Council

Our Trustees are:

Annabel Allott

After a successful career in food and drink marketing, Annabel devoted a lot of time to local campaigns to raise the standard of school meals. Two years ago she was approached by Twin Trading, the Fairtrade company behind Cafedirect coffee and Divine chocolate to join their New Sector Development group, which adds value to Fairtrade products through innovation and professional marketing. Her knowledge of how both the big food and drink companies and the big supermarket groups operate, and especially of the tactics they use to try to influence consumers, has been key to this role.

Huw Bowles

Huw Bowles is the Chief Operating Officer of OMSCo, the UK’s largest organic milk co-operative collecting and marketing milk from around 500 organic dairy farms. This represents around 70% of the UK supply. Prior to OMSCo, Huw studied Agriculture at Reading University and following his degree, Huw spent six months milking cows in the Waikato, New Zealand before returning to the UK to train as a chartered accountant. After qualifying he worked as a management consultant with KPMG. Huw is Chair of the Organic Trade Board and through this position is a Soil Association Council member. The Organic Trade Board seeks to work with the Soil Association and other organic bodies to develop the organic market.

Roger Cadbury

Roger has served on the council since 1996. He is also on the board of the certification company and was its chairman for eight years. He is chairman of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust; chairman of the Bournville Village Trust which supports community development; chairman of a school foundation; chairman of an education trust for adults; and a trustee of several charitable trusts which have supported the Soil Association with grants and donations over a number of years. Previously he was managing director of General Foods UK Ltd and Whitworth Holdings, and chairman of Premier Brands. Roger was also a non-executive director of NFU Mutual Insurance and Archant Ltd (formerly Eastern Counties Newspapers).

Gaye Donaldson

Gaye has been involved with the organic movement since 1985, when she began working for The Organic Growers Association and British Organic Farmers. She was Public Affairs Director of the Soil Association in the 1990s, leaving to set up an award-winning organic herb farm and business. Gaye is a past Council member and chaired the Processors Standards Committee as well as setting up the Health Products Standards Committee. Gaye now works as a systemic consultant and therapist - a systemic view of life ensures that every element of a system is valued and respected and this of course includes eco-systems, farming systems and organisational systems.

Renée Elliott

Renée founded Planet Organic, which is the UK's largest independent organic retailer and now has three stores in central London. She has worked in the organic industry since 1991 and has served on council since 1999. She has also served on the standards board and currently sits on the multiple retailers working group. Renée sits on the Government's Organic Action Plan committee and is an advisor on organic issues to a major US fund.

Martin Fitton

Martin's extensive career has covered rural policy development, rural recreation and sustainability. He was Social Research Adviser to the Countryside Commission, Director of the Countryside Commission in Wales and Chief Executive of the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Association of National Park Authorities. He has been instrumental in a range of projects to encourage more sustainable use of common land, local food processing, rural regeneration and community participation, including pioneering Welsh food festivals and establishing Coed Cymru, the Welsh woodland initiative.

Rob Hopkins

Rob’s background has principally been in education and permaculture. He set up the first full-time permaculture course in the world and was behind the first successful application for an eco-village project in Ireland. In 2004, his work was profoundly influenced by hearing about peak oil, the impending peaking in world oil production. With his students, Rob created the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan, the first timetable for a town's weaning from oil dependence and the re-localisation and sustainability of communities, of which organic food and farming plays a central role. This became a seminal document around the world, and led to him establishing Transition Town Totnes and the Transition Network.

Graham Keating

Graham is the Director of Communications for Yeo Valley, a Somerset-based, family-owned farming and dairy business. Best known for its Yeo Valley Organic brand, the company now employs over 1,000 people. Graham spent twelve years at Northern Foods, and joined Yeo Valley as Managing Director of the then separate Yeo Valley Organic Company Ltd in 1999. Graham was voted as Organic Business Personality of the Year 2002 in the annual Soil Association awards. Following a business reorganisation in 2004 he took on a new role for the larger Yeo Valley group, directing internal and external communications for the business and he now chairs Organic South West Food & Drink, working closely with the Regional Development Agency.

John McCormick

John has been a self-employed organic market gardener since 1991, running a box scheme for the greater Belfast area. Previously, John worked as a farm manager at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and as a gardener with the Camphill Communities of Ireland. He is the director and current chairman of the Organic Centre in Leitrim, Republic of Ireland and grower representative on the Northern Ireland Organic Action Plan Group. John is the devolved nations' member for Northern Ireland.

