Governance

Our Mission

The American-Scottish Foundation®, was established in 1956 as a bridge between Scotland and the United States. Its mission is as important today as when founded by Lord Malcolm Douglas Hamilton.

ASF seeks to strengthen & support the future of the Scottish American community, its heritage and cultural legacy through social, cultural, educational, and business activities.

Board of Directors

Kenneth Donnelley
(Chairman)

Native born Scot from Lanarkshire, Scotland. American citizen, Kenneth came to the USA to work for Pan American Airways in 1982. He now lives in Ridgefield, CT.

  • Chairman, American-Scottish Foundation
  • Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo, New York 
  • Member, International Advisory Board of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
  • Member, International Advisory Board of University of the Highlands, Inverness, Scotland
  • Member of President’s Club, Glasgow City Chamber of Commerce
  • Past President of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, New York Branch
  • Past President of the Saint Andrews Society of CT
  • Listed in the Social Register

Education
Glasgow University, Scotland, B.Sc. Computer Science & Mathematics.
Wharton School of Business (UPenn.) Corporate Financial Analysis.

CAMILLA G. HELLMAN, MBE
(President)

Camilla’s career has been in transatlantic relations, undertaking projects both in Britain and the United States to further collaboration between the two countries.

Brought up in Britain, Camilla came to USA in 1990 and started an import company representing leading luxury manufacturers and selling to major retailers.

Moved by the events of 9/11, she conceived and led on the creation of the British Memorial Garden in Manhattan’s Financial District and headed its organization as President from 2002 – 2009. The Park was honored by a visit from HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 when it was renamed the Queen Elizabeth II September 11 Garden.

Camilla joined the American-Scottish Foundation in 2009 as Development Director, becoming Executive Director in 2012 and President of ASF in 2017.

Camilla represents the ASF on the
- National Tartan Day New York Committee
- The Scottish Coalition USA
- The Scottish NA Leadership Conference

  • Member Board of Directors Make Music New York
  • Member Board of Directors Foreign Press Association
  • Member Pilgrims Society
  • Member National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NY Chapter)
  • Member Arts Club Washington DC
  • US Director of Marketing The Luxury Channel

In 2007, Camilla was honored by HM Queen Elizabeth II and awarded the MBE for services to British-American transatlantic relations.

Elizabeth De Forest Scott
(Vice Chairman)

Elizabeth DeForest Scott has been a trustee or officer of a variety of non-profit organizations and foundations engaged in fine art, rare books, cultural exchanges and charities. They are often Anglo-American and international in scope. The American Museum in Britain, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, English-Speaking Union, Friends of Canterbury Cathedral and the American-Scottish Foundation are a few of them.

She grew up in North Yonkers and studied English and American Literature at Syracuse University and Columbia University. Elizabeth has chaired numerous volunteer committees over the years, with a particular interest in groups involved in international relations and Anglo-American history (two of her grandparents were born in England). Her interest in the field dates back to the days of World War II, when she encountered English children sent for safety to the United States and other English speaking countries.

Robert Thompson
(Treasurer)

Thompson is a retired senior financial executive with over forty years of experience in a broad variety of industries in both private and public enterprises. Such experience includes –

  • Initial Public Offering, M&A analysis and evaluation, the raising of venture capital and debt restructuring. He also has extensive experience in turnaround situations including Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
  • Thompson graduated from Monmouth University in 1973 with a BA in Political Science going on directly to Rutgers University Graduate School of Business where he earned an MBA with a concentration in finance in 1975.
  • Thompson started his career at Allied Chemical Corporation (now Honeywell) in Morristown, NJ as a financial analyst. Over the next years he worked in positions of increasing responsibility at Allied, Hanlin Group, United Auto Group and as a Partner in Tatum LLC where he restructured several troubled companies among other engagements.
  • Bob serves as Treasurer and is a member of the board of directors of The American-Scottish Foundation, Inc. and The College of Arms Foundation, Inc.

Chelsea Chateauvert

Chelsea has worked with the American Scottish Foundation since she returned from her study abroad in 2010. She has worked in non-profit since 2012 starting her career in education. She currently works as the Director of Development for Phoenix Houses of New York and Long Island. Chelsea earned her BS in Public Affairs from Baruch College.  She currently lives in Westchester with her family. 

David Disi

David Disi has worked for over a decade at a large investment bank in New York, holding management roles in strategy and risk, after starting out in emerging markets credit sales. In addition to his career in finance, Dave was a Ranger-qualified infantry officer in the US Army and Army Reserve who served three active duty deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism, leading infantry troops in direct combat operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan and then serving in a diplomatic staff position in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dave first came to Scotland to study finance and economics at the University of Glasgow, where he obtained an MPhil from the Adam Smith School of Business. He also holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA from Columbia Business School, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and an MSt from the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College).

David is active with Scottish and other UK organizations in New York, serving on the boards of the Robert Burns Society of the City of New York, and CantabNYC, as well as being a member of the Pilgrims Society and a member of the Order of St. John, where he is active in the St. John Volunteer Corps.

He is also on the board of stewards for the Saint Nicholas Society and on the admissions committee for the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York.

Olivia McLaren

Olivia McLaren is a U.S. qualified attorney (New York) who operates a law firm in Edinburgh dedicated to strategic immigration assistance for businesses wishing to establish or strengthen a U.S. presence and individuals interested in visiting, working in, or immigrating to the United States of America.

After graduating from Duke University School of Law in 2004 with a J.D. and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law, Olivia worked in U.S. immigration and nationality law in New York City for a decade.

While in New York, she co-authored the immigration law column for the New York Law Journal and became involved in the American-Scottish Foundation as a volunteer and Board member.

In 2014, Olivia moved to Scotland, where she resides with her husband, son, and two NYC alley cats. Olivia regularly writes and speaks on U.S. immigration law topics and serves as the Scotland correspondent for The American magazine.

Michael A. Reid

Michael A. Reid joined the ASF board in 2019 after years of active membership. An active member of the Scottish American community Michael is the New York representative to the Clan Donnachaidh Society.

An avid country dancer, he is an active member of two local RSCDS (Royal Scottish Country Dance Society) groups,and one local square dance group. Michael has been a member of the Boards of Tudor City Greens and American Society of Musical Artists.

After years of oratorio and opera singing in venues from Budapest to Stirling Castle to Carnegie Hall to the Shubert Theater  on Broadway, Mr. Reid has worked with a variety of senior executives and boards on strategic objectives and process improvements, helping with the turnaround at Harlem School of the Arts and assisting with a leadership change at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.  He is currently working with HelpMeSee, helping it refocus its energies on its original mission, to train cataract surgeons in the developing world.

Brian D. Smith

Brian Smith is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Digital & Technology consulting practice based in New York. Before joining A&M in 2014 he was a general manager in the financial services group at Computer Science Corporation, responsible for oversight of global client relationships for the banking and capital markets sector. His background is in Financial Services, initially at Nationwide Building Society and then American Express Bank in the UK and Switzerland before relocating to NY where he held global Operations and Technology leadership roles. In 1998 he moved to Citibank to manage global technology for The Citibank Private Bank.

Brian comes from Glasgow, Scotland, where he went to Kelvinside Academy and then Strathclyde University where he graduated in Business Administration. From 1974 to 1991 he served in the Territorial Army as an officer in the 1st Battalion, 52 Lowland Volunteers. He is a Fellow of the U.K. Institute of Administrative Management and is a director for the University of Strathclyde (USA) Foundation. Since 1991, Brian and his wife have lived in New Jersey. He is a dual US/UK citizen.