Anna Allan is a senior development manager within the Energy team at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, looking after public relations and marketing for the renewable energy sector across the Highlands and Islands. Anna manages a number of projects aimed at promoting the renewable energy, the region’s energy supply chain and raising awareness of the opportunities that exist within this fast-growing sector for local businesses and inward investors. Anna also works to promote the renewable energy sector to primary and secondary school pupils, running the Big Green Challenge debating competition for S1-S3 pupils and providing teacher training and classroom resources for primary schools. The schools work raises awareness of renewable energy and the opportunities and challenges it presents and targets students at an appropriate time to inform them of the career opportunities in renewables, prior to them choosing their study subjects.

Prior to working for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Anna worked in journalism and PR for four years. As a journalist working for press agencies in Glasgow and Edinburgh, she wrote a range of news stories and features for a wide range of newspapers and magazines. In 2001, she set up her own features and PR agency in West Lothian with a fellow journalist, where they wrote features for national and regional newspapers and magazines and provided PR and copywriting services for SMEs and public sector organisations.