Orna Ni Chionna (chair)

Orna joined the Soil Association in 1990, and became more involved when she bought a small organic farm in 2001. Having had a 20 year career in business consulting, she started advising Council members on how to deal more effectively with the business community, and was co-opted to Council in 2002. In 2004, she became vice chair; she also served as chair of Soil Association Certification Limited in 2005 and 2006. She is a non-executive director of a number of public and private companies and is the current chair of the Council (2007).

Tim O'Riordan

Tim is an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia with a long research record on the politics of environmentalism and sustainability, culminating in 11 edited books and numerous refereed articles. He pioneered an interdisciplinary study of the transition to organic production on the Duchy of Cornwall Home Farm at Tetbury and is science commissioner for the UK Sustainable Development Commission. He works closely with the regions and local authorities in bringing sustainable development to a devolved level.

Dennis Overton

Dennis is the devolved nations' member for Scotland. He has recently taken responsibility for the family croft in the north Highlands, and is currently building a partnership with 200 small farmers in Rwanda, developing a European market for organic geranium oil. In the late 1990s, Dennis helped pioneer organic salmon farming, and since the early 1990s has been managing director of Aquascot, a Ross-shire sustainable seafood business. Dennis is also involved in working to improve the Highlands' poorest performing secondary school which includes growing organic food with the pupils, and in the development of Scotland Food and Drink, the private-public partnership.

Peter Segger

Peter has been involved in the Soil Association for over thirty years, joining Council in the 1970s, and learning from some of the founding members – including Fritz Schumacher and Lady Eve Balfour. Since leaving Council in the '80s, he founded Organic Farm Foods, helping to develop the UK market for fresh organic produce, and getting involved in the organic movement in many countries around the world. Peter's 50 acre holding in West Wales was one of the first Soil Association licensees and is run by his partner Anne Evans. The holding used to supply supermarkets, but now produce goes to box schemes, local wholesale and a small farm shop serving the local community.

Geetie Singh MBE

Geetie was founder and Managing Director of The Duke of Cambridge organic gastropub in north London, the only one to earn Soil Association certification. She grew up in a commune in Worcestershire, which gave her a solid grounding in organic issues. Geetie later worked in the restaurant trade and opened the pub in 1998 with the view to running a business that was ethical as well as profitable, serving organic food and upholding the highest sustainable business practices.

Bill Starling

Bill has been an active member of the Soil Association, serving in many roles both local and national, for long enough to say that he knew our founder, Lady Eve Balfour. He established, and for twelve years ran, the first specialist organic grain trading operation. He also ran a small, part-time, farm which was certified by the Soil Association. He is now a self-employed organic inspector and advisor, which gives him daily contact with both producers and processors of organic food. He has been a member of Council since the merger with British Organic Farmers (BOF), before which he was Chairman of BOF. He also tries to put the Soil Association's point of view through a regular 'Green Column' for the Eastern Daily Press.

Charles Weston

Charles worked in the agricultural merchanting trade for a number of years, ending up with his own company. This progressed into a major transport, distribution and warehousing business based in the West Country. He has always farmed livestock in addition to his commercial activities and for the past eight years has been a full time working farmer. Since 2003 Charles has been a member of the Soil Association Producer Board, seeking to represent the interests of upland livestock producers. He took over as Chair of the Producer Board in 2004 and has been a member of the Soil Association Standards Board since 2005.

Nigel Woodhouse

Nigel has run a trout farm in Cumbria for the past 25 years, which was amongst the first to become organic. He has been instrumental in developing organic standards for fish and is chair of the aquaculture standards committee. Nigel has a background in teaching, some of it in the developing world.

David Young CBE (Honorary Treasurer)

Following his studies at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, David spent 20 years in the civil service (Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office). He left in 1982 to join the John Lewis Partnership from which he retired in 2002 as deputy chairman, having previously been finance director. David was treasurer and a member of council of the Open University 1996–2001 and has been a trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum since 1999. He is currently chairman of the Higher Education Funding Council, and was awarded his CBE for services to education.

