About us
OUR MISSION
Scots in New England, Inc. is a community of Scottish organizations and interest groups, collaborating to promote and support the work of its members and all things Scottish.
OUR PEOPLE – LEADERSHIP
Scots in New England, Inc. is a community of Scottish organizations and interest groups, collaborating to promote and support the work of its members and all things Scottish. For any questions, comments, or suggestions contact us
Bob Creighton
Director/ President/ Founding Member
Bob is President of the international collaboration, University Innovations Global. Glasgow-born, he is proud of his Scottish roots and is active in many roles across the US. A past President of NHSCOT, he was Honorary Chieftain of the New Hampshire Highland Games and Festival in 2022 and currently chairs NHSCOT’S Council of Advisors. He has been the voice of New York’s annual Tartan Day Parade since 2016. Bob was the 2020 recipient of America’s National Tartan Day Award and is the first President of Scots in New England.
Bob was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in her 2021 Birthday Honours for his services to UK/US relations.
Larry Bethune
Director/Vice President/Editor-in-Chief/Founding Member
Larry was a professor and vice-president of Berklee College of Music for 44 years. He is co-founder and President of the Association for Scottish Roots Music and Atlantic Seaway band. He has researched and traced Scottish traditional music from 18th century Scotland to colonial North Carolina. Larry was the recipient National Trust for Scotland USA 2012 Great Scot Award. He is also a professional musician, composer, and film scorer in several genres.
Donald LaLiberte
Director and Treasurer
Don is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and serves as Treasurer for several non-profit and Masonic organizations. He is proud that his son is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews and his daughter is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh.
Don is a member of The Kilwinning (Scottish) Club of Boston.
Terri Wiltse
Director/ Secretary/ Founding Member
Terri Wiltse (WILT-SEE), is the Executive Director of NHSCOT. She has spent her career serving arts and cultural non-profit organizations. Delivering interesting cultural programming and producing big events are her passion. Six years ago, she accepted the executive director position at NHSCOT. She’s been happily immersed in tartan, cabers, whisky, and all things Scottish since then. Terri lives in Pembroke with her husband and 2 cairn terriers. She used to drive a Highlander, but recently downsized to a RAV!
Urszula Wojciechowska
Executive Director
Kirstin Gamble Bridier
Director
Mr. Danish
Webmaster
Danish is a professional Web developer and designer. He has worked with many technology startups and companies around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering followed by a master’s degree in Data Science.
He has founded a Cloud Computing company to improve the experience of retail web application hosting and services.
Editorial Board
For any questions, comments, or suggestions email contact us
Larry Bethune
Editor-in-Chief
Larry was a professor and vice-president of Berklee College of Music for 44 years. He is co-founder and President of the Association for Scottish Roots Music and Atlantic Seaway band. He has researched and traced Scottish traditional music from 18th century Scotland to colonial North Carolina. He is also a professional musician, composer, and film scorer in several genres.
Amy Lehman
Curator
Amy Lehman is the program coordinator for NHSCOT in Concord, New Hampshire. She has worked at art and cultural non-profits since the early 2000’s and at NHSCOT since 2018. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, running, and gardening. Originally from Virginia, she sadly can claim no Scottish roots – the closest she can come are proud bits of Norwegian and Irish ancestry.
Gary Maclean
Author
Gary Maclean is a multi-award winning chef who is a favorite presenter at the NH Highland Games. He is a senior lecturer at the City of Glasgow College and a MasterChef: Professionals champion in 2016. He is Scotland’s first National Chef and the author of Kitchen Essentials: The Joy of Home Cooking. He lives in Glasgow with his beautiful family.
Terri Wiltse
Curator
Terri Wiltse (WILT-SEE), is the Executive Director of NHSCOT. She has spent her career serving arts and cultural non-profit organizations. Delivering interesting cultural programming and producing big events are her passion. Six years ago, she accepted the executive director position at NHSCOT. She’s been happily immersed in tartan, cabers, whisky, and all things Scottish since then. Terri lives in Pembroke with her husband and 2 cairn terriers. She used to drive a Highlander, but recently downsized to a RAV!
Hilary Creighton
Curator
Marrying her love for great design and her love for Scotland, Hilary established Scottish Creations to introduce the very best Scottish designers to the US and Canada. Tapping into Scotland’s wealth of creative talent, today she is one of the leading advocates for fine Scottish design across North America.
