Tree Hall chats to Stuart McSkimming and introduces Caty Mueller at the National Trust

Virtue & Virtuosity: Leaders discuss adoption of AI in Charities and Not-for-Profits

In the first episode of the Virtue & Virtuosity podcast, we talk about the aims of the podcast and then dive straight in with an interview with the Technology Director of the National Trust.

This weeks episode features:

Podcast Host, Stuart McSkimming: Independent consultant and experienced CIO with over twenty years experience in the charity sector

Tree Hall: Chief Executive of Charity IT Leaders, the premiere IT and digital networking group for the UK charity and not-for-profit sector.

Caty Mueller: Technology Director at the National Trust, Europe’s largest conservation charity.

In this first episode of the podcast, Stuart chats with Tree about what he’s trying to achieve with the podcast.

The Balancing Act for Charities and Not-for-Profits

The backdrop for this podcast is reminiscent of the GDPR era. A decade ago, charities grappled with data management — balancing the challenges around safeguarding personal data against the huge benefits of data-driven insights. In this environment, the risk appetite of charities, and constrained financial situation meant that some charities fell behind in leveraging data effectively. Now, as AI gains prominence, a similar challenge emerges: How can charities embrace AI’s benefits without putting their data at risk, without bearing reputational risks, and without compromising on their ethical standards?

Why This Matters: The AI Gap

Charities risk lagging behind the private sector in AI adoption. While the latter embraces AI-driven innovation, charities must navigate ethical considerations, privacy concerns, and resource constraints. The AI gap threatens to hinder charities’ ability to maximise their impact.

Episode 1: Unleashing AI’s Potential at the National Trust: A Conversation with Caty Mueller

In this episode of Virtue & Virtuosity, we sit down with Caty Mueller, Technology Director at the National Trust—the largest conservation charity in Europe.

As Technology Director, Caty drives technology strategy, project execution, and architectural innovation. Her passion lies in exploring cutting-edge technologies, including the transformative potential of AI.

Caty discusses how balancing excitement with practical implementation is crucial. She talks about case studies on how the National Trust have used AI internally, how they use it with their supporters and members, but most crucially how it is used to further the aims of the organisation.

She outlines the approach of governance groups, and also gives her views how the organisation might take advantage of opportunities in the future.

Stay Tuned for more insights in future episodes

Next week we talk with Jon Fox from the Alzheimer’s Society, and he outlines examples of how the organisation is trialling new technologies.

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About our guests

Tree Hall, Charity IT Leaders

Charity IT Leaders (CITL) is a membership organisation that supports technologists and digital specialists working in charities and not-for-profits, to maximise the benefits that technology and digital can deliver. Our aim is to enable charities to continually improve their efficiencies, ways of working and outcomes through the use of technology, and to support individuals in developing the leadership and technical skills that will enable them to be empowering and inspirational leaders, both for today and for the future.

Tree joined CITL in 2019 as their first paid member of staff and was promoted to CEO in 2020. With more than 16 years’ experience in the charity sector as a fundraiser and marketer, she’s passionate about supporting the amazing CITL community, and enabling not-for-profits to achieve the best possible outcomes from their technology stack.

She is openly AuDHD and is committed to increasing knowledge and understanding of neurodivergence in the workplace. She balances her role as CEO of CITL with her work as a neurodivergent advocate and trainer, and family life with two children, her husband and two cats.

Caty Mueller, National Trust

As Europe’s largest conservation charity, we look after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. We do it with the help of millions of members, volunteers, staff and donors. Without this, we couldn’t care for the miles of coastline, woodlands, countryside and the hundreds of historic buildings, gardens and precious collections we protect.

Caty has worked at National Trust as Technology Director, for the past 18 months following a career in the private sector.

Stuart McSkimming, Virtue Chain -https://virtuechain.co.uk

The Virtue & Virtuosity podcast is brought to you by Stuart McSkimming of Virtue Chain Ltd.

Following consulting work in the UK finance sector, Stuart has worked in International Development, Strategy Design and Delivery, Software Engineering, and Senior Leadership roles within the not-for-profit sector. He has over 20 years of experience, and through working on both the support and delivery sides of organisations, he understands what makes charities work. He has also worked on several cross-charity initiatives, working to improve not just how one organisation works, but also the ecosystem.

Through his work across the sector, Stuart has a passion for making the charity sector more effective through the use of Technology.

Organisations: VSO, Shelter, Royal British Legion Roles: Strategy Lead, Chief Information Officer, Country Director, Programme Director, Head of Software Engineering Trustee: SOCITM Third Sector, Charity IT Leaders Awards: Stuart has been ranked in the top 100 UK CIO’s.