Supporting the Partnership since 2009, Kelly Ann Dempsey has overseen strategy and project development, alongside integrating the Partnership‘s objectives with those of local stakeholders, public bodies and catchment communities. Kelly Ann oversaw the delivery and monitoring of the Partnership’s first Catchment Management Plan from 2009-2017 and is currently carrying out consultation to develop and publish a second in 2026.

Developing projects that deliver multiple benefits in relation to the nature and climate crises and economic and socio opportunities are a key part of Kelly Ann’s role. By securing funding from LEADER, Biodiversity Challenge Fund, the Nature Restoration Fund and the LEADER Transnational Cooperation Fund, the Partnership has become a respected body leading on nature-based solution delivery and catchment management both within Angus and nationally.

Ann-Marie MacMaster joined the River South Esk Catchment Partnership in September 2024, as the Land-Use and Nature-Based Solutions Project Officer. Ann-Marie works with local landowners, farmers and communities, to seek opportunities to deliver projects that will improve biodiversity and climate resilience.

Having grown up on a hill farm on the west coast, Ann-Marie has spent the last 16 years working in Tayside on applied conservation projects including Scottish Mink Initiative, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, and more recently, NatureScot’s Beaver Mitigation Scheme. Ann-Marie has strong project management skills and extensive experience in collaborating with stakeholders and problem solving.