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Laura is a Healthy Weight and Workplace Settings senior manager in the Welsh Government’s Public Health Division which she joined in 2019. Having worked in the Welsh Government for over 10 years, and at the heart of the organisation as Private Secretary to two Permanent Secretaries and the Director General for Health and Social Services / NHS Chief Executive, Laura has a wealth of knowledge around the workings of government and the health system. Since joining the Healthy and Active Team she has developed strong relationships with stakeholders in the development of the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales Strategy. Laura is focused on the implementation of the strategy and the forthcoming delivery plans to enable positive changes around healthy eating and physical activity for the people of Wales. Laura has a Foundation Degree focused in Government from University of Portsmouth.  She has a young daughter, and hopes to ensure that food in our education settings is the best it can be for her future.

Modi Mwatsama is Senior Science Lead (Food Systems, Nutrition and Health) with the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet, Our Health programme where she heads research, partnership and policy work on healthy diets and sustainable food systems. She was formerly Director of Policy and Global Health at the UK Health Forum where she led policy research and advocacy on non-communicable disease prevention across UK, European and UN institutions. During this time she helped to secure the inclusion of sustainability considerations within the UK Government’s Eatwell Guide to healthy eating and win health-promoting changes to the EU Common Agriculture Policy.

Modi is a Registered Nutritionist and member of the BBC Rural Affairs Committee. She has served on several national advisory committees including Public Health England groups on dietary guidelines, sugar, nutrient profiling and global health. She holds a Doctorate in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Vic is a policy adviser working with the Food Standards and Consumers team in the Agri-Food Chain Directorate at Defra. Having progressed from a career as a teacher of economics, business studies and food tech, she completed a masters in Food, Wine and Culture at Oxford Brookes School of Hospitality Management in 2013. With a growing interest in sustainable diets, she moved on to create a freelance role supporting food businesses keen to promote greater sustainability.

Alongside her policy development work, she continues to be involved with young people, helping on cookery courses and developing educational materials that encourage greater understanding and practical engagement with food and nutrition. She has also been a judge for Great Taste Awards, and volunteers as a Food Waste Hero with Plan Zheroes at Borough Market.

Now that Vic’s twins have flown the nest, she spends any free time walking in the Black Mountains and buying second-hand cookery books in Hay-on-Wye. At home, she cooks, keeps hens and grows her own veg.

Peter is a Diet Policy Executive in the Scottish Government’s Health Improvement Division where he has worked since 2003. Since that time he has developed with stakeholders the Scottish Government’s Healthy Living Programme which helps convenience stores to promote healthier options including fruit and veg, the Healthyliving Award which promotes healthier practices in catering, and most recently the Healthcare Retail Standard which has transformed retail outlets in hospitals to make them more health promoting. Most recently, Peter has helped to draft the Scottish Government’s consultation on their new diet and healthy weight strategy, with a particular interest in advertising practice.

Peter holds a degree in politics and international relations from Aberdeen University and a teaching qualification. He has represented Scotland 42 times in Touch Rugby and now heads up the sport’s European Referee Commission in his “spare” time.

Karin Bemelmans is the coordinator of the National Fruit and Vegetable Action Plan.

The Action Plan is a partnership between Government, the fresh produce sector, the retail sector, and other parties and social organisations – with a common objective: to contribute to a rise in the consumption of fruit and vegetables for a healthier and sustainable society.

The goal of the Action Plan is to stimulate the consumption of fruit and vegetables. It started in 2017 and will run until the end of 2020.

Choose Colour is an initiative of the Dutch National Action Plan. Choose Colour is the main fruit and vegetable campaign in the Netherlands, which helps you make your life, but above all your plate, more colourful and healthier with a variety of fruit and vegetables. Choose Colour and enjoy the rich and colourful variety of fruit and vegetables.

Karin Bemelmans is a nutritionist with a lot of experience in the food industry and communications on healthy nutrition. She has worked for the Netherlands Nutrition Centre for more than 10 years, as well as for the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands.

Important partner of the Action Plan is the Fresh Produce Centre, the centre of expertise in the Netherlands for fruits and vegetables with a global outreach. The Fresh Produce Centre supports their 300 member organisations in all kinds of activities.

Jack has a wealth of experience in the horticultural and agricultural industries. Having worked for the NFU as Regional Director in the East Midlands and CEO of City & Guilds NPTC, Jack’s primary objective is for British Growers to be recognised as a major force in the representation and promotion of a world class produce industry as well as providing high quality and commercially relevant services to our member organisations. “Outside work I am an active oarsman competing at both national and international levels. The sport requires a blend of fitness, concentration and a desire for continuous improvement – the perfect accompaniment to life at the office.”