This section lists Foundation Focalisers, Trustees & General Secretaries. The original list has been brought up-to-date with the help of a list provided by Mark Anderson, Chair of Trustees, in October 2023.

FINDHORN FOUNDATION FOCALISERS

The Foundation was created on 9th May 1972. Between 1962 and this date Peter Caddy was leader of the Community, running it on the guidance received by Eileen, his own intuition, and, from 1970, with added input from David Spangler & Myrtle Glines. We may also mention the Deva guidance received by Dorothy Maclean, which instructed Peter’s actions in the garden.

From 1968-72, Peter was also Custodian of the Findhorn Trust, the legal body that was the forerunner of the Foundation (see Trustees below).

With the creation of the Foundation, Peter’s title was formalised as Chairman Of The Committee Of Management. On FF letterheads he was referred to as Founder-Director.

In 1973 the first Core Group was formed at Findhorn, with Peter as its focaliser. This was the first time this term, which originated at the Sunrise Ranch community in the USA, had been used. By the time Francois Duquesne took over from Peter in 1979, Focaliser had become the accepted in Community term for the Community’s leader, though the official title, used for legal purposes, was, and remained for the next 17 years, simply Director.

The term Foundation Focaliser, therefore, though in common use throughout the Community, had no legal application. It went out of usage when the official title of Director was changed, at Alex Walker’s proposal, to Chair of Management in 1996.

COMMUNITY LEADER/DIRECTOR
1962-79 PETER CADDY
David Spangler & Myrtle Glines acted as co-Directors with Peter, 1970-73

FOUNDATION DIRECTORS
1979-83 FRANCOIS DUQUESNE
Sabrina Dearborn acted as caretaker for 3 months in 1981 during Francois’ absence
1983-87 JAY JERMAN
1987-91 CRAIG GIBSONE
Roger Benson and Hilary Mackay-Martin co-focalised for the first few months of Craig’s tenure in early 1987 in what was known as “the Small Group”. Hilary was then replaced by Joan Jerman, and Joan and Roger co-focalised with Craig till mid 1988
1991-92 JUDITH BONE (caretaker)
1992-96 JUDY BUHLER-McALLISTER

CHAIRS OF MANAGEMENT

1996-99 ALEX WALKER
1999-2001 ROBIN ALFRED & MARI HOLLANDER
2001-07 MARI HOLLANDER
2002- BETTINA JESPERSEN

TRUSTEES OF THE FINDHORN FOUNDATION

On 29th April 1968 The Findhorn Trust was legally inaugurated. Its five Trustees were :
Peter Caddy (Custodian)
Joan Hartnell-Beavis (Treasurer)
Dorothy Maclean (Secretary)
Evelyn Sandford
Anthony Brooke

On 9th May 1972 this was superceded by The Findhorn Foundation, “a religious, educational & charitable Trust”. This is the letter by the first chair, Captain Ross Stewart, announcing the new charity.

At first there were 5 Trustees. This was expanded in the late 1970s.

The Trustees’ legal role is to be formally responsible for the administration of the Foundation. They act as a supportive and advisory body rather than as a hands-on management group. All Trustees have long-standing connections with the Community, and a majority have lived in it for many years. The group meets formally every 6 months.
Note : David Spangler agreed to be one of the original Trustees in 1972 but this was never finalised. Instead he was registered in 1976 as USA Associate.

Captain Ross Stewart 1972 – 90 (chair 1972 – 84)
Joan Hartnell-Beavis 1972 – 90
Pauline Tawse 1972 – 75
John Hilton 1972 – 76
Sir George Trevelyan 1972 – 85
Rev Stephen Field 1975 – 81
Michael Shaw 1976 – 2013 (chair – 1992 – 2009)
Tom Welch 1976 – 85
Nick Rose 1978 – 85
Giles Chitty 1979 – 92 (chair – 1984 – 92)
Francois Duquesne 1980 – 90
Mary Inglis 1981 – 97
Michael Lindfield 1981 – 89
Edward Posey 1982 – 2012
Jay Jerman 1985 – 87
Alex Walker 1986 – 94
Craig Gibsone 1987 – 94
Alan Watson (Featherstone) 1987 – 96
Sabrina Dearborn 1990 – 98
Judy McAllister 1990 – 97
Francois Duquesne (2nd tenure) 1993 – 2004
Nick Rose (2nd tenure) 1993 – 98
Lady Diana Whitmore 1994 – 2014
Judith Bone 1995 – 97
Christopher Raymont 1995 – 97
Judith Bone (2nd tenure) 1998 – 2014
May East 1998 – 2006
Ken Hills 1998 – 2001
Janice Dolley 1999 – 2012
Robin Alfred 2001 – 14 (Chair 2009 – 14)
Lisette Schuitemaker 2002 – 18 (Chair 2014 – 18)
Clive Kitson 2004 – 15
Mari Hollander 2008 – 18
Martin Blake 2008 – 09
Roger Collis 2008 – 22
Paul Dickinson 2011 –
Mark Anderson 2012 – (Chair 2021 – to date)
Nicola Coombe 2014 –
Helen Wildsmith 2015 –
Francine Rietberg 2016 –
Kathy Tyler 2017 – (Chair 2018 – 21)

In 2022 the Findhorn Foundation SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SCO51938) with the intent that all the Foundation’s operations would be migrated to this new organisation. The initial Findhorn Foundation SCIO Trustees are

Mark Anderson 2022 –
Nicola Coombe 2022 –
Francine Rietberg 2022 –
Kathy Tyler 2022 –
Barbara Vacarr 2022 –
Joycelin Dawes 2022 –
Jim Simpson 2022 –

GENERAL SECRETARIES OF THE FINDHORN FOUNDATION

The role of General Secretary has evolved with the Community & Foundation and has come to incorporate the following: legal focus, advice and responsibility for council tax, rates, charity relief, insurance, employment law, work visas, liaison with Home Office, leases on buildings, data protection, water & sewage, keeping of Trustees meetings minutes and “generally keeping an eye on what’s going on to see it is done within the law” (John Lowe).

Dorothy Maclean was Peter Caddy’s, then the Community’s secretary from 1957 when she, Peter and Eileen first moved to Cluny Hill Hotel. She was Secretary of the Findhorn Trust from its inception in 1968 until the Foundation replaced it in 1972. She was therefore secretary of the group centred around herself, Peter and Eileen, in its various forms, from 1957-1973, during which time she was responsible for, among other things, the typing, collation and cataloguing of the large volume of inner guidance received by members of the group, and the management of the group’s, and particularly Peter’s, correspondence.

Dorothy Maclean 1972 – 73
Stephen Field 1973 – 74
A.D. Barton (Dick Barton) 1974 – 1980
Caroline Shaw 1980 – 84
Sandy Barr 1984 – 86
John Lowe 1986 – 89
Alan Jacobsen 1989 – 91
Caroline Baylis 1991 – 92
From Dec 1992 to Nov 1993 the position was vacant. During this time Patrick Nash absorbed the General Secretary’s duties into his brief as Director of Administration.
Patrick Nash 1993 – 94
John Lowe 1994 – 2020

The role of General Secretary evolved to Charity Secretary
Richard Tanner 2022 –