Dedicated team to support evidence-based practice of nutrition and lifestyle medicine science.
Directors – BANT Governing Council
Satu Jackson
CEO, Acting Chair
MSc Personalised Nutrition, BA Business Management and Marketing, DipION, CertNLP, MBANT, mIFM, CNHC Registered
In her role as a CEO Satu has the oversight of BANT operations and implementation of strategic objectives; as a Director, Satu works closely with BANT Council and Managers to support BANT members to achieve excellence in their clinical practice and when working in the wider application of nutrition and lifestyle sciences. Satu joined BANT Council in 2015.
Satu practises nutritional therapy in Hertfordshire and works with CNELM as a Module Leader. Satu previously gained first-class BA degree and has a successful 25+ year career in the corporate world with a focus on branding, and operational and business efficiencies through change management and business leadership, nationally and internationally.
Sarah Green
Deputy Chair
BSc Nutritional Therapy, DipION, IFMCP, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Sarah leads the professional and regulatory workstream within BANT Council. Sarah has extensive experience in the professional landscape and scope of practice of nutrition practitioners. Sarah is a long-serving member of BANT Council, joining in 2013.
Sarah is a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner and runs a private nutritional therapy consultancy in London. She has extensive experience designing and delivering healthy eating and lifestyle talks in schools and in the community for local authority social prescribing. She is a facilitator for the IFM Advancing Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice courses in the UK and is an international corporate speaker. Previously Sarah was ACIB, ACT with the background in corporate finance.
Abir Hamza-Goodacre
BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy, MSc International Development, Administration & Planning, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Abir joined BANT Council in 2018 and leads the stakeholder management and fundraising workstream. Abir has held various volunteer roles within BANT, including growing and developing the BANT Local Networks across the regions and establishing the Regional Branch Meetings initiative and BANT Worldwide Branch Committees.
Abir works at private hospitals, providing nutritional support for patients going through bariatric surgery. She also holds further private clinics in Kent and East Sussex. Previously Abir gained her MSc in international poverty and aid work, specialising in community-based projects.
Isabel Hemmings
MSc Nutritional Therapy, BA (Hons) Political Theory and Institutions, MA Health Services Studies, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Isabel leads the practice governance workstream working closely with Practice Governance Manager. Isabel is also part of the regulatory workstream providing insight into UK healthcare sector and professional practice. Isabel joined as a Director in 2019.
Isabel has a thirty-year career in NHS management including 15 years working at Board level as a Director of an NHS Trust. Her career spanned management of hospital and community health services, including acute care, children’s healthcare, mental health services and services for older people, along with responsibility for organisational strategy and partnership-working. Previously Isabel achieved a BA (Hons) in Political Theory and Institutions and an MA in Health Services Studies.
Jessica Fonteneau
MSc Transdisciplinary Practice, DipION, CAM Diploma – Communications, Advertising and Marketing, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Jessica participates in Communications and Regulatory workstreams. Jessica established the Communications Manager role within BANT in 2007 providing foundations for effective social media, internal and external communications strategies. She also initiated the first-ever public BANT Campaign which launched in 2021. Jessica has an excellent insight into all BANT workstreams and she volunteers as BANT Local Network Co-ordinator for France. Jessica joined as a Director in 2020.
Jessica practises nutritional therapy in the UK and France and has a previous successful, nearly 30-year career as a consumer and corporate communications professional, specialising in issues and crisis management. Jessica’s MSc dissertation topic was ‘Examine how nutrition can be used as a complementary tool for the support of eczema/chronic atopic dermatitis (AD)’.
Deborah Richards
MA Health Science, MA Management, Grad Dip Nutrition & Dietetics, Grad Dip Health Promotion, BA App Science, Cert Digital Marketing
Deborah leads the Science and Education workstream working closely with Science and Education Manager. Deborah has extensive experience healthcare business management and has demonstrated success using digital health programs to advance health education. Deborah joined as a Non-Executive Director in 2022.
Deborah started her career as a Dietitian working in the hospital setting, private practice and research. After years working in Nutrition and Dietetics she moved into medical and research roles within the Pharmaceutical Industry. More recently Deborah has worked in Pharmaceutical commercial leadership roles managing Sales, Marketing and Operations teams. Throughout her career, Deborah remained passionate about the role of nutrition in health and wellbeing and is excited to support BANT members with high quality educational resources.
Debs Roebuck
BSc (Hons) IND Medical Microbiology, PhD Cancer Research
Debs leads the Communications workstream, working closely with the Communications Manager. She has worked across the life science and healthcare sectors for over 18 years; transitioning between research, communication, public policy and patient advocacy. Operating within industry, consultancy, and membership organisations she has developed evidence-based advocacy programmes, implementable at UK national and pan-European level. Debs joined as a Non-Executive Director in 2024.
Debs’ experience delivering collaborative external affairs campaigns and healthcare policy programmes will be put to good use supporting the ambitions and strategic goals of BANT; engaging with members to promote the profession to the wider healthcare community, key partners, stakeholders, and the public.
Tina Batchelor
BSc (Hons) Applied Biology
Tina supports BANT communications and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Tina studied biology at university, followed by a long career in communications and engagement in healthcare. Working in a communications consultancy, her clients included pharmaceutical and healthcare related companies, and later on ‘in house’ in the pharmaceutical industry, she had responsibility for both internal and external communications. Tina joint as a Non-Executive Director in 2024.
