Meet the Team

Ben Christie is driven by a deeply held belief in the possibility of a more equitable, sustainable and harmonious world. He works to support NGOs and ethical businesses develop and achieve their goals. With a career spanning events, media and business development, Ben has been fortunate to gain experience of many different countries, environments and partnerships at first hand.

Ellen Kitteridge has been an advocate for human health and appropriate land stewardship since her early twenties. She holds a degree in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and worked for the Centre for Food Safety before training in nutritional counselling, working in private practice as a health and wellness coach since 2008. She has a deep passion for connecting people to the land through nature-based practices drawn from her study with indigenous land-based wisdom traditions from around the world.

Bio coming soon.

J Julia is the founder of Sacred Waters of Sussex, a volunteer community working to clear, clean and restore ancient water sites across the county. She is a Water Seer, Oracle, public speaker, teacher and Keeper of the inherited teachings of her lineage, The Deepen Way — building bridges of communication across all Realms of Being. She believes passionately that every human being has a unique and vital gift to bring forward into the work of guardianship of our world.

Jimena Paratcha is an active Community Leader and Transformative Events Producer. As founder of Action for Brazil's Children Trust, she guided the NGO to become a founding partner of Street Child United. After 20 years in social justice, she turned to the environment — campaigning for Ecocide Law alongside Polly Higgins and becoming a Trustee of TreeSisters. Her love of land, trees and waters continues to drive her work building networks for positive change.

Monika is a regenerative design practitioner and facilitator who engages communities in re-imagining what a healthy Medway catchment could look like. For over 20 years she has designed and managed participatory learning and strategic innovation programmes, helping teams develop systemic insights inspired by natural patterns and principles. She loves swimming in the sea and walking along the Medway with her dog.

Paul Powlesland is a civil barrister, environmental activist and storyteller shaking up what it means to be a lawyer in a time of environmental crisis. He founded Lawyers for Nature to represent the natural world and all who seek to defend it. He writes and speaks on legal rights for rivers and trees, and has a deep affinity for water — he lives on a boat and has founded a community project to restore a river in East London.

Bio coming soon.

Remi is a Transformational Coach, Strategic Mentor, and co-founder of Medicine Festival. She is dedicated to female empowerment, human potential and systemic change — supporting leaders to align with their truth and purpose. She rose to the top of her field at Goldman Sachs, leading the Equity Capital Markets Syndicate Desk, and was voted Top 100 Women in European Finance. Nature has been a profound teacher for Remi; she has a particular bond with water and its flow.

Sarah Jane Butler is a writer, swimmer and slow wanderer who has lived in the Medway catchment almost all her life. She co-founded Project Ripple Effect — FoRM's citizen science partnership — out of deep concern for the river's health. She volunteers with a test kit in the water alongside a dedicated local community, demanding better care for the river. Her forthcoming non-fiction book about people and rivers through time is to be published by Duckworth in 2027.

Tristram Stuart is the author of two internationally published books on food and the environment. He is founder of Feedback Global, an environmental campaign organisation transforming food systems to regenerate nature, and of Toast Ale, an award-winning craft beer made from surplus bread. In 2011 his work won him the international Sophie Prize. As co-owner of Windyridge Estate on the Ashdown Forest, he has been a firsthand witness to the decline of river health.

Zofia Page is the Chief Executive of Friends of the River Medway. With a BA in History from Bristol University and an MSc in Sustainable Food and Natural Resources from CAT, she brings both academic rigour and practical insight to her role. She has deep knowledge of river ecology and water quality approaches, and in addition to her work with FoRM she supports farmers and growers at The Nest, advocating for their essential role in stewarding land and water.