Meet Our Coaches
Learn more about the experienced coaches guiding your Pathways journey. With encouragement comes empowerment.
Get to know the Pathways coaches who’ll be there to support and encourage you on your journey.
Ashley Henderson
Ashley is a Place-Based Pathways Coach supporting businesses across Annandale & Eskdale. Alongside her Business Coaching she is also the co-founder and Director of an award-winning roofing and construction company in South West Scotland, giving her first-hand experience of building and growing a successful business. With over 10 years’ experience in banking and leadership, Ashley combines practical business knowledge with a passion for helping entrepreneurs understand their foundations, build confidence and unlock their potential. Her honest, practical and supportive approach helps business owners gain clarity, overcome challenges , start and grow their businesses to be bigger than they ever thought possible.
Shaz Morton
Shaz Morton is a Place-based Pathways Coach and director of interior design studio Forstaris Studio. Having worked across Scotland, England and the United States, she brings experience spanning film, art, design and hospitality. Her designs have featured in British Vogue, The Times and The New York Times. Shaz believes in the power of Pathways to challenge traditional approaches and create accessible routes into entrepreneurship. Understanding the challenges and opportunities of rural business, she supports clients to develop creative thinking, communication and problem-solving skills, empowering new voices and ideas to build sustainable businesses and strengthen rural resilience.
Claire Drynan
Claire is our place-based Pathways Coach for the Berwickshire region and Kelso district. She launched her own coaching and consultancy business, Spark Dot Grow, in the Scottish Borders at the end of 2024, after spending 18 years working in the corporate sector. Her career has followed a squiggly path, with a consistent focus on supporting others. Claire now specialises as an Ideas Coach, working with clients across the UK and taking them on a transformational journey to create their dream life, by building confidence, momentum and clarity. If you are lucky enough to live in South East Scotland, Claire offers outdoor coaching in the beautiful countryside, co-working days in a creative office space, and plenty of connection opportunities through networking events and workshops.
Jill Clowes
Hi, I’m Jill. I’m the Pathways coach covering the Galashiels and Leaderdale area, supporting clients to develop their ideas, build confidence and turn ambition into clear, practical action. I have over 20 years’ experience in leadership and people development, alongside a genuine fascination with people, how we think and what we’re capable of. My approach is practical, honest, supportive and focussed on moving forward. I’ll ask the right questions, challenge your thinking and help you work through what might be getting in the way, so you can build confidence, make better decisions and turn your ideas and ambitions into clear, achievable action.
Lindsay Thomson
Hi, I’m Lindsay Thomson, Pathways Coach for Mid and Upper Nithsdale and Lochar. I’m a CBT therapist, EMDR practitioner, trained coach and speaker, and have been business coaching for several years. I help people build confidence, explore ideas and take practical steps towards self-employment. You don’t need everything figured out before we meet that’s what I’m here to help with. Outside work, I love exploring nature with my dog, swimming in warm or decidedly chilly water, and enjoying good food. Expect warmth, humour and encouragement, with a gentle nudge to help you get started!
Sarah Hanson
Sarah Hanson a Place-based Pathways Coach and managing Partner of Interactifs UK. Sarah trains and coaches individuals to improve their confidence and effectiveness in conversations, helping them achieve better results with less stress. With nearly a decade’s experience and over 1,200 clients, she delivers memorable coaching that empowers people to succeed authentically. Locally, Sarah supports entrepreneurs and start-ups across D&G and the Borders, while nationally and internationally, she works with diverse sectors, both online and in person. Her 25 years fascination with human behaviour, combined with experience in HR and business, fuels her passion for coaching. Sarah enjoys life in Kirkcudbright and the Solway Firth.
Sian Downes
I’m Sian, your Pathways coach for the South of Scotland, supporting clients from Peebles to Selkirk and the surrounding areas. I’m the founder of Strawberry Lemonade Events and have spent my career helping people bring ideas to life. My skills include business development, sales, PR, digital marketing and AI. I’ve coached more than 75 early-stage founders, helping them build confidence, find practical next steps and make progress at their own pace. You don’t need to have everything figured out before we meet—bring your questions, ideas or just a feeling that you’d like to do something differently, and we’ll work it out together.
Lesley Landels
Lesley is a serial entrepreneur and multi-business owner with more than a decade of experience building and growing businesses in the Scottish Borders. She is the founder and director of Love Scottish, a Scottish home fragrance brand with a retail outlets and coffee shop in Hawick, where she leads a team of nine. Lesley also works in commercial and digital development for a heritage cashmere brand, where she designed and delivered a full digital and marketing strategy. As an Enterprise Enabler and Ambassador for Women's Enterprise Scotland, she delivers workshops and one-to-one support on business planning, funding routes and growth strategy, and has helped founders simplify their cash-flow forecasts and grant applications. Her earlier career in luxury knitwear, working with brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès, and a BA (Hons) in Textile Design from Heriot-Watt University give her a practical grounding in product development, retail and e-commerce. As a Pathways Growth Coach, Lesley is personable, motivating and practical. She helps Borders businesses sharpen their plans, build their online presence and make the most of the funding available to them.
Karen Riddick
Karen, one of our Pathways Growth Coaches, is a business adviser, coach, and trainer who draws on her own experience of building and running a successful company to deliver practical training, advice, and coaching to other small businesses. Her specialities include start-ups, business growth, ecommerce, digital marketing, international trade, market research, and business planning. Karen still runs Second Nature Online, an ethical company based in Dumfries. The business creates homewares and textiles from recycled and sustainable materials, selling through online marketplaces in the UK, Europe, and the USA, as well as through independent shops.
Andy Robinson
Andy is an exited founder and former senior leader at Deliveroo, with over 15 years’ experience building, scaling and advising technology businesses across software, hardware and deep tech. He works particularly well with founders tackling questions around product-market fit, customer discovery, positioning, pricing, go-to-market and commercial strategy, including teams with strong technical products that need to sharpen who they are for, what problem they solve and how to take them to market. Having built and sold his own company, Andy brings a practical founder perspective to the difficult decisions involved in turning early traction, technical capability or a promising idea into a focused, scalable business.
Katie Nairn
Katie Nairn is a business growth and implementation consultant with more than 25 years’ experience building businesses, creating programmes and bringing people together through practical, purposeful events. As Programmes and Events Lead for Pathways, she develops activity across the South of Scotland that connects people with the right support, opportunities and each other. Alongside this, Katie works with business owners and leadership teams on growth, visibility, sales, confidence and implementation. She is known for straightforward commercial thinking, spotting opportunities and turning ideas into action, particularly where collaboration, connection and momentum can help businesses move forward.
