Who am I?

I am an academic-turned-entrepreneur whose work sits at the intersection of research impact, environmental stewardship, housing, and systems design. Over more than two decades, I have worked across academia, social enterprise, property, and policy-facing practice, building ventures that translate complex ideas into real-world outcomes.

I began my career early, lecturing in higher and further education from the age of 21 while completing my academic training. My academic work focused on conservation, participation, and knowledge exchange — how evidence, expertise, and lived experience can be brought together to support better decision-making in complex social-ecological systems. I went on to complete a PhD and held postdoctoral and research fellow positions, working closely with leading scholars including Professor Mark Reed and colleagues across UK and international institutions.

My research has resulted in a substantial body of peer-reviewed publications and widely used frameworks, particularly in the field of knowledge exchange and research impact. This work directly informed the co-founding of Fast Track Impact in 2015 — a training and consultancy initiative that has since supported governments, research councils, universities, NGOs, and public bodies to translate research into policy and practice. Through Fast Track Impact and its predecessors, I have helped train thousands of researchers and practitioners across the UK and internationally.

Alongside my academic work, I co-founded Project Maya in 2010 — an environmental community interest company created to establish a global network of permaculture-inspired nature reserves, designed as places where people and nature thrive together. To fund this long-term vision, I went on to co-found Seedball in 2012, an award-winning conservation social enterprise that makes growing wildflowers simple and accessible.

Seedball has since grown into one of the UK’s best-known wildlife gardening brands, stocked in hundreds of garden centres and retailers nationwide, including many of the UK’s most recognisable names. The company has reached millions of people, built a team of over 30, and has directly supported conservation campaigns, charities, and land purchase — including the acquisition of a nature reserve. Seedball was designed from the outset as a financial engine for long-term ecological stewardship.

In parallel, I built a substantial property and housing portfolio, initially to test and demonstrate that people do not need significant starting capital to build assets responsibly. In my first year alone, I sourced approximately 100 properties for other investors, managing refurbishments, financing, and delivery while teaching others the principles of buy-refurbish-refinance and joint ventures. Over time, I have been involved in over 200 property transactions, spanning buy-to-lets, HMOs, and complex refurbishments.

This experience led to the founding of New Chapter Housing in 2019, which became a preferred supplier of emergency and temporary accommodation, working with local authorities to provide homes for vulnerable individuals and families. New Chapter was built to professionalise a sector often under strain, focusing on safety, dignity, and operational resilience.

Across all of these ventures, my work has been driven by a consistent question:
How do we design systems — financial, social, and ecological — that hold people well over time?

Today, I live in Brighton with my wife Em, our three children, three kittens, and our dog. My current focus is on consolidating and stewarding what has been built: land, knowledge, housing, and enterprises — and on sharing what I have learned with those working at the edges of complexity, impact, and responsibility.

My work is not about speed or scale for their own sake. It is about durability, integrity, and long-term contribution.

Ana ♥