The current Management Committee:

Orna Ni-Chionna Chair
David Young Treasurer
Dennis Overton Elected by Council
Graham Keating Elected by Council
Nigel Woodhouse Elected by Council

Home – About us – Who we are – Council
Who we are Who's who Director President Council Council voting Annual General Meeting Our history Funding Work with us News and media Contact us	Council Our Trustees are: Annabel Allott After a successful career in food and drink marketing, Annabel devoted a lot of time to local campaigns to raise the standard of school meals. Two years ago she was approached by Twin Trading, the Fairtrade company behind Cafedirect coffee and Divine chocolate to join their New Sector Development group, which adds value to Fairtrade products through innovation and professional marketing. Her knowledge of how both the big food and drink companies and the big supermarket groups operate, and especially of the tactics they use to try to influence consumers, has been key to this role. Huw Bowles Huw Bowles is the Chief Operating Officer of OMSCo, the UK’s largest organic milk co-operative collecting and marketing milk from around 500 organic dairy farms. This represents around 70% of the UK supply. Prior to OMSCo, Huw studied Agriculture at Reading University and following his degree, Huw spent six months milking cows in the Waikato, New Zealand before returning to the UK to train as a chartered accountant. After qualifying he worked as a management consultant with KPMG. Huw is Chair of the Organic Trade Board and through this position is a Soil Association Council member. The Organic Trade Board seeks to work with the Soil Association and other organic bodies to develop the organic market. Roger Cadbury Roger has served on the council since 1996. He is also on the board of the certification company and was its chairman for eight years. He is chairman of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust; chairman of the Bournville Village Trust which supports community development; chairman of a school foundation; chairman of an education trust for adults; and a trustee of several charitable trusts which have supported the Soil Association with grants and donations over a number of years. Previously he was managing director of General Foods UK Ltd and Whitworth Holdings, and chairman of Premier Brands. Roger was also a non-executive director of NFU Mutual Insurance and Archant Ltd (formerly Eastern Counties Newspapers). Gaye Donaldson Gaye has been involved with the organic movement since 1985, when she began working for The Organic Growers Association and British Organic Farmers. She was Public Affairs Director of the Soil Association in the 1990s, leaving to set up an award-winning organic herb farm and business. Gaye is a past Council member and chaired the Processors Standards Committee as well as setting up the Health Products Standards Committee. Gaye now works as a systemic consultant and therapist - a systemic view of life ensures that every element of a system is valued and respected and this of course includes eco-systems, farming systems and organisational systems. Renée Elliott Renée founded Planet Organic, which is the UK's largest independent organic retailer and now has three stores in central London. She has worked in the organic industry since 1991 and has served on council since 1999. She has also served on the standards board and currently sits on the multiple retailers working group. Renée sits on the Government's Organic Action Plan committee and is an advisor on organic issues to a major US fund. Martin Fitton Martin's extensive career has covered rural policy development, rural recreation and sustainability. He was Social Research Adviser to the Countryside Commission, Director of the Countryside Commission in Wales and Chief Executive of the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Association of National Park Authorities. He has been instrumental in a range of projects to encourage more sustainable use of common land, local food processing, rural regeneration and community participation, including pioneering Welsh food festivals and establishing Coed Cymru, the Welsh woodland initiative. Rob Hopkins Rob’s background has principally been in education and permaculture. He set up the first full-time permaculture course in the world and was behind the first successful application for an eco-village project in Ireland. In 2004, his work was profoundly influenced by hearing about peak oil, the impending peaking in world oil production. With his students, Rob created the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan, the first timetable for a town's weaning from oil dependence and the re-localisation and sustainability of communities, of which organic food and farming plays a central role. This became a seminal document around the world, and led to him establishing Transition Town Totnes and the Transition Network. Graham Keating Graham is the Director of Communications for Yeo Valley, a Somerset-based, family-owned farming and dairy business. Best known for its Yeo Valley Organic brand, the company now employs over 1,000 people. Graham spent twelve years at Northern Foods, and joined Yeo Valley as Managing Director of the then separate Yeo Valley Organic Company Ltd in 1999. Graham was voted as Organic Business Personality of the Year 2002 in the annual Soil Association awards. Following a business reorganisation in 2004 he took on a new role for the larger Yeo Valley group, directing internal and external communications for the business and he now chairs Organic South West Food & Drink, working closely with the Regional Development Agency. John McCormick John has been a self-employed organic market gardener since 1991, running a box scheme for the greater Belfast area. Previously, John worked as a farm manager at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and as a gardener with the Camphill Communities of Ireland. He is the director and current chairman of the Organic Centre in Leitrim, Republic of Ireland and grower representative on the Northern Ireland Organic Action Plan Group. John is the devolved nations' member for Northern Ireland. Orna Ni Chionna (chair) Orna joined the Soil Association in 1990, and became more involved when she bought a small organic farm in 2001. Having had a 20 year career in business consulting, she started