Alix lives and works on the family farm in Perthshire and has developed an understanding of agriculture, education and skills development through working with SAYFC, RHET and most recently QMS as Health & Education Manager. Passionate about rural life, Alix strives to support farmers and crofters to improve their wellbeing.  

Clare lives in Peeblesshire, with her husband Stuart, boys Struan & Kirk and Lexi the dog. Her love of people, socialising, helping others and a background in agriculture, means she is thrilled at her appointment. Clare latterly ran her own holiday cottage and prior to that, covered numerous roles at RHET. 

Anna lives and works on the family farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Coming from a career in PE teaching, Anna has a passion for wellbeing, which she is keen to promote within the world of agriculture. She is an enthusiastic member of Annandale Young Farmers and Director for Dumfries Show.

Gerard lives in Wellington New Zealand. Since 2012 he has worked independently helping organisations design social good programmes. A highlight has been leading the creation of Farmstrong in New Zealand, and continues to play an active role as their Programme Director. This includes advising the team in Scotland on a consultancy basis, as the programme develops.

Prior to this Gerard has worked in NZ, Australia and the UK in a range of not-for-profit and government agencies in the areas of community development, health promotion, communications and social marketing.

Previous roles have included, five years as CEO of the Alcohol Advisory Council of NZ and five years leading NZ’s national mental health campaign Like Minds, including a year establishing the National Depression Initiative featuring John Kirwan - a well-known NZ rugby player.

Sarah lives and works on the Barra Farm in Aberdeenshire. As well as growing their famous berries, the family farm rears sheep and beef that supply their café and events businesses.

As a former BBC presenter, you may recognise Sarah from programmes like Landward, and she's now taken on the role of Farmstrong Scotland's podcast host, travelling across Scotland to interview farmers and crofters for monthly episodes of Blether Together. If you haven't listened, tune in now!

John is a fourth generation farmer who farms in Easter-Ross with his wife Fiona and their four children. Enterprises include renewables, malting barley, 3500 breeding ewes and 250 beef cows, selling genetics and high-quality Scotch lamb and beef to various outlets, and holiday cottages. John is a Nuffield Scholar, winner of the Murray Trust Future Farmer Award in 2013 and Farmers Weekly Sheep farmer of the year in 2014. He was awarded Highlands and Islands Food and Drink ambassador in 2017, is an Associate member of the Royal Agricultural Societies and Scottish Enterprise Rural Leader. 

Chief Executive of SAOS since March 2019, Tim has overall responsibility for its strategy, resources, governance, and external relationships.

Tim is a former vet and a partner with his wife in a small-scale farming enterprise. He has extensive experience and networks across all food and farming sectors within Scotland and the UK.

Tim has worked closely with a number of industry organisations and farmer, processor and retailer clients during his management of
food supply chain assurance service delivery with Acoura and Lloyd’s Register

Matthew is an eighth-generation farmer, who leads Savills PLC Food & Farming consultancy team in South West Scotland and is responsible for agribusiness consultancy on over 35,000 hectares. Until 2019, he was managing Savills teams UK wide, delivering rural property consultancy sales of £8+M per annum and sat on Savills UK Rural Property Strategy Board until 2018. 

He has worked with Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highland & Islands Enterprise, the Prince's Trust and DEFRA. He was heavily involved in the conception and early delivery of the Scottish Enterprise’s Planning to Succeed and Rural Leadership Programmes and was National Programme Director for both, for a number of years.

As well as farming at home, Matthew is a Nuffield Farming Scholar, past Director of The Royal Highland Agricultural Society for Scotland, local church Treasurer and Council Member of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society.

Rebecca works for Jane Craigie Marketing, a communications agency that specialises in the rural and agricultural sector. She
has a First Class Honours degree in Events Management and is a graduate of the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme. 

She is a trustee and Next Generation Facilitator for the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, Judge for Lantra Scotland Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards and Scottish Co-ordinator for LEAF Open Farm Sunday. 

She has a real passion for technology and digital communications, is a farmer’s daughter from a mixed livestock farm in Perthshire and is based on her husband's dairy farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Rebecca is also a Director and co-founder of the Rural Youth Project, an initiative to support and empower young people to remain in rural areas, grow in confidence, activism and leadership

Jock farms with his wife Fiona and three young children near Dallas in Moray. They also own and run Macbeth’s butchers shop in Forres. The farm is the main supplier to the butchery, running 250 head of beef cows plus finishers. In 2023, he was selected as a Nuffield Scholar.

Jock is a past Quality Meat Scotland board member and was chair of The Scotch Butchers Club. He has also been a committee member for the Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards and a steering group member for Scotland’s Nature Friendly Farming Network.

He regularly ‘hosts’ local school kids on the farm through the FaceTime a Farmer project. He is also a graduate of Scottish Enterprise’s Rural Leadership programme.

A first generation farmer, Emily started starting her farming career with a handful of ewes on an annually rented field. Growing the business to supply prime lambs for Marks & Spencer, the farm then further developed to produce high genetic merit breeding rams.

Emily also works off-farm in consultancy and knowledge exchange. In 2019 she founded her own business specialising in supporting beef and sheep farmers to develop their sustainability by identifying opportunities within their systems and taking change forward. She works both both one-to-one and with farmer groups. In 2018 she was awarded a Stapledon Trust Innovation Fellowship and travelled to NZ to learn more about their farm systems and knowledge sharing.

She is past chair and still a director of her local RHET (Royal Highland Education Trust) and was previously a director of Perth Show and treasurer for Strathearn Riding Club. She is also a graduate of Scottish Enterprise’s Rural Leadership programme

Alan is an experienced CEO and non-executive director, with 25 years of leadership experience in rural organisations, and a current director of farming and estate businesses in the Lothians.

He has extensive experience representing the interests of Scotland’s farmers, food producers, land managers and residents through his previous role working with Scotland’s largest rural charity, RHASS.

An active board member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Alan is also a former director of the Oxford Farming Conference and an advisor to Government on rural matters.

Trained as a chartered surveyor he has a long track record of being involved in food, farming and rural life and is a passionate advocate for successful and thriving communities with a personal interest in mental health and wellbeing.