Paul Clancy
Before retiring from Dundee City Council, Paul began his career as a music teacher, which led him to rise through school management and then local authority management, ultimately becoming Executive Director of Children and Families Service.
Paul is committed to ensuring that all young people have access to opportunities, a commitment he demonstrates in his role as Chair of Dundee Science Centre and Dundee Science Centre Enterprise, Ltd.
Paul continues to indulge his love for music and provides coaching and mentoring support.
Will Dawson
Born and bred in Dundee, Will has spent most of his career working with SSE (Ovo) and is currently involved in voids management.
Will also became a Councillor for the Eastport Ward in 2003 and is currently the Councillor for the East End Ward, where he lives. Will has been the convener of the city development and has been on the planning committee since the current administration was formed, finding the challenges of both to be interesting and varied.
Jill Farrell (CEO)
As the CEO of Dundee Science Centre, Jill leads a small but mighty team whose mission is to make science accessible. Jill is an experienced and values-driven executive leader with a career spanning public, academic, private, and third-sector organisations. Jill has experience in economic development, shaping international academic partnerships, building circular economy, and delivering strategic national projects. Alongside this, she also has significant Non-Exec and Trustee experience and greatly enjoys working with the talented team of Trustees at Dundee Science Centre to realise the strategic plan.
Jill is also a member of the Dundee Science Centre’s Enterprise Committee and is a Trustee of the Association of Science and Discovery Centres.
Glenn Finnie
Glenn is a qualified accountant who most recently works for Dundee City Council, following a 21-year career with NHS Tayside. His son’s enjoyment of visiting Dundee Science Centre inspires Glenn’s involvement in the organisation and his support for its exciting developments and opportunities that benefit the people of Dundee and beyond.
Glenn is also a member of Dundee Science Centre’s Enterprise Committee
Dr Ken Loades
Dr Ken Loades took an unusual path to earning his PhD and leading a research team in Ecological Sciences at the James Hutton Institute. Leaving school at 16 without sufficient qualifications to enter further education, Ken worked and travelled until his mid 20s, when he decided to give university a go.
Having completed his undergraduate degree, he then went on to earn a Master’s and a PhD. Ken has blended civil engineering principles to better understand plant root structures and how conditions can be optimised to encourage growth.
Ken brings a strong desire to support others in discovering their passion through non-traditional routes to his role as a member of the Dundee Science Centre Board, Enterprise Committee and Science Committee.
Audrey May
As an experienced Maths and Computing Studies teacher, Audrey is a passionate advocate of maths as a pure subject and as a necessary skill set in everyday life. Having moved through the school management hierarchy, Audrey was appointed as Secondary Head Teacher in Fife Council and then went on to lead the development of a new all-through campus in Perth and Kinross.
Audrey has experience working for Perth and Kinross Central Integrated Children’s Service before joining the original Scottish Attainment Challenge Team at the launch of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.
Since re-joining Dundee City Council, Audrey has assumed the role of Executive Director, Children and Families Service, where she oversees the delivery of Drumgeith Community Campus, one of the City’s largest investments in schools and communities.
Gillian Milne
Gillian enjoyed a long and varied career in Local Government, working within Human Resources in roles that were both inspiring and challenging. As an HR Manager, she worked predominantly across Social Work and Education Services, later progressing to the role of Joint Head of People before retiring.
A strong advocate of lifelong learning, fairness, and equality, Gillian is keen to contribute to the vision and values of Dundee Science Centre.
Living locally in Dundee, Gillian fondly recalls taking her sons to visit Dundee Science Centre when they were children and welcomes the opportunity to be involved in ensuring the Centre continues to thrive for the benefit of all communities and visitors.
Nicola Stanley-Wall
Nicola is a Professor of Microbiology based at the University of Dundee and runs a research team investigating how bacteria form social communities called biofilms. Nicola has an interest in increasing awareness of how research improves our everyday lives and was Academic Lead for Public Engagement with Research in the School of Life Sciences from 2016-2024. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Biology.
Nicola is also a member of Dundee Science Centre’s Science Committee.
Steph Thoms
Steph is Director of Curriculum and Partnerships at Dundee and Angus College and has worked in the college sector for the last 12 years. Steph has been working at Dundee and Angus College since January 2022, leading several academic departments and overseeing a portfolio of strategic initiatives, including projects under the Tay Cities Regional Deal.
Steph is also a Non-Executive Director of Dundee Science Centre and the Chair of the Tayside STEM Regional Partnership, championing collaboration and innovation across the region.
Dr Rebecca Wade
Rebecca is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at Abertay University. She teaches on the Civil and Environmental Engineering programme and is an award-winning STEM ambassador. Her research links blue/green infrastructure with society and place-based decision-making to enhance the multiple benefits that can be gained for people and nature. Rebecca works across disciplines and sectors, finding opportunities to manage water and land in ways that can collectively address the climate emergency, the biodiversity crisis, and the need to create healthier communities for future generations.
Rebecca was recently recognised as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), is a Theme Leader for SAGES (Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society), and she participated in the prestigious Homeward Bound global leadership programme and expedition to Antarctica in 2023.
Rebecca is also Chair of Dundee Science Centre’s Science Committee.