Steph is a founding member of Shawfern Group Limited, a family organisation which operates a growing collection of boutique hotels such as The Dowans Hotel and Hotel 1881 in Speyside. As General Manager, she has overseen the significant growth and development of the business which, despite the impact of Covid-19 on the world of hospitality, continues to demonstrate resilient strength in a sincerely weakened market; evidence of its standing in a national and international context. Her knowledge of and passion for whisky were solidified by her attendance at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky School in 2014 and she continues to make it of pivotal importance to the business via regular events, whisky paired meals and continued marketing of The Still, the Dowans’ whisky snug, as a destination of choice. Prior to making hospitality her chosen career, she pursued a Postgraduate degree in Human Rights and International Politics from Glasgow University. Despite the move away from that field, she continues to champion the elements of her degree that were of the most pressing importance to her: equality, diversity and the pursuit of a world where the importance placed on the masculine heteronormative ‘ideal’ ceases to exist.