Ted has been involved with LandWorks since its inception and provided initial funding as a catalyst to help Chris Parsons get the project off the ground. A retired businessman with a small farm on the Dart Estuary, Ted is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a Masters Degree in Business. He ran an international engineering business for ten years before founding Enterprise Inns in 1991, floating the Company on the London Stock Exchange in 1995 and building an estate of more than 7000 pubs across the country. He retired from the business in 2014. Ted was awarded a CBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2007 and has supported a number of charities across a range of sectors, including serving as a Council member for Cheltenham College and as a trustee for the Drinkaware Trust.

Sally has a long-standing involvement in environmental conservation, and has a particular interest in botany and landscape management. She helped to establish the UK-based Galapagos Conservation Trust in 1994, focusing on fund raising and increasing awareness of the importance of conservation. Her involvement with the organisation spanned over 20 years with 10 years on the board of trustees. Sally is on the Campaign Council of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, which assists the college in its campaign to raise £20 million by 2019. In 2009, she led a major event to mark the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and fund a permanent academic link between the University and Galapagos. She is also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust.

Sarah Wollaston (listed as Sarah James on the Charity Commission website) qualified as a doctor in 1986 and worked as a GP and teacher of junior doctors and medical students before being elected as the MP for Totnes from 2010 to 2019. She was also elected by MPs from both sides of the House of Commons to chair the Health and Social Care Select Committee from 2014 and also the Liaison Committee from 2017.  She led an inquiry into the state of healthcare in prisons in 2018:  Read here. Sarah has now returned to clinical practice.

As a former police officer, Jason has come to understand the unintended consequences and subsequent damage caused by marginalisation and inequality within the justice system. He has become a passionate advocate for challenging stigma and diverting people away from the criminal justice system. He helped to develop the Thames Valley drug diversion scheme, which enables everyone found with controlled drugs an assessment for their use and education/harm reduction without the need for arrest, interview nor admission of guilt. This scheme has been a catalyst for health based drug interventions across the UK and further afield, also leading to policy changes within education to negate the need for exclusions. The diversion scheme harmonises with a whole system approach to engage all communities. He regularly sits on panels of events where he shares his knowledge on evidence based drug diversion, and on emerging out of court disposal schemes in the UK, such as at a recent side event held by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Aroop qualified as a doctor in London, initially working in the NHS and then for Save the Children supporting famine relief in Africa. He has had a long military medical career which included teaching doctors in training, deploying abroad on military operations and in later years being in charge of military primary care, rehabilitation and mental health care of our armed forces.  Since retiring from military service in 2015 he has been a Trustee for both the Headley Court Charity and Help for Heroes. He was awarded a CB for his military service in 2015.  Since then Aroop has served on the Board of a large NHS Hospital Trust and has been a consultant for an Air Ambulance. Aroop has also taught Conflict and Disaster Medicine at Oxford University and in London for a number of years to medics at both undergraduate and post graduate level and has a particular interest in mental health support in military and other stressful occupations and charities. Aroop is currently the Medical Director of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

After graduating in Criminology in 2013, Sarah began her professional career with LandWorks on the day it opened its doors to Trainees. For over five years Sarah worked alongside Chris and the team to grow LandWorks from a fledgling project operating from portacabins into a flourishing and independent charity. Since moving on from LandWorks, Sarah has continued to build expertise within award-winning criminal justice charities across operations, communications, fundraising and impact measurement, helping to launch a new resettlement project in a challenging London prison and a Helpline for prison leavers during the pandemic. Now specialising in training, development and coaching, Sarah works for a mental health and wellbeing charity and continues to be driven by a belief in people and second chances.

Chris is the Project Director of LandWorks and has been involved in the project from its conception in late 2011. In 1988 Chris founded Greenlands landscaping, based in Totnes and employing up to 14 people. From 1995 Chris started to employ people with, drug and alcohol issues, this progressed to working with offenders and then prolific offenders, approximately 30% of the workforce. Chris lives locally with his wife Julie – their two children are at different stages of leaving home.

Daniela is Project Coordinator and joined in 2021 after graduating from Plymouth University.  Daniela keeps all our office and reception activity on track, co-ordinates our volunteer cooks, and helps to manage our field-gate shop.  Daniela first got involved in LandWorks in 2018 as a volunteer while at university.  You can read more about her experience of joining the team here.

Steve joined LandWorks as Charity Manager in April 2020. Steve’s background is in the charity and public sectors, working across policy, communications and fundraising. Prior to joining LandWorks, Steve was Senior Philanthropy Manager and a Social Justice programme advisor at the Dartington Hall Trust, roles that included being involved in the original Big Lottery Fund application that helped to set LandWorks on its way. Before Dartington, Steve worked in a number of different roles including for the Youth Justice Board for almost ten years, and as a home affairs advisor and parliamentary researcher at Westminster.

Graham is the Woodwork Manager, and joined LandWorks in 2016 after being on placement at LandWorks. He spends his day showing trainees how to safely use the various tools and equipment, and instructs bowl turning on the lathe. These products alongside chopping boards to household and garden furniture are then sold in the shop, helping to build confidence and self-worth, whilst contributing towards the sustainability of the project. Graham also oversees construction projects both on and off-site.

