Over the years she's been blessed to be accompanied by many folks working alongside her and the organisation - some staying for small projects, some working for several years. The richness of this global community all offering their gifts allowed the organisation to keep rooting, seeding and growing, turning it into the mycelium it is now. Without the close companionship of the team, the organisation would have remained a solitary tree in a vast forest, and the riches of this community are endless and ever-growing.

One of the joys Rachel finds in this work is the integration between her different skills, interests and curiosities; and how the organisation offers a livelihood, not just a job. Weaving together practices from ecopsychology, relational neuroscience and wisdom traditions, she brings twenty five years’ work and life-experience supporting and enabling healthy learning communities and cultures.

Holding space for heart-centred learning is in her blood. For over two decades Rachel has been a teacher, mentor, curriculum designer, facilitator and systems-practitioner, working with young people, leaders and policymakers from across the world to transform education. Seeing and feeling the transformation of so many souls over the years is why and how she stays grounded and elevated at the same time, and the fertile soil that the organisation is growing in continues to be fed and nourished by these stories of change. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

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His own experience has taken him on a journey from spreadsheets to muck-spreading and everything in between. Working as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) since 2000, Tim runs Swift Accounting - an organisation built on his passion for helping clients manage their businesses with clarity and care. Along with my his Shirley, he also co-runs his wife's family farm in Tavistock, Devon. The balance between being sat at a computer and being outdoors with the cows offers a beautiful way of life and is one of the riches underpinning how he works with his clients. In fact, one of the things Rachel has most appreciated is Tim sending her Whatsapp videos of the cows in the field when also requiring her to do some complex accounting...it works a charm every time!

We're deeply honoured that Tim is still working with us, having not wanted to take on any extra clients when we met in 2018 but having agreed to come onto the team and staying with us ever since! He is a cherished and invaluable member of the ThoughtBox family and we're incredibly lucky to have him on the team.

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His area of vocational interest lies in service of healing-centered systems and culture change. He has worked with a vast range of people and organisations, in diverse settings and across rich and varied cultures. He has served on the board and worked in leadership roles in trauma healing and social reform organisations, whilst his practice is informed by advanced degrees in law, business, and regenerative economics; formal initiation in three wisdom lineages; long-term contemplative practice; and life and work experience across more than 60 countries.

One of the elements most cherished about Prashant is his reverence. He has the ability to really see people and bring out the goodness in them - listening intently to the whole person and welcoming, celebrating and shining a light on their radiance, no matter how dimly their own light may be shining. He is a rare and precious soul and brings immense riches, courage, guidance and care to the team.

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His own work and practice has taken him through a life-journey of great courage and insight into regenerative and sustainable education - policy, pedagogy and practice; with local action and community engagement at the heart of his interest. He is the Centre for Sustainable Futures Lead at the University of Plymouth, responsible for supporting curriculum development, pedagogic change and participatory research relating to exploring the potential for sustainability education within Higher Education.

Alongside his experience in the Higher Education Landscape - with a special interest in Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) - he works from what he calls "a pedagogy of love" - with his "Love Learning Goals" an incredible resource, framework and approach to bring younger learners into more conscious and connected ways of living and learning. He has a cracking sense of humour and a deeply caring heart; the combination of which make team time a joy and working together a rich, lively and nourishing space for all who enter.

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Joining the team in December 2023, she came on board as Director of Community and has since worked her magic in co-creating, tending and igniting a global community of practice; with over 60 educators from across the world now working to support Triple WellBeing in action in their local communities.

Holly brings a delicious blend of gentle care, empowered action and deep reflection - working to support and tend to the roots of this work on all of its levels. Her various skill sets mean she can turn her attention to any task on the table, and has been an invaluable co-Director for the team; from supporting high level strategy board meeting to poster design and game-making; from funding bids and complex accounting to leadership facilitation, student workshops and everything in between. One of her biggest gifts to the organisation was birthing our two podcasts: Two Inconvenient Women and The Stories of Triple WellBeing; both working to shine a light upon alternative stories and pathways towards a more generative and relational future. She has a brilliant podcast voice and makes those who she speaks with feel immediately at ease through her nurturing and engaged approach.

