Our Board of Trustees

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 now works on innovative preventative healthcare projects and solutions to tackle climate change. Dale has one daughter, is (very almost) a life-long vegetarian and is keen to help others initially reduce their meat consumption then support them to become vegetarian / vegan.

Lifelong vegetarian, Conn O'Neill, manages external affairs for a pharmaceutical 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 is a lawyer and Company Secretary and works in the water industry, in market systems and water market regulation. Prior to that he has worked in a range of industries, but particularly financial services, in both a legal and an IT and project management capacity and also has experience in starting up and running a small business.

Andrew has been vegetarian since the age of 21 and his wife and three children are all vegans or 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.

With a director-level background in marketing and business development, Clare Crowther has helped organisations to change and develop for nearly 20 years.

Being vegetarian is very important to Clare – she believes it is a kinder and more considerate way to live. Clare is keen to ensure a secure and prosperous future for the organisation and the vegetarians it supports.

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 is a freelance copywriter, travel writer and journalist, writing under the pen name Olivia Greenway. A former delicatessen owner and caterer, she takes a keen personal interest in stories around food production, chefs and cooking practices, especially those with a vegetarian angle.

Occasionally writing food articles and conducting interviews, she is a regular restaurant reviewer. She became a vegetarian back in 1980 and 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 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.