The Ridge founder Kate Darrah has announced she is standing down as Managing Director after nearly 13 years in charge of the training, support and regeneration organisation.
Kate, who has overseen The Ridge’s remarkable growth from being a life skills training provider for young people to owning and regenerating historic and wasteground sites off Dunbar High Street, will remain with the organisation in an important new role.
As the first of The Ridge’s major regeneration projects nears completion, Kate said now is the perfect time to step aside.
She said: “When I set up The Ridge in 2012, it was a way for young people in the Dunbar area to address local barriers to accessing training and employment, with an initial focus on gardening and food preparation skills. Since then, the organisation has grown to become the local hub for provision of support services and life skills training, helping many people, young and old to overcome challenges and fulfil their potential.
“It now comprises a charity (The Ridge SCIO) and a social enterprise construction company (The Ridge Foundations CIC) and has taken ownership of a number of wasteground garden sites and historic ruins. The restoration of these sites has been the vehicle for skills development and personal regeneration, including through a successful programme of supported Modern Apprenticeships in Stonemasonry and Joinery.
“We are about to launch a new support centre, training kitchen, workshop, office and multipurpose rooms set in the historic buildings of Black Bull Close and surrounded by the Backlands community garden.
Having successfully led the organisation to this point and delivered this sizeable project, it is the right time for me to step back from the Managing Director role. However, I will continue to plan, fundraise for and deliver regeneration projects for The Ridge, in a new part-time role as Director of Capital Projects.”
Taking over is Katie Wood, who joined The Ridge in January as Depute Managing Director as part of a planned succession process and will step up into the new role in November.
Kate said: “Katie brings exceptional leadership and management skills to the role as well as a wealth of experience in the education, training, governance and charity sectors. Katie is an advocate for inclusion and the importance of community and is passionate about making a difference to people.”
New Managing Director Katie said it was an “absolute privilege” to have been chosen to lead Team Ridge. She said: “I want to highlight Kate’s incredible vision, creativity and determination, she is an absolute power house and a huge inspiration to the Ridge team and me. She has truly changed lives here in Dunbar. I am so pleased that she will be by my side as I lead us in our next chapter.
“I am committed to The Ridge values of being inclusive and approachable, community oriented, knowledgeable, meaningful and team-driven and I’m so very lucky to have such a dedicated, capable and talented team here, delivering the various aspects of The Ridge’s work. I am excited to continue working with our valued partners and to do what we do best, helping, supporting and training people to move from dependency to contribution and adapting what we do to make sure we deliver what is needed here in Dunbar, East Linton and the surrounding area.”
Chair of The Ridge SCIO, Bob Fyffe said: “What Kate Darrah has achieved over the last years is incredible. Her vision continues to drive the work at The Ridge and it is testament to her that The Ridge is firmly embedded in the hearts and minds of our local community here in Dunbar, providing opportunities for local people to overcome challenges and fulfil their potential. This was Kate Darrah’s vision and will become her legacy, that lives have been changed and sometimes saved.
“The Board of Trustees at The Ridge are enormously grateful to Kate for everything she has delivered with her customary energy and drive. Without question it is Kate Darrah who has been the beating heart of The Ridge, and we’re delighted that Kate will continue to offer her skills and energy as we move forward.
“The Board is fully supportive of Kate’s decision to step into a new role within the organisation at this time, and we are delighted to have found an exceptional person to lead The Ridge into its next period of consolidation and development. Katie Wood brings a wide range of skills developed across various sectors and has already made a huge impression on everyone who works with her.”
