Katrina Thomson has over 16 years’ experience in the museums and heritage sector, working in Scotland and at a UK-wide level. In 2011, she moved from Edinburgh to take up the post of Consultancy Manager with the National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, based at the Trust’s Head Office, Heelis, in Swindon, where she heads up a team of National Specialists- the organisations’ most highly specialised conservation experts, covering nature conservation, environmental practices, coast and marine, agriculture and food, painting conservation and garden history.
Launched in March 2011, the National Trust Consultancy comprises 450 of the Trust's expert professionals in disciplines ranging from archaeology and rural surveying, to visitor experience and community involvement. The Consultancy's clients are the Trust's 350+ properties, which include historic houses, gardens, parks and woodlands, landscapes and coastlines.
Before joining the National Trust, Katrina spent eighteen months as Co-ordinator of the Archives, Libraries and Museums Alliance UK (ALMA-UK) - a body established following devolution to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaborative practice between the principal strategic organisations for museums, libraries and archives across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. She complemented this position with her business as an independent museums and heritage consultant.
Previously, Katrina spent eight years with the National Trust for Scotland. From 2001-2007 she was Deputy Curator with a national remit covering all material culture collections in Trust care. From 2007-2009 she was Head of Collections, Archives and Libraries, with senior management responsibility for activity across the Trust’s estate, in urban, rural and island settings. She has contributed to the planning and delivery of numerous capital conservation projects, including the award-winning Newhailes in East Lothian and the new Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre.
Prior to joining the National Trust for Scotland, Katrina was Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Scotland (1996-2001), where she had specialist responsibility for the British art collections and organised a wide range of temporary exhibitions. From 1995-1996, she was a Curatorial Research Assistant at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, working on the Sir Eduardo Paolozzi collection. She has a wide interest in both historic and contemporary art, having gained a first class MA (Hons) degree in Fine Art from the University of Edinburgh (1988-1993) and practiced and exhibited in painting, drawing and printmaking.
Katrina is a Fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme and of the Royal Society of Arts.