavioral needs.  Lesley is passionate about creating the maximum opportunities for children and young people in Rossie, through care, therapeutic support and educational attainment.

Michael Scanlin – Service Development Manager, Residential Care

Michael Scanlin joined the senior leadership and management team at Rossie in August 2022.  He has significant  experience working in children’s residential care services and also within local authorities. Michael  has overall responsibility for our residential service, which is a mixture of close support and independent living houses. He also leads on our Throughcare service to ensure smooth transitions for our young people as they move from Rossie. Michael has strategic and operational responsibility in reducing restrictive practices  and developing our LGBT work. He is passionate about young people’s rights and participation, and committed to ensuring their voices are central to the care they receive.

Michael is a qualified social worker,  holding a BA (Hons) in Social work, a PG (Dip) in advanced residential childcare and PG (Cert) in Child Protection.

Rob Petrie – Head of Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning 

Rob Petrie has been an Educational Leader in both the private and local authority sectors for the past 16 years. Since graduating as a teacher in 1999, he has achieved both the Scottish Qualification for Headship and Into Headship Qualifications as well as Professional Recognition from the GTCS.

Rob has responsibility for the strategic direction and implementation of our Educational Provision here at Rossie.  With his previous experience and expertise in Leadership and Management, coupled with his professional values, he is keen to ensure that all of our Young People have access to a meaningful and enjoyable curriculum.

He truly believes that final destinations are key to every Young Person’s future success and Rob is keen to create an Educational provision that is focused on our Young Peoples’ interests and passions whilst providing them with skills for their future.

Who we help

I am a great fan of Rossie because of the outcomes you achieve. It’s always a pleasure to visit. ”

– Panel Member

Young people

We support our young people through all aspects of their stay, while giving them hope for the future. Find out more if you’re a young person looking for more information.

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Parents & Carers

We ensure parents and carers are involved in their child’s care plan as much as possible. Find out more if you’re a parent or carer looking for more information.

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Partners

We work with our partners to provide a bespoke service to each of our young people. Find out more about our partners.

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Rossie Young People’s Trust