advising Council members on how to deal more effectively with the business community, and was co-opted to Council in 2002. In 2004, she became vice chair; she also served as chair of Soil Association Certification Limited in 2005 and 2006. She is a non-executive director of a number of public and private companies and is the current chair of the Council (2007). Tim O'Riordan Tim is an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia with a long research record on the politics of environmentalism and sustainability, culminating in 11 edited books and numerous refereed articles. He pioneered an interdisciplinary study of the transition to organic production on the Duchy of Cornwall Home Farm at Tetbury and is science commissioner for the UK Sustainable Development Commission. He works closely with the regions and local authorities in bringing sustainable development to a devolved level. Dennis Overton Dennis is the devolved nations' member for Scotland. He has recently taken responsibility for the family croft in the north Highlands, and is currently building a partnership with 200 small farmers in Rwanda, developing a European market for organic geranium oil. In the late 1990s, Dennis helped pioneer organic salmon farming, and since the early 1990s has been managing director of Aquascot, a Ross-shire sustainable seafood business. Dennis is also involved in working to improve the Highlands' poorest performing secondary school which includes growing organic food with the pupils, and in the development of Scotland Food and Drink, the private-public partnership. Peter Segger Peter has been involved in the Soil Association for over thirty years, joining Council in the 1970s, and learning from some of the founding members – including Fritz Schumacher and Lady Eve Balfour. Since leaving Council in the '80s, he founded Organic Farm Foods, helping to develop the UK market for fresh organic produce, and getting involved in the organic movement in many countries around the world. Peter's 50 acre holding in West Wales was one of the first Soil Association licensees and is run by his partner Anne Evans. The holding used to supply supermarkets, but now produce goes to box schemes, local wholesale and a small farm shop serving the local community. Geetie Singh MBE Geetie was founder and Managing Director of The Duke of Cambridge organic gastropub in north London, the only one to earn Soil Association certification. She grew up in a commune in Worcestershire, which gave her a solid grounding in organic issues. Geetie later worked in the restaurant trade and opened the pub in 1998 with the view to running a business that was ethical as well as profitable, serving organic food and upholding the highest sustainable business practices. Bill Starling Bill has been an active member of the Soil Association, serving in many roles both local and national, for long enough to say that he knew our founder, Lady Eve Balfour. He established, and for twelve years ran, the first specialist organic grain trading operation. He also ran a small, part-time, farm which was certified by the Soil Association. He is now a self-employed organic inspector and advisor, which gives him daily contact with both producers and processors of organic food. He has been a member of Council since the merger with British Organic Farmers (BOF), before which he was Chairman of BOF. He also tries to put the Soil Association's point of view through a regular 'Green Column' for the Eastern Daily Press. Charles Weston Charles worked in the agricultural merchanting trade for a number of years, ending up with his own company. This progressed into a major transport, distribution and warehousing business based in the West Country. He has always farmed livestock in addition to his commercial activities and for the past eight years has been a full time working farmer. Since 2003 Charles has been a member of the Soil Association Producer Board, seeking to represent the interests of upland livestock producers. He took over as Chair of the Producer Board in 2004 and has been a member of the Soil Association Standards Board since 2005. Nigel Woodhouse Nigel has run a trout farm in Cumbria for the past 25 years, which was amongst the first to become organic. He has been instrumental in developing organic standards for fish and is chair of the aquaculture standards committee. Nigel has a background in teaching, some of it in the developing world. David Young CBE (Honorary Treasurer) Following his studies at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, David spent 20 years in the civil service (Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office). He left in 1982 to join the John Lewis Partnership from which he retired in 2002 as deputy chairman, having previously been finance director. David was treasurer and a member of council of the Open University 1996–2001 and has been a trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum since 1999. He is currently chairman of the Higher Education Funding Council, and was awarded his CBE for services to education. The current Management Committee: Orna Ni-Chionna Chair David Young Treasurer Dennis Overton Elected by Council Graham Keating Elected by Council Nigel Woodhouse Elected by Council	Related links Find out more What we do Annual review Get involved Join us Take action

What we do Campaigns and policies Organic standards Certification Food for Life Partnership Land Trust Support farmers and growers Organic farm network Community supported agriculture Education International work Conferences	Take action Support us Buy organic Holiday organic Grow organic Support our campaigns Get involved locally Visit an organic farm Consultations School food Learning Organic Fortnight Events	Why organic? What is organic? Climate friendly food and farming Welfare and wildlife Health GM Organic heroes FAQs	About us Who we are Our history Funding Work with us News and media Contact us

Certification Guide to certification What we do Services for licensees Standards Contact us	Farmers & growers Producer membership Advice and support News Training and events Market Get connected Organic Farming magazine	Businesses Marketing support Market information Get involved Find organic Working for you News	Schools Food for Life Partnership Visit an organic farm Primary resources Secondary resources Scotland resources