Meet our Helping it Happen Judges

Lucy Filby is Head of Net Zero Transition for Agriculture at South of Scotland Enterprise, an organisation that lives its values of being Bold, Striving, Inclusive and Responsible.  She has over 20 yrs experience of building partnership projects to improve environmental outcomes in farming and wider food and drink value chains. Lucy works to ensure that economic development supports long term beneficial outcomes for people and the environment. An aspiring regenerative practitioner, she loves working in the spaces between our current reality and future vision. She is an advocate for business as a force for good.

Keith Halstead has led The Royal Countryside Fund as Executive Director since June 2020. 

Prior to joining the RCF, Keith held several senior roles across the two National Trusts in England & Scotland. This has included strategic responsibility for the operational, business and land management of rural estates, historic houses, gardens, coast and countryside and their related conservation, commercial and environmental performance. 

In addition, Keith has been a trustee of the Churches Conservation Trust, a member of DEFRA’s Civil Society Advisory Board and of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. He was awarded Associateship of the Royal Agricultural Societies in 2025.

Michael works in the investment management industry, originally in London and now in Edinburgh. While looking after clients’ investments he also runs Douglas & Angus Estates.

This company looks after the Douglas-Home family’s homes in South Lanarkshire and the Borders. Both estates are fully diversified and include agricultural, tourism, property, energy, sporting and other interests. The company has been delighted to have a number of its enterprises recognised in the SLE Helping it Happen Awards. Michael particularly enjoys helping the next generation of land managers, discussing responsibilities and sharing ideas and best practices and has played a pivotal role in SLE’s work in recent years.

Sarah-Jane was appointed as Chief Executive of Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) in December 2019, the first woman to hold this role in the organisation’s 110 year history. Sarah-Jane represents SLE on a large number of external stakeholder groups, is a member of the Scottish Government's Women in Agriculture Taskforce, the Climate Change Emergency Response Group  as well as a recipient of the Farmers Club Windsor Leadership bursary.

Claudia is Deputy Director of Green Economy for NatureScot. She provides senior leadership on supporting transformative land use and investing in natural capital to address the twin challenges of biodiversity and climate change.

With over 20 years of experience on land use policy and practice, she now leads NatureScot’s peatland restoration team and Scotland’s Natural Capital Pilot Programme to test approaches to future rural policy that combines sustainable food production, climate and nature

John is a hill farmer from Ayrshire who has also spent 21 years at the Scottish Parliament as  the MSP for Ayr Constituency. Before entering politics he pioneered Farmers Markets in Ayrshire in 1999, he created and chaired the Scottish Association of Farmers Markets in 2000, and also Chaired the NFUS Hill Farming Committee from 1993-1999.

In Parliament, John was a Deputy Presiding Officer from 2011-2016, as well as being a Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fishing from 2007-2011. John was awarded an OBE in 2022, is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society, and currently a Director of the Moredun Foundation.