What we do

Having worked for a national environmental and sustainability charity for a decade, Dale Hoyland has developed key skills including strategic development, project and financial management, and facilitation.

He is a Practitioner member of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) and now works for a Local Authority in Oxfordshire, piloting preventative healthcare solutions and projects to tackle climate change and preserve ecosystems for future generations. Dale has one daughter, is a life-long vegetarian and always keen to help others reduce their meat consumption then support them to become vegetarian/vegan.

Lifelong vegetarian, Conn O'Neill, manages external affairs for a diabetes technology company. Having previously worked for a national health charity and a leading UK politician, he brings both charity sector and campaigning experience to the table.

Fond of replicating enjoyable restaurant meals at home, Conn especially enjoys Italian and Indian food.

Andrew Johnson worked for over ten years in project management and IT, after which he started, ran and later sold his own business.

For the last five years, he has worked as a lawyer and deputy company secretary with a leading insurance company. Andrew, his wife and his three children are all vegetarians.

David Bennett is a graduate of London University and a Chartered Surveyor. He spent most of his working life in the London area but now lives in Lincolnshire.

David has been a committed vegetarian for over 50 years and has been the Chair of the Vegetarian Society from 2013-2018. Among his other interests David includes education and he has been extensively involved in school governance for over 30 years.

Clare has a business qualification and has had a long career at a senior level in marketing. She has applied her experience in the fields of marketing strategy, business development and customer service to both the commercial and charity sectors.

Clare now works as a life coach. She has been a vegetarian all her adult life, for environmental and animal welfare reasons.

Michelle Hallmark is business development director at a communications agency which focuses on supporting socially-driven and non-profit organisations. She is an expert in crisis communications, and behavioural and organisational change.

Formerly a journalist, Michelle has worked with more than 100 organisations on media, copywriting, communications strategy and marketing. She is a former housing board member and current trustee of a Lancashire-based charity which provides advice, counselling and housing support services. Michelle has been vegetarian for 30 years, is a mum of two, and lives down the road from our head office in Altrincham.

Vegetarian since 1984, Michael Harriot is a member of the Co-operative National Members Council. He is also Chair of a Community Book Co-operative, which runs a second-hand bookshop and online store.

He has worked in the charitable sector for 19 years, and set up a local family service charity in 1998. Michael currently works for HMRC in a tax compliance role.

Debbie Jones is a freelance travel writer and journalist, writing under the pen name Olivia Greenway. A former delicatessen owner and caterer.

She takes a keen personal interest in food production, chefs and cooking practices, especially those with a vegetarian angle. Occasionally writing food stories and conducting interviews, she is a regular restaurant reviewer. She became a vegetarian back in 1980, therefore is a good home cook by default.

A vegetarian since 2017, Anne has a long career with food, holding senior positions in UK and European manufacturing companies in a number of different disciplines. She then went on to lecture in a wide range of food subjects whilst gaining a Masters Degree in teaching and learning, designing academic courses and mentoring students in Higher Education.

Anne is Co-Founder of Marvellously Meat Free a vegetarian and vegan recipe website supporting individuals moving towards and sustaining a meat free diet and is also a qualified meditation teacher and reiki practitioner.

A fundraising professional with over 20 years’ experience, Sophie Randles-Dunkley has developed and delivered fundraising events, campaigns and projects for some of the UK’s most prominent charities.

A relative latecomer to vegetarianism, she wants to help others discover the joy of a veggie lifestyle, and make it easier for everyone to make the switch. She brings skills in fundraising, marketing, volunteer management and charity leadership to further the work of the organisation.