Our team are passionate about the work they do.
They come from different backgrounds and have a variety of specific skills and interests and experiences.
Jo Sullivan
Green Spaces Programme Manager- Grow & Connect Team
Jo is passionate about maximising the use of green spaces and promoting wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature, supporting people to access new and existing green spaces and brings a wide range of skills and experience to this newly established role.
Jo was a specialist nurse within the NHS for 17 years, before branching out into the third sector. She has a wealth of experience and skills throughout her various roles and has worked with clients from all backgrounds to improve their health. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health and a strong belief in reducing inequalities in people’s access to green spaces. And studied horticulture at the Botanical Gardens.
Her vision is to work alongside clients and stakeholders to shape the creation of accessible new/improved green spaces around GP surgeries, where clients can enjoy growing their own produce and the focus on health takes on a greener and more holistic approach.
Clare Evans
Inequalities and Green Social Prescribing Lead
Clare is experienced in leading projects related to tackling health inequalities, health and wellbeing, with a career spanning public health, local authority, NHS and the voluntary and community sector.
She is Director of Undivided Training Ltd, providing workforce training in all areas of personalised care and has worked at all levels of the NHS system, supporting integration and transformation.
Clare’s passion is nature, and supporting people to access the benefits of nature connection for their health and wellbeing. You can find her in the woods, where she runs a non-profit organisation that connects people to the natural environment through horticulture, land-based skills, crafts and mindfulness.
Laura Hackett
Grow and Connect Co-Ordinator
Laura is a passionate advocate for the natural world and people’s relationship with it. Being a keen gardener herself, Laura brings with her a wealth of experience in supporting community groups with their growing ambitions and working closely with key partners to help improve land access.
Laura has a background in social sciences having worked as a teacher and a freelance content writer specialising in green and ethical issues. Laura is also an environmental campaigner and co-founder of the Bee Friendly Brum campaign that calls for the ban of pesticide use.
Laura leads our compost culture project work, which involves establishing and maintaining compost demonstration sites along with outreach work encouraging more people and organisations to start composting.
Louise Scrivens
Grow and Connect Co-Ordinator
Louise has a keen interest in the environment and how it impacts on our health. She has lived experience of how green spaces aid people’s recovery from physical and mental health issues.
Prior to joining TAWS Louise trained as a Holistic Health Practitioner. Previously she worked in Accountancy, Project Management and Student Support in Telecoms and then the Further Education sector. Louise has skills and qualifications in Counselling, Mentoring, Bereavement awareness and SpLD, Accountancy and Prince 2 Project Management.
As well as working extensively with young adults professionally and voluntarily for over 30 years Louise works with local addiction support which has included with parents through Solihull Family Drugs and Alcohol courts.
Louise is active within the local environmental network and grows food and flowers at Moor Green Allotments where she also helps organise community events as part of the management committee there. She loves Balsall Heath where she lives and is a volunteer with Retrofit Balsall Heath. She believes that active travel holds the key to unlocking our city communities and is an everyday cyclist.
Chioma Schramm
Grow and Connect Co-Ordinator
With 10 years of experience within the NHS, working mainly with cancer patients, Chioma has seen changes in mainstream medical care towards more holistic care. Although this is a positive change, she believes more can be done, especially when it comes to utilising outdoor spaces and connecting people to their local community to improve health.
She has experienced the benefits of gardening first-hand and enjoyed seeing individuals increase their well-being outdoors. Diversity and resilience are also of great importance to Chioma. As a result, she has been volunteering with the Heritage Seed Library, as she believes in creating resilience in food crops, by maintaining genetic diversity and keeping rare seeds in circulation within the community.
Alongside her healthcare background, she also has creative roots, having graduated from the London College of Fashion. More recently she has used her creative background, volunteering to help organise nature-based craft activities for local community groups.
Grow and connect can mean different things to different people. For Chioma it means that when we grow the community, allowing diversity of the individuals and nature to flourish, we are all better off.
Art Gilchrist
Grow and Connect Co-Ordinator
Art’s love for people and plants and his desire to see a greener society is evident to those around him in the way he delivers nature-themed activities.
With over five years of agricultural training, Art holds a rich understanding of permaculture, care for the natural environment and farming.
Art’s journey with TAWS began as a patient volunteer after seeing first-hand how activities like these can have a powerful effect on people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.
Art now leads on several nature-themed community projects bringing about a lasting impact on the lives of local people involved in each project.
Noelia Alonso Escobar
Grow and Connect Co-Ordinator
Noelia is passionate about connecting people and nature for wellbeing and mental health.
Her own journey with mindfulness and yoga has led her to inspire others to achieve their full potential. Her delight in nature, cycling, gardening and crafts are just some of the skills and experience she brings to the role and experiences that she looks forward to sharing in the community.
Her background is a degree in Economics and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, followed by a level 2 qualification in Counselling and working in training and food.
She strongly believes that happier, healthier, and stronger communities, can improve our own health and wellbeing.
Eliza Choudhury
Project Support Officer
Eliza helps to support the Grow & Connect Team with administrative tasks and also on the ground as and when required, for example with people facing consultation work. My role is largely ensuring I am available to the team when they may be faced with technical difficulties in addition to providing them with resources or links to resources. The team do network with existing organisations/groups and requires meetings to be scheduled; agendas, minutes/actions to be recorded – all of which I get to do!
It’s amazing to be a part of the team and see the vast difference their hard work and dedication make in the community and people’s lives.