Mary Glasgow is Chief Executive of Children 1^st , Scotland’s National Children’s Charity. She joined the charity in 2014 as Director of Children and Family Services and External Affairs, becoming Chief Executive in 2017. She qualified as a social worker in 1991 and her career includes 15 years as a social worker, leader and trainer in a number of Local Authorities, with a further 16 years in the charity sector, previously working for Quarriers and Barnardo’s. Throughout her career, Mary has specialised in creating teams and models of service that focus on the prevention of harm and the delivery of whole family support to protect children’s right to live safely in their own families and communities.

Mary is a passionate advocate for children’s rights in policy and practice, she is the chair of Together, The Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights and is a former trustee of Starcatchers Scotland’s Arts and Early Years organisation. She was also on the Board of Social Work Scotland and is Chair of the Children and Families committee of the Coalition of Care Providers in Scotland. Mary has a particular interest in the impact of childhood trauma and is a passionate campaigner for trauma responsive and relationship based approaches to supporting children and their families recover from adversity.

Mary is also interested in organisational culture, purpose and innovation and she strives to build organisations that create conditions where colleagues can make the best possible contribution through a high support and high challenge learning environment. Mary is a keen reader, enjoys spending time with family, friends and dogs and is particularly content when outdoors; walking, cycling and skiing.