Environmental administrator. Born in Perth, Young was educated at Perth Academy and the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde. She worked in the administration of Glasgow Health Board, before moving to more senior positions in London. She left to become Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (1991), then Chair of English Nature (1998) and Chief Executive of the Environment Agency (2000). Young has also acted as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and taken senior roles in various bodies concerned with wildlife, the environment and sustainable development.
She was created a Life Peer in 1997 and has been awarded honorary degrees by the Universities of Stirling (1995), St. Andrews (2000) and Aberdeen (2000), together with several English institutions.
