Positive Destinations Mentors

We have 8 mentors with a vast array of experience to support people on the Positive Destinations programme. Please find below information on each mentor. 
Brian Grout - Project Coordinator & Mentor
Brian is a retired academic, consultant and project manager with extensive experience in designing and delivering specialist courses in Personal Development and Learning Needs. He has worked with a wide range of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences. Currently a volunteer with a foodbank in Argyll & Bute and has previously been a volunteer in organisations dealing with mental health and environmental issues.
Maggie Clunie
Maggie has a long background in education including pastoral care with young people from varied family backgrounds. She demonstrates compassion and empathy but with the experience to introduce structure and support to a young person.  Previously she has been a Listening volunteer and recruiter for the Samaritans.  Recently she has undertaken the responsibility of becoming a foster carer. 
Ronnie Gourley
Ronnie has held a variety of posts within education and children’s services and, more recently, in the third sector.  He worked as a Guidance teacher in one of the most deprived areas of Scotland for a number of years.  Most recently he has worked with MCR Pathways, a Scottish based charitable organisation that seeks to support young people who are care experienced – either currently or in the past - or who are on the edges of the care system.  He has had a life long interest in sport and its benefits for people and society particularly rugby, athletics, and golf, the last of which he still participates in, despite ever declining returns. He has enjoyed watching his two sons grow up and embrace the challenges, sporting and otherwise, that life has set for them.  
Russell Humphreys
Russell has a background in working with young people in care, families were siblings needed extra support and has set up Family Therapy Centre for abused children.  He demonstrates experience of safeguarding practice and provided day care for young children, many on Child Protection Register, and has undertaken specialist work with families. 
Lisa Carr
After leaving a career in Fashion Buying Lisa moved into the 3rd sector and has worked with a number of charities and community arts organisations. Her work has been mainly centered around supporting young people facing barriers to employment by developing various creative projects and social enterprises. The young people that she has supported over the years have had the opportunity to experience real employability skills, whilst exploring creativity and ultimately moving on to positive destinations. She believes that everyone has a talent and that creativity is a strong tool to pull on an individual's strengths. She is currently setting up her own charity Face - FulfilAchieveCreateEmploy where she will be supporting adults with additional support needs - and currently delivers such a project in partnership with Centre 81 Garelochhead. 
Gayle Barrett
Gayle has many years experience working with people, starting as a hairdresser in her  community later becoming a tutor at the local college and having her own business.
Gayle is a qualified Master Practitioner of NLP, Master NLP Coach, Master in Time line Therapy and Master in Hypnotherapy as well as holding other professional qualifications.
Gayle particularly enjoys  the coaching side of her business where she can help people to unlock their own potential and achieve personal goals, overcome barriers and help them with their personal development
Tony Doughty-Godchaux 
Tony has a history in healthcare as a qualified paediatric nurse working in various settings, with a speciality in the field of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. During this time he worked in London with young people and their families from a wide and diverse range of cultural backgrounds. As a practicing nurse he was able to apply his own personal experience of living with a chronic condition to gain a genuine understanding of the needs of young people when entering the world of young adulthood and all the challenges they face during this time, especially how that having a voice and feeling heard is so important to us all. He has also trained as a counsellor and believes that empathy and trust are at the core of helping not just young people, but all of us, to realise our own potential. 
Wilma Anderson
Wilma worked in the NHS as a cytologist before moving on to work with tissue banks providing research materials for universities and pharmaceutical companies. Much of this work has been focused on issues such as Cancer Diagnostics. She is currently a Panel Member for the Scottish Childrens Hearing System, an initiative unique to Scotland that exists to protect the safety and wellbeing of infants, children and our young people. Wilma is patient and a good listener, and mixes this with a ‘can-do’ attitude and great empathy for young people and adults. Understanding the challenges they face, she believes everyone should be given options and sees her mentoring role as working in that direction. She enjoys walking, spending time with her grandchildren and, currently, learning to play golf. In her younger years she was a class three football referee. 
Michelle MacDonald
Michelle has worked with young people for over 35 years, developing a wide array of skills and experiences. While working as a Travel Agent in her teens and early twenties, she was also a volunteer with various youth groups before, unexpectedly, having to become an unpaid carer. These circumstances provided the challenges, experiences and insight that prompted her, latterly, to expand her abilities and skills and become a qualified youth worker. She is now also an experienced project co-ordinator. Following her interests in the subject Michelle has started qualification to become a fully-trained counsellor. She believes in taking a holistic approach to her work and is a keen advocate for volunteering. She has experienced first-hand the positive impact that volunteering can have on life and wellbeing and during her career has continually seen the benefits to be gained by involvement in volunteering programmes.