Leadership

Sarah Jane has dedicated over 26 years to Surrey Wildlife Trust, becoming Chief Executive in February 2019. Her leadership is rooted in forging impact-driven partnerships and delivering innovative, meaningful projects that connect communities, landscapes, and policy.

A co-author of the Natural Capital Investment Plan for Surrey, Sarah Jane continues to shape the future of conservation through strategic roles, including Chair of Nature South East and Trustee of The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. She is also a Fellow of Royal Holloway, University of London. Her previous board-level contributions span the Surrey Hills Society, Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Ecosystems Knowledge Network, where she served as Chair.

Sarah Jane leads the Trust’s ambitious ‘Restoring Surrey’s Nature’ strategy, aiming to create a thriving, connected living landscape across the county—from hedgerows and rivers to nature reserves and green corridors. She is particularly passionate about the emerging interface between nature and technology, exemplified by the award of a £1.5M Space4Nature partnership project in collaboration with the University of Surrey, Buglife, and Painshill Park Trust.  With a forward-thinking approach to nature finance, Sarah Jane is actively developing investment markets that support ecological recovery. Under her leadership, the Trust recently secured £1.3M in Biodiversity Net Gain transactions—helping to turn natural capital into lasting impact.