Her professional journey has taken her from the classroom as a secondary English teacher to Director of Community at ThoughtBox Education; spanning the roles of educator, facilitator and coach. She is an Aspen UK Rising Leaders Fellow, a Bio-Leadership Fellow and a certified coach (Wise Goose Coaching), also co-chairing a national network of educators: Our Shared World. Her practice sits at the intersection of wellbeing, learning, community and ecological regeneration and she comes most alive when supporting individuals and organisations to rediscover the deep ties between self, people and earth-care and the journey into whole system flourishing.

She is a deeply cherished and invaluable core member of the team and is a daily ray of sunshine for all those who are in her orbit.

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She has been part of our Directorial board for several years, offering her wit, wisdom and deep skills as an experienced design strategist and systems change specialist, with seventeen years' experience partnering with organisations on sustainability in the UK and internationally. Over the years she's helped navigate the team through some complex challenges with clarity and purpose, supporting each member to give expression to their values on a personal and organisational level and find ways through the 'stuckness' as it were. Every time we've been in these spaces, the learning has been so bountiful and the landing place exactly where we needed to find ourselves.

Gemma has one of those wonderful ways of being - both light and deep, wise and mischievous - that brings such energy and attention to the organisation, making board meetings truly delightful. She is a firm advocate for the wonder of this work, for enabling awe and amazement in our communities and for re-igniting the humanity in systems, structures, communities and individual across the learning landscape.

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Formerly a Principal Consultant for the International Education Agency as well as as Headteacher for over 20 years, Annie has had extensive experience in school leadership, both nationally and internationally; working with government departments in the UK and abroad. She was an Associate of the Innovation Unit and was able to bring policy making at national level to impact at school level. She has led four schools to receive ‘Excellent’ Ofsted reports and has been a governor for many others.

She is a shining light for the values and ethos of this work, with a dedication to kindness, care and connection and a heart brim-full of love.

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Rooted in his core belief in the goodness of the world, Alex has a rare quality of seeing straight to the heart of the matter and bringing out the essence. It is his gifts that underpin the beauty of our marketing and design work; with every image, website page, document or poster given a quality of care and attention that enables the messaging to resonate on a deep level. Part designer, part wizard, Alex's magic has brought so many parts of ThoughtBox to life, most notably our storybooks (designed on his houseboat in Greece in what was coined "storybook bay") and given such care and attention it is palpable when seeing the images jump off the page. He brings such mischief and wisdom to the organisation and enables the rest of the work to happen.

Weaving together an early life of working in corporate marketing with a growing awareness of regenerative practice as a cornerstone for business, Alex's unique design qualities and careful strategic guidance and approach have enabled us to grow together in ways we could never have imagined without him.

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Devorah holds a complex and challenging space in her work - navigating the complexities of divisive politics and life in a war-zone with the nurturing of cultural curiosity and social connection that comes with language-learning. As part of her action research she focused on promoting wellbeing, specifically Triple WellBeing, through English Language education and hosted a national Triple WellBeing Day for learners across the country. This was a celebration event - weaving language learning and diversity with social engagement and conscious conversations; all under the focus of strengthening self-care, people-care, and Earth-care.

This work continues to weave its way through community, policy and practice with allies across the educational landscape in Israel and within the Palestinian communities within the country.

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Rooted in the belief that children learn best when they feel happy and engaged, Lucy has created an environment where shoes are optional, trees are classrooms and learning unfolds as part of the living world. Diversity and community are woven into every part of the school, from the multi-level fee structure that ensures inclusion, to the open gates that welcome parents, neighbours and local partners as part of the learning journey.

Through the Triple WellBeing Fellowship, Lucy turned her focus inward, exploring how wellbeing can take root not only in students but also in teachers. Her action research introduced flexi-time at Kivukoni: giving every team member a half day each week to rest, reflect or take care of life’s essentials. The result has been transformative, greater energy, presence and joy across the community.

For Lucy, wellbeing begins with trust in ourselves, in one another and in the rhythm of life. Her work is a living example of how education can nurture balance: between structure and freedom, between head and heart and between the human and the natural world.

