MEET THE TEAM

James is an ex-Chair of NFYFC, Nuffield Scholar and has been a supporter of the Farm Safety Foundation since its formation in 2014. At 23 years old James suffered a life-changing farm accident.  James was brought up on the small family farm in Warwickshire and earned a diploma in agriculture at Moreton Morrell Agricultural College before setting up his own contracting business working on all aspects of farming for employers in the surrounding area.

James is an ex-Chair of NFYFC, Nuffield Scholar and has been a supporter of the Farm Safety Foundation since its formation in 2014. At 23 years old James suffered a life-changing farm accident.  James was brought up on the small family farm in Warwickshire and earned a diploma in agriculture at Moreton Morrell Agricultural College before setting up his own contracting business working on all aspects of farming for employers in the surrounding area

RAU graduate, James has been a member of Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster since he was 12. He served as Deputy President 2015-2017 and subsequently President of YFCU 2017-2019 and is still very much involved with the YFC and UFU network.

James is a passionate supporter of rural affairs especially mental health, farm safety and rural crime and has been a big supporter of the charity from Day One and was instrumental in supporting us develop and launch the YFCU farm safety training during his year in office.

Former strategic director for the cereals and oilseeds division of AHDB, Martin joined the board in August 2023. Prior to this, Martin worked for the Meat and Livestock Commission holding a range of roles from research, through marketing to strategic planning. He has a wealth of knowledge in promoting sales development and business skills improvement in the red meat supply chains as well as a degree in Animal Physiology and a PhD in ruminant nutrition.

Having worked with farmers for 40 years, Martin has seen how practices have changed with both the increasing opportunity for accidents to occur but also the recognition that safety is paramount for both those working on the farm and those visiting it. Martin bring valuable  governance and strategic planning skills to the board.

Raised in Scotland before moving to America as a teenager, Craig became involved in agriculture through a high school agriculture education programme. It was then he decided to spend the rest of his life teaching agriculture.

Craig studied at (formerly SAC and now) SRUC in Aberdeen and earned a Degree in Agriculture Education at Fresno State and Masters in Ag Education at Cal Poly, both in California. He taught and ran a high school agriculture programme for 14 years while earning multiple awards for recognition for teaching and was actively involved in leadership within the California Agriculture Teacher’s Association. Craig returned to Scotland in 2019 and now leads the agriculture programme at SRUC’s Edinburgh campus.

He is a non-executive board member for SRUC and is involved in the Peebleshire Agriculture Discussion Society, as well as being actively involved in other agricultural organisations informally. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain biking and playing tennis.

James is a partner at Saffery, a leading firm of Chartered Accountants and business advisors based in Peterborough and leads the firm’s Land & Rural Practice Group in the East of England.

James is passionate about promoting good mental health in the workplace: he has sponsored wellbeing programmes in each of his last two businesses and is a trained Mental Health First Aider.

James is an accountant and tax advisor, a member of the ICAEW and STEP, a trustee of a number of property, rural business, and charitable trusts, as well as being a season ticket holder at the Oval.

Hailing from Co. Donegal, Stephanie’s friends were both farmers and fishermen; equally dangerous industries. After her degree in European Business Studies, Stephanie lived and studied in Asturias and Barcelona. A career in publications followed where she moved from the business section of Belfast’s Newsletter to the magazine world and publishing house Greer Publications where she held various roles from 1995-2006.

From 2006-2014 she was Marketing & PR Manager for W5, a charity with educational aims before her move, in 2014, to Stratford-upon-Avon where she has developed and grown the Farm Safety Foundation, its education programme and award-winning campaigns. Stephanie is a qualified Mental Health First Aider, author of The Little Book of Minding Your Head, The Little Book of Farm Safety, a member of ISASH (International Society of Agricultural Safety & Health) and, in 2024 was named by Farmers Weekly as a ‘Game Changer’ a well as being recognised for her contribution to UK agriculture by the Council for Awards for Royal Agricultural Societies with an Associateship (ARAgS).

Alix joined the team in July 2023 from AHDB where she spent much of her time writing about cows!

After completing a Masters in History, Alix worked for Aberystwyth University and subsequently Rugby School as part of their Fundraising and Development teams. In 2019, she returned to her roots in agriculture, joining AHDB’s Marketing and Communications team working in a variety of roles before settling in the Dairy Communications team where she helped look after the Strategic Dairy Farm programme.

Alix is passionate about serving the rural community and helping farmers engage with the charity’s important messages and happens to be an absolute wiz with a financial spreadsheet!

Sophie joined the charity in July 2019. After studying Business and Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, Sophie worked at a children’s camp in the USA as the official camp photographer.

She then went on to start an administrative internship at an innovative manufacturing organisation in Warwickshire, which led onto a marketing role within the organisation.

She has completed her CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing and Mental Health First Aid training and in her role, she delivers our training as well as looking after fundraising and supports with Shows & Events

Megan joined the team in January 2022. Coming from a teaching background and with firm roots in the YFC network, Megan is ideally placed to look after our Shows & Events and oversee our busy education programme, delivering our Introduction to Farm Safety and Mental Health training at land-based colleges and universities across the UK. Megan is a member of Long Itchington Young Farmers Club and Chairman of the NFYFC Personal Development Steering Group – coordinating the training and travel opportunities for England and Wales YFC.

Megan recently completed a Masters in Psychology where she achieved a distinction. And as well as her busy working and social activities, Megan is currently planning her wedding which happens to be taking place in less than a month!

We just want to know where does she find the time?

Bizza joined us in August 2024 to cover Sophie’s maternity leave.

Since graduating from the Royal Agricultural University in 2019, her career has remained in the agricultural industry. Bizza comes from a mixed family farm in Warwickshire, where her father and uncles are third generation farmers. This has given her hands-on experience with farm safety and mental health. She has previously worked as a contract shepherdess travelling across the country – a journey she documented through social media – and also has experience in agricultural/rural planning.

Bizza keeps her own flock of sheep on the family farm, and is also involved in NFYFC. As well as supporting the training, Bizza also helps with our fundraisers, supporting them with merchandise and guidance for their events.