Louise Macdonald, OBE,

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

became the National Director of the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

(IOD) in Scotland, and was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

(RSE) in 2021. Her appointment has made her the first female to hold the role of National Director. For ten years she was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Young Scot Young Scot is a national information and citizenship organisation supported by the Scottish Government for young people aged 11–25 in Scotland. The declared aim of the organisation is to make young people informed, incentivised and active ci ...

, the award-winning national charitable organisation for citizenship for people in Scotland, aged 11–26. She was awarded an OBE for her services to youth, in the 2015 New Years Honours. Macdonald is an Independent co-chair of the Scottish Government National Advisory Council for Women and Girls (NACWG). Macdonald had been named the ''Third Sector Director of the Year'' in the IOD UK Awards in 2016. And she was elected in 2017 to be the president of the European Youth Card Association, covering 39 countries and 7 million young people. She is a former board member of Scottish Parliament's Scotland's Futures Forum. Under Macdonald's co-leadership, NACWG has been an advocate for increasing the powers of the Scottish Government around equality legislation. In releasing the council's third report (January 2021), she is quoted as saying that findings of endemic bias should be countered by 'systemic changes, to help pave the way for intersectional gender equality for all in Scotland, especially those who are too often ignored or forgotten within the current system.' Macdonald was described by the IOD's Chairman, Aidan O’Carroll as a well-connected 'force for meaningful and continuous engagement' and was also said to be 'well respected in the business community'.Her appointment coincided with the IOD operations, which she is now managing, moving into the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

, building on Queen Street Edinburgh. Within RSE, she co-convenes their Post-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Public Debate & Participation working party, as part of their Post-COVID-19 Futures Commission, and on being made a Fellow she indicated that she would support the Royal Society's wider engagement, consultation and inclusion of young people in its work. In August 2021, she became the first ambassador for the

Scottish Seabird Centre The Scottish Seabird Centre is a marine conservation and education charity, that is supported by a 5 star visitor attraction in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. Opened by HRH Duke of Rothesay in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission ...

, a coastal and marine conservation and outreach organisation based in North Berwick.

Background

Under Macdonald's ten years in leadership, ''Young Scot'' grew to cover two thirds of eligible young people in Scotland, with 670,000 members, and includes a national entitlement card, which can also be used as '

proof of age An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...

'. Her previous career included working in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, as well as in youth volunteering and

youth activism Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...

engagement. She is also interested in photography and nature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Louise Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scottish Government Youth activists British women's rights activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)