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In the classroom, Ben discovered that the most powerful learning doesn’t come from what’s written in a lesson plan, but from what emerges when imagination is given space. He remembers building a cardboard time machine with his pupils. By the next day it had transformed into a rocket ship, a castle, a den. For Ben, this was learning at its best: when play is trusted to lead the way, and children surprise even themselves with their creativity.

He worries about the arts and creativity being squeezed out of schools, treated as extras rather than essentials. For him, they are what keep us human. “Play,” he says, “is not a luxury but a foundation.” What matters most is not content delivery, but the conditions for joy, connection and independence to flourish.

The Fellowship came at a time when Ben was close to questioning whether he could stay in education. He describes it as “a circle of digital hands to hold” a community that reminded him he wasn’t alone. Through its structure and support, he found permission to pause, to reflect and to bring new practices into his classroom: from active listening to creative inquiry, instilling wellbeing into the everyday life.

Ben dreams of schools where the urgency to care for the planet is matched by the joy of belonging within it. Places where children grow up not only knowing facts, but knowing themselves and feeling part of a bigger story.

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For Rebecca, education has always been a social endeavour, one rooted in belonging and relationship. Describing herself as a “living bridge,” she brings people together across difference to learn, collaborate and grow. Whether designing projects with local schools or mentoring students through creative service, she works to dismantle the barriers between “school” and “community,” nurturing a culture of reciprocity and care.

The Triple WellBeing Fellowship offered Rebecca time to pause and reflect, to bring her values of connection, critical thinking and community into sharper focus. She used the framework to deepen her students’ understanding of service and wellbeing, helping them move beyond the idea of “helping” to one of genuine partnership. Her action research explored how self-care, people-care, and earth-care can guide cross-cultural collaboration, ensuring learning uplifts everyone involved.

With humility and humour, Rebecca reminds us that education’s purpose is not perfection but participation. It’s in the messy, relational spaces where we question, listen and co-create that the deepest learning happens.

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A trained social worker, Whitney has worked across mental health, community development and education, helping children in some of Uganda’s most underserved areas return to school and rediscover their confidence.

Through the Triple WellBeing Fellowship, Whitney turned her focus toward one of the most pressing barriers facing girls in education: period poverty. Her action research explored how menstrual stigma and lack of access to sanitary products prevent girls from attending school and how open conversation, creativity and community solutions can change that. She introduced workshops that taught girls to make reusable sanitary pads, blending practical learning with empowerment, health awareness and environmental care.

Now pursuing a master’s in International Development and Economics at the University of San Francisco, Whitney continues to champion reproductive health education and sustainable change. Her voice carries a clear message: lasting transformation begins when we listen, include and uplift one another.

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She knows the reality of school life: the busyness, the pressure, the constant sense of never having enough time. She sees how this leaves many teachers drained and how children can so easily feel unseen. Her question is simple but radical: What if schools became places where care and belonging mattered as much as results?

Day to day, Shveta is finding her own ways to answer. With staff, she brings in small practices of reflection and gratitude, creating moments to pause and reconnect. With children, she carves out space for listening circles, where every voice can be heard and uses simple wellbeing check-ins that remind pupils they are more than their performance. For her, wellbeing isn’t an add-on, it’s something woven into the ordinary fabric of the day.

The Fellowship gave her both courage and companionship. Through the action research she explored how to embed these ideas practically and through the community she discovered the relief of not being alone: “Realising there are others trying to do this too gave me the strength to keep going.”

At the heart of her work is a belief that education should prepare children for life, not just exams. Relationships come first, she says, because without trust and belonging, learning won’t land. Her dream is of schools where resilience and joy are seen as markers of success and where every child feels ready to step into the world with confidence.

“If our children leave school knowing they belong, knowing how to listen and knowing how to care for themselves and others,” she reflects, “then we’ve given them the best possible start.”

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As Education and Facilities Coordinator, Kelly combined her love of learning with a deep commitment to wellbeing. Her experiences caring for her daughter through serious illness brought new meaning to the idea of connection and community. Through yoga, journaling and breathwork, she began to rebuild her confidence and sense of self and learning. As she puts it “to see my authentic self again.”

