Meet Julie Walker, RYA Scotland’s incoming Chair

This November, RYA Scotland will welcome Julie Walker as the new Chair of the RYA Scotland Board. Julie brings extensive experience in innovation and people-led change, alongside a strong belief in sport’s ability to connect people and create a genuine sense of belonging. The handover to Julie from outgoing RYA Scotland Chair Brian Wilson will take place at the organisation’s AGM on 5 November following six years with Brian at the helm.

A sailor at heart, Julie has a genuine appreciation of what time on the water can offer people of all ages. She will bring that understanding, together with a values-led approach, to the strategic leadership of RYA Scotland.
Across a range of organisations, Julie has led innovation and transformation by listening to people, understanding the challenges they face and bringing teams and partners together around a shared goal.

Her experience extends beyond professional roles, having led and contributed to a range of voluntary endeavours, many linked to her own sporting interests. Underpinning her desire to make a positive impact is a genuine want to help create opportunities for people to take part, connect and thrive within sporting communities.

Being active has been a constant throughout Julie’s life. She began as a teenage figure skater before going on to play volleyball and golf, and later learnt to sail and row as an adult.

Moving frequently for work showed her both the value of sporting communities and how hard they can be to enter without an existing connection. That experience has shaped a principle she hopes to bring to RYA Scotland:

“With every sport in every club, there is passion. And that passion is what drives the club.
“And for me it's about, how do we make sure our sport is somewhere that someone can walk through the door and show a level of curiosity, and for our sport to be equally as curious about them? Because that’s what drives a positive experience.”

For Julie, participation can mean sailing, volunteering, helping others on and off the water or simply spending time within a club. What matters is that people can see a place for themselves. That outlook drew her to RYA Scotland’s strategy:

“When I saw the advert for the Chair role, three words stood out: People, Places and Communities… and those are the three things that have been key to my life wherever I’ve gone in the world, whichever project I've worked on.”

Having lived and worked in cities including Frankfurt, Washington DC, Stockholm, New York and Hong Kong, Julie appreciates how much it matters when newcomers are given space to belong.

A life on the water

Julie grew up by the sea in Irvine, although sailing was not part of family life. She first took to the water while living in Hong Kong, then used a three-month break between projects in the UK to complete her Competent Crew, Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper courses in Hamble.

That led to the Millennium Round the World Yacht Race. Julie joined in Australia and sailed via Cairns, Darwin, Christmas Island and on to Mauritius, later returning for the final leg to Portsmouth. On board, a varied crew became a close community, relying on one another through difficult conditions.

Christmas Island left a particularly strong impression. Local people opened the school gym, brought in sewing machines to help repair sails and advertised activities welcoming the crews. For Julie, it showed how quickly a community can open its doors to new faces.

This in mind, Julie’s first priority as Chair will be to listen - visiting clubs, understanding how they operate and learning from the staff, volunteers and participants who make boating happen across Scotland. She also sees opportunities to strengthen links across the wider sporting system and learn from other sports and partners.

With a leadership approach grounded in transparency, collaboration and trust, Julie is looking forward to working with the other RYA Scotland directors the wider Board to support the RYA Scotland staff team and give clubs, coaches, instructors, officials, volunteers and participants the confidence to explore new ideas that benefit their communities.

Now back home in Scotland, Julie is eager get started by listening to the community and drawing on the range of expertise across the existing RYA Scotland board to get a real sense of where momentum is before identifying wider opportunities for impact.

Sailing, Julie believes, has a distinctive story to tell: respect, collaboration and trust are what bring everyone safely back to shore. Julie hopes to tell that story more clearly while opening up more opportunities for people to become part of it.

RYA Scotland look forward to welcoming her aboard the team, and share a sincere thanks with Brian Wilson for the impact he has led throughout the last six years.

Julie will take over from current RYA Scotland Chair Brian Wilson at the organisation’s AGM on 5 November.