Tina has worked for an NHS Trust in Hertfordshire, leading the Trust’s communications and engagement efforts and working in partnership with numerous stakeholders, and engagement with healthcare professionals, schools and councils. Tina currently works for a medical devices company, focusing on minimally invasive innovations to improve the lives of patients with cancer and vascular conditions. Tina’s extensive experience in communications, stakeholder engagement, and healthcare will provide excellent support for BANT initiatives.
Operational Support
Melanie de Grooth
General Manager
BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy, NTCC
BANT General Manager with accountability for the smooth running of BANT operations and financial management, line management of BANT Managers, regular review of processes and systems to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective running of the organisation, scoping and design of admin and IT projects.
In addition to being a fountain of knowledge of all things BANT, Melanie practises remedial massage in private practice and also trained as a Nutritional Therapist. Throughout her working life, Melanie has been self-driven, highly motivated and disciplined to see projects through from creation to successful implementation. She is an avid team player with strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate people. Melanie has excellent organisational and conceptual analytical skills, is open-minded and fair, enjoys changing environments and is driven to make a difference.
Kate Alexander
Membership Manager
Dip CNM, BA (Hons) Modern Languages, PGCE (FE), MBANT, CNHC Registered
Kate manages BANT’s membership administration, including membership application processes, technologies, and member contact. Kate supports the functional design and testing of new and improved functionality on the BANT website and has successfully helped to launch the automated online membership application functionality, new practitioner search features and a CPD application system, among many other projects.
Kate has practised nutritional therapy in Shropshire and has a previous background in administration, IT training and communications in the industrial sector, preceded by a freelance career as a translator and community education teacher. She has a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages and is a qualified teacher of further education.
Kate also works with the Student Network Team Lead to support the BANT Student Network.
Clare Grundel
Science & Education Manager
MSc Nutritional Therapy, MSc Development Management, BA Business Organisation, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Clare manages the BANT science and education member services. This includes the management of the Nutrition Evidence Database (NED), with the regular dissemination of evidence-based resources to members and NED registrants. She is responsible for the production of webinars, podcasts and other educational resources for the member Learning Zone and the quality assurance of CPD applications to ensure content meets required standards. Clare leads a team of indexers for NED, the CPD committee and webinar volunteers.
Clare practises Nutritional Therapy in Scotland and Cambridge, with a focus on chronic pain. Previously, she worked in banking and finance in the UK before retraining in international development, where she worked in southern Africa managing rural finance schemes.
View the Science & Education Workstream
Claire Sambolino
Communications Manager
MSc Personalised Nutrition, BSc (Hons) English and Applied Linguistics, NTPD CNELM, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Claire manages the BANT external and internal communications functions and initiatives, including; PR activities, BANT member and public social media forums, events, coordination of news and communications from BANT workstreams and with external stakeholders. Claire also leads the BANT campaign development and launch activities and in 2021 launched the BANT first-ever campaign Food for your Health.
Claire practises nutritional therapy in Surrey and Italy and has a previous background in consumer marketing & corporate communications, specialising in FMCG food and beverage brands. In addition to running private clinics, she blends the knowledge of the food industry with personalised nutrition in her corporate work and in support of BANT communications efforts and reach.
View the Communications Workstream
Benjamin Richardson
Volunteer & Networks Manager
BSc Management, BANT (Stdnt), MCIPD
Benjamin manages all HR and recruitment needs, including management, development and motivation of the Volunteer community, along with the induction and training of the volunteers and support of BANT managers and volunteer leads. Benjamin also has the oversight of BANT Networks supporting this important volunteer community across the regions. Benjamin continues to develop strategies to maintain high levels of enjoyment and productivity within the volunteer teams for the benefit of the volunteers, BANT and BANT members.
Benjamin has joined us from a long career working in international Human Resources, covering the full spectrum of operational, project and strategic roles. He is currently studying with ION and after graduating intends to develop a Nutritional Therapy practice.
Sharon Ling
Practice Governance Manager
BSc French, German, International Relations (Hons), MBA, Dip NT, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Sharon manages the Practice Governance workstream supporting the Professional Practice Panel (PPP), coordinating member enquiries and complaints, leading and managing the updating of the BANT Professional Practice Handbook and working on member communications to support professional, safe and ethical practice.
Sharon previously achieved BSc (Hons) in French, German and International Studies and a Masters in Business Administration. She has a background in change management and process improvement, working in programmes and projects across the public and private sectors. Having qualified and practised as an RNTP since 2010, the Practice Governance role enables support of practitioners in their everyday work through the guidance provided by this role and the whole BANT Management Team.
View the Practice Governance Workstream
Sara Jaques
Membership Support Officer
Dip CNM, MBANT, CNHC Registered
Sara practises Nutritional Therapy in South Yorkshire, as part of her holistic practice, where complimentary therapies such as Reiki are offered alongside.
Sara has had a varied career in the manufacturing and engineering sector, with a background in Operations & Project Management, Health & Safety, Finance, IT and has dabbled with Web Design
Sara is proud to be able to support both the BANT Management Team and BANT members, with knowledge from her previous career and a lifelong passion of learning about the effect of nutrition on people’s health, that stemmed from the diagnosis of a rare dietary disorder within her family.