During the Triple WellBeing Fellowship, Kelly focused her action research on self-care, exploring how stillness, creativity and gratitude can nurture resilience. She used these insights to design community wellbeing events at Furnace Brook, bringing families together through simple, joyful activities, yoga under the trees, shared meals, creative reflection and playful connection. With three years of funding now secured, her work is continuing to grow, one gathering at a time.

For Kelly, wellbeing begins with presence: learning to pause, breathe and be. Her journey reminds us that when we care for ourselves first, we rekindle the energy to care for others and to reimagine education as a lifelong act of learning and love.

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Working in schools where resources are scarce and classes overcrowded, Derrick’s creativity shines. He uses stories, play and conversation to connect with students who may be distracted, shy, or struggling. For him, storytelling is not just a teaching tool, it’s a bridge to self-awareness. “Before teaching, I tell a story,” he explains. “It captures their minds, brings joy and helps them arrive ready to learn.”

Through the Triple WellBeing Fellowship, Derrick found a community of educators who share his belief that change begins with care. His action research focused on self-awareness, storytelling and wellbeing, helping teachers and learners alike build empathy and confidence from the inside out.

The Fellowship has strengthened Derrick’s sense of purpose and sparked new ambitions. He’s now growing a community campaign focused on education and self-awareness, planting both trees and ideas across schools and villages.

For Derrick, wellbeing begins with reflection: taking time to pause, learn and grow. His work reminds us that transformation often starts small, one story, one seed and one learner at a time.

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Her path has always been shaped by stories. First through her love of English and literature and now through the unfolding stories of the pupils and colleagues she works alongside. Over the years, her belief has shifted. Primary school, she says, is not about stuffing children with knowledge but about helping them learn how to be learners, how to collaborate, how to find their voice and how to belong.

At Oxford High Prep she has nurtured Earth Studies, a subject that brings geography and sustainability into lived experiences of climate, community and change-making. When she asked her staff what “best teaching” looks like, not one mentioned knowledge. Instead they spoke of collaboration, creativity, communication and independence, which are the skills Anike believes lie at the heart of education.

Kindness sits at the centre of her work, not as a soft word but as a practice. Some days it means listening more deeply, other days it means owning her humanity when she is snappy and always it begins with being gentle with herself. “Teachers are often their harshest critics,” she reflects, “but if you can be kind to yourself, you have more to give to others.”

The Fellowship has given her both structure and sustenance. She holds onto an image that has stayed with her: trees standing strong in a hurricane because their roots are intertwined underground. That, she says, is what this community feels like, unseen but deeply connected, giving strength to weather the storm. In her own classrooms she brings this alive through simple practices like wonder walks, empathy circles and active listening, embedding wellbeing into the fabric of daily school life.

Anike dreams of schools where children feel resourced, joyful and fully themselves. “If our children leave primary school knowing how to think, how to collaborate and how to find their own voice,” she says, “then they’ll be ready for whatever comes next and to live joyful, meaningful lives.”

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Through her work with “The Great Imagining”, Deborah has created an ever-evolving ecosystem of learning adventures that bring imagination and action together. Rooted in the belief that creativity can shape culture, her projects invite young people to explore what a greener, fairer and wiser world might look like and to take part in making it real. From intergenerational gatherings to playful, place-based experiences, her work nurtures both awe and agency, giving students and teachers alike the courage to ask deeper questions about meaning and purpose.

Joining the Triple WellBeing Fellowship offered Deborah a sense of kinship, a space to be in community with others who are working inside and outside education to create cultural change. It gave structure to her own action research, anchoring her large-scale programme across 60 schools in Staffordshire in shared learning and reflection.

For Deborah, wellbeing begins with trust: trust in the process, in people and in our shared responsibility to nurture life. Her work is a reminder that small acts of imagination can ripple outward, transforming not just classrooms but the cultural soil from which our futures grow.

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After two decades in international schools as a teacher and service learning lead, LeeAnne now supports educators worldwide to embed global citizenship and sustainability into their practice. But what makes her work so powerful is her focus on something often overlooked: educator wellbeing.