Iain MacHarg
Curator
Iain MacHarg is the director of the Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts, and a music professor at Norwich University. He holds the Senior Piping Certificate and the Teaching Certificate from the Institute of Piping, Scotland. He has been a familiar face at the highland games since very early in his life and his father, Michael MacHarg, is one of the premier bagpipe builders in the world. In addition to competing as a professional grade solo piper, he has founded four Highland Pipe Bands in Vermont (Catamount Grade 4 & 5, Norwich University, the Green Mountain Highlanders) and has played with several folk groups. Iain’s solo albums and books: Rooted in Tradition, Ceol Na Beinne, Celtic Christmas, and Feadan Mor, a collection of original tunes for the bagpipe are sold worldwide.
Audra Congress
Curator
Audra followed up her education at Carnegie Mellon and Emerson with a Master’s degree from Edinburgh University. She is a senior researcher in technology user experience.
Alice J. Sloan
Curator
Alice’s family originally hails from Ayrshire, Scotland. She is CEO of Sloan Growth Strategies and an Adjunct Professor at Endicott College. Alice has been championing international trade and business development in New England for over 20 years and is highly recognized across the region and beyond.
Pat Tillotson
Curator
Pat has gone through her teaching exams with the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and currently teaches the Brunswick, Maine class, having taught for 21 years. She also organizes a demonstration group that performs at various locations in Maine. Having run a Bookstore for dancers in the past, she has accumulated a large collection of dances and music for them. Pat currently is the Past President of the St Andrews Society of Maine.
Jason Bond
Curator
Jason studied with native speakers in Nova Scotia and Scotland while completing 2 degrees: a BA with First Class Honors in Celtic Studies and a Bachelor of Education in Gaelic, Art, and History. He has been teaching Gaelic professionally since 2012.
Jason taught for 5 years on the Isle of Islay in Scotland and has been teaching for the University of Dundee in Scotland since 2018. “In high school, I discovered a deep appreciation for the culture of Ireland and Scotland. Traditional music filled my music collection and I taught myself how to play the harp. Stories of the Fairy Folk and great heroes like Cù Chulainn and the Fianna burned in my imagination. I had to learn more.
“I followed these stories to Nova Scotia, Canada, where I started a BA in Celtic Studies. During my first year, I fell in love with Scottish Gaelic.”
Cat Allison
Curator
Cat grew up in central Scotland and lived in Edinburgh before relocating to Connecticut. Cat has many roles in her professional and personal life – talent development leader by day, artist, adventurer, and musician by night.
Ronald W. Collins
Curator
Ronald W. Collins, has written over thirteen history, genealogy and literary books. His works include:
– The Genealogy of the Clan MacLean
– American and European Descendants of Charlemagne in two volumes
– American and European Descendants of William the Conqueror in three volumes
– The McLanes – The Origin of the Clan
– The McLanes – A New Hampshire Clan
– The History of Governor Nathaniel Berry
– Sergeant John Ordway, A History with his Genealogy
and many other genealogies, all available on Amazon. Ron is also a recognized poet. His collected work has been published under the title Found There. He has also edited four anthologies of poetry and prose: Shadows of Water, Hills of Light, Valley of Ice, and Angles of Life. All of Ron’s historical and genealogical works were published after he retired from a successful business career as a vice president of Polaroid Corporation and the European Managing Director of Polaroid’s Graphic Arts Division. Following that he was the President and CEO of an international high-tech company. He lives in Hebron, NH. He is a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Scottish Genealogical Society and the Mull Museum. Ron is the Senior Genealogical Curator for ScotsNewEngland (www.ScotsNewEngland.org). He is the Consulting Archivist for Sir Lachlan MacLean, 28th Chief of Clan MacLean at Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland. He has recently been named the Genealogist for the Clan Maclean International Gathering 2023 on the Isle of Mull.
Ron is available for live or Zoom presentations on Scottish genealogical research.
Amy Lehman
Curator
Amy Lehman is the program coordinator for NHSCOT in Concord, New Hampshire. She has worked at art and cultural non-profits since the early 2000’s and at NHSCOT since 2018. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, running, and gardening. Originally from Virginia, she sadly can claim no Scottish roots – the closest she can come are proud bits of Norwegian and Irish ancestry.
Lois Meredith
Curator
Lois Meredith has served as the Administrative Manager of NHSCOT for the last 17 years and has been associated with the organization for 39 years. Of Scots and Welsh descent, Lois enjoys the very many friends and connections she has made over the years both through NHSCOT and throughout the Scottish communities.
Jimmy Rodden
Curator
I was the youngest of a family of six. My three brothers and I served in the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch ( RHR ) Royal Highland Regiment. Whilst growing up in Fife, I would be taken to Highland Games, weddings, parades, and events, and I would be shown the history and the reasoning behind and the structure of the events and why they took place. Having gained that knowledge and experience from my early years and being taught more in the military has given me the experience to be chosen as the Curator of Weddings and Special Events. To which I might add, I consider a great honor.