May joined LandWorks in May 2024 as our new Health and Wellbeing Lead. Since gaining her psychology degree and master’s she has worked in the NHS and the charitable sector supporting people with learning disabilities and mental health issues.

After a career break to retrain in horticulture, May went to work at Moor Trees, an independent charity dedicated to restoring native woodland, from where she  secured a 6-month placement at LandWorks. She loved her time here and says she couldn’t believe her fortune when the vacancy for a new Health and Wellbeing Lead came up.

May’s role as Health and Wellbeing Support is about building relationships with the trainees, understanding the issues they each struggle with, and responding to their practical and mental health needs on a day-to-day basis. She loves working and chatting alongside trainees out to the field and is excited by the potential the yurt offers for wellbeing activities such as yoga.

Monika is the Market Gardener at LandWorks. She has been an organic grower for more than ten years.  She trained in Sustainable Horticulture and Permaculture at Schumacher College, where she was then the Assistant Grower Intern for a year, before setting up the Landworks Market Garden in 2016. Monika is passionate about inspiring others to be as enthusiastic about growing as she is, and loves the feelings of wellbeing and groundedness that engaging with nature, and working together as a community provides. She also studies myth and earth wisdom and likes to bring elements of these to her horticulture teaching.

Steve joined LandWorks in 2021 as our Site Maintenance Co-ordinator making sure the LandWorks site is well organised and maintained.

Steve is a family man, born and bred in Totnes.  At a very early age, he owned and managed several pubs in the local area.  He then worked with his father in construction for several years.  He was also a caretaker for a local school academy for four years, while providing forest school and John Muir award sessions for students.

Julia is the pottery/art lead at LandWorks and lives locally with her family. She joined the team in 2024 to broaden the provision of art and give trainees more opportunity to express themselves, learn new skills and hopefully boost their confidence.

Following a degree in Fine Art (sculpture) and a postgraduate in teaching art & design, Julia has been an artist and teacher. Her previous employment has included working with vulnerable and at-risk young adults. She believes that through art we can better explore and understand the world we live in.

Working with clay is a grounding experience which calls for you to be calm, centred and present, something that can be challenging yet hugely rewarding. She encourages the trainees to use pottery and art to explore their own ideas and also to make gifts and products that are sold in the shop. This helps build their sense of pride and self-worth whilst contributing towards the sustainability of the project.

Sam is a part of the Market Garden teams and assists Monika in the day-to-day tasks that need to be done to produce the lovely veg that’s get sold in our shop. He joined LandWorks as a trainee in May 2022 and since then has become a member of the team and is now employed for 3 days a week, he is currently studying at the Apricot Centre doing the Level 3 Regenerative Farming Practices & a RHS level 2 in plant development and growth, bringing all the knowledge he’s learnt to the care of the Market Garden. Outside of LandWorks he trains in Wing Chun (martial arts) & has a keen interest for Lego! Always sharing his knowledge to those who listen.

Mikey is our Chef/Cook and uses his skills to support trainees in the kitchen. He first joined LandWorks as a trainee in 2017 and became part of the team in January 2024. Mikey has training in Michelin Star kitchens and has a great eye for creativity in the kitchens. He loves sharing his skills and knowledge with the trainees and hopes he can pass on his confidence for the trainees to apply in future employment. Mikey works alongside our market garden team with picking our own ingredients to use in the kitchen.

Chair of the Parole Board until 2018 and former Chief Inspector of Prisons.

An academic who was formerly HM Chief Inspector of Probation and Chairman of the Youth Justice Board, Rod chaired Landworks’ advisory board in the early years of the project and continues nationally to be a keen advocate for the project.

Celia’s background is in social work – both in the statutory and not-for-profit sectors. She has been Director of Family Rights Group, Research in Practice, and a member of several advisory groups, most recently in developing social entrepreneurship in disadvantaged communities. Over her career, she has developed experience and knowledge in child and adult welfare; in the ways in which research can inform policy and practice; in the aspirations and needs of older people and the community’s obligations to their elders; in the most effective ways to reduce offending and increase social inclusion and community engagement; in research and support for disabled children and adults, and in how rural communities can welcome asylum seekers and refugees.

Freelance consultant with a background in corporate law, investment banking and PR.

Founder of Riverford Organics, pioneer of ethical veg box schemes.

Founder of organic gastro pub The Duke of Cambridge, Islington, environmentalist.

Many years’ voluntary experience with offenders and people with substance abuse, including inside HMP Channings Wood.

After working as a Youth Worker in London, Nicki worked in PR before setting up her own law firm.

Longstanding supporter with branding and marketing experience.

As well as being integral since the planning stages of LandWorks, Julie also volunteers every Thursday to cook 1-1 with trainees, specialising in healthy home cooking on a budget. Julie compiled a selection of recipes cooked both at LandWorks and inside prison, which you can buy in the LandWorks Shop.

Gill has been volunteering with LandWorks since 2015, initially helping out with our marketing and communications, and then joining our team of volunteer chefs. As well as continuing to cook with trainees when she can, she now assists us with Press and PR and keeps our website up to date.

We would also like to thank volunteer chef Christie, who often gives a day to cook with trainees.