Through her work in the Triple WellBeing® Fellowship, LeeAnne is exploring what happens when we take self-care seriously in schools, not as a luxury or an add-on, but as a core foundation. Her coaching and workshops help teachers slow down, listen deeply and reconnect with the purpose behind their work.

In the episode, we refer to:

• Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky
• David Brooks, How to Know a Person
• Citizens, Jon Alexander

You can find out more about LeeAnne's work at https://www.leeannelavender.com.

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A note before we begin:

Every child, wherever they are, deserves to grow up in a world that feels safe, kind and connected. Children don’t get to choose the circumstances they’re born into. They don’t decide the borders, the politics or the conflicts, but they live with the impact. That’s why, no matter the situation, we believe they deserve to be raised in a culture of care. We believe the wellbeing of children is inseparable from the wellbeing of the adults who care for them and that care should never stop at borders or be conditional on politics, even when it’s uncomfortable, complex or doesn’t fit neatly into our worldview. In a world that can often feel fractured and overwhelming, we choose to show up with compassion, especially in the hardest and most uncertain places, because this work is about being brave enough to stay with the discomfort, to keep showing up with love and to model the depth of connection that we wish to see in the world. 

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Keren Dehan brings a rare and powerful blend of mindfulness, systems thinking and deep compassion to her work as an educator and change-maker. With a background in organisational development, psychotherapy and social innovation, Keren now leads the TEVEL Fellowship which supports senior education leaders to reimagine the purpose of learning in response to climate collapse. This conversation was recorded in September 2024, during a time of heightened violence in Gaza and Israel. In it, Keren - an educator, single mother and mindfulness practitioner, shares her personal experiences and her reflections on working with care, courage and humanity in the midst of ongoing conflict. Her story is a reminder that even in the most difficult circumstances, there are people choosing to lead with love and that the work of care must continue, especially where it’s needed most.

A note before we begin:

Every child, wherever they are, deserves to grow up in a world that feels safe, kind and connected. Children don’t get to choose the circumstances they’re born into. They don’t decide the borders, the politics or the conflicts, but they live with the impact. That’s why, no matter the situation, we believe they deserve to be raised in a culture of care. We believe the wellbeing of children is inseparable from the wellbeing of the adults who care for them and that care should never stop at borders or be conditional on politics, even when it’s uncomfortable, complex or doesn’t fit neatly into our worldview. In a world that can often feel fractured and overwhelming, we choose to show up with compassion, especially in the hardest and most uncertain places, because this work is about being brave enough to stay with the discomfort, to keep showing up with love and to model the depth of connection that we wish to see in the world. 

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During the conversation, we mention:

• Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC)
• Rise Up
• Global Learning Network
• Wild Wonder Foundation 

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In the episode, we refer to:

• Peterborough School Preparatory School
• Triple WellBeing® Fellowship, ThoughtBox
• Triple WellBeing® Cards, ThoughtBox

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In the episode, we refer to:

• Castle Court School
• PSB (Pre-Senior Baccalaureate)
• Triple WellBeing Curriculum, ThoughtBox
• The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt

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In the episode, we refer to:

• St George's School Windsor Castle
• PSHE Association
• Triple WellBeing® Curriculum, ThoughtBox

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In the episode, we refer to:

• HEART Academies Trust
• UKSSN
• UKSSN Operations Group
• Global Action Plan
• Transforming Education Leadership Summit, ThoughtBox
• Triple WellBeing® Fellowship, ThoughtBox

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In the episode, we refer to:

• The Society of Heads
• Transforming Education Summit, ThoughtBox
• Triple WellBeing® Fellowship, ThoughtBox
• Triple WellBeing® card deck, ThoughtBox

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In the episode, we refer to:

• St Ebbe's Primary School
• Ken Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity?
• ThoughtBox - Transforming Education Leadership Summit
• Debra Kidd - Pedagogue in Residence
• Matthew Syed - Rebel Ideas
• Otto Scharmer - The Essentials of Theory U
• Brené Brown: Listening to shame
• ThoughtBox - Triple WellBeing® Fellowship
• Forest School
• The Harmony Project
• OPAL - Outdoor Play and Learning

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