Meet The Team

We are a small, tight-knit team of individuals passionate about bringing change to the way we live in our cities.

  • Anna brings a strategic vision inspired by many years as a social entrepreneur and professional coach. As co-founder and director of the inspirational Binners’ Project in Vancouver, she brings a wealth of leadership skills to the team. Anna won several awards for her work with communities, including the Innovation Award from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France. See more here.

Anna Godefroy (She/Her)

Bruno Lacey (He/Him)

  • Bruno is the founding Director of Urban Growth. He is a qualified teacher and youth worker, who wrote the Horticulture curriculum for Urban Growth’s first project. He is a L3-qualified garden designer who is responsible for many of the projects in our portfolio. And through his two Anthropology degrees, he has become a specialist in participatory community research and impact reporting in urban settings. He continues to support the team remotely from Portugal, where he trains and supports social entrepreneurs for the global Impact Hub network.

  • “I joined Urban Growth in 2020 to help people reconnect with Nature. My favourite part of working at Urban Growth is to see the lasting impact that the work we do as an organisation has on the communities we support”. Learn more about Elliot’s experience here.

Elliot Leimer (He/Him)

Sarah Hawkins (She/Her)

  • Sarah believes the change we need to see must start with how we relate to ourselves, each other and the more than human world. Having recently completed a master's degree in Ecological Design Thinking, Sarah is exploring how we bring systems thinking and nature-based ways of being to all our operations at Urban Growth, both internally and externally. Previously, Sarah had a 15-year career leading in the corporate sector, partnering with global businesses on idea generation and design-based initiatives. Find out more here.

Cait Todd (She/Her)

  • Cait has qualifications and experience in both the finance, and fitness / health / wellbeing industries. She brings those skills to bear as she coordinates the whole breadth of our operational and administrative activities.

Taye Tsega (He/Him)

  • Taye has been our lead maintenance gardener for the past 6 years. During that time he has looked after sites including PopBrixton, the Brixton Orchard, two almshouses for Southwark Charities and a residential site for Igloo Development. He has also been the Head Gardener for Myatts Fields Park for over 7 years, during which time it has won numerous awards.

Our Board Members

Our board supports the developing strategies that deliver sustainable growth for the business, improving its outcomes and fulfilling its community interest objectives.

  • Founding director of Urban Growth Learning Gardens. See more about Bruno here.

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    “I created UG because, as a school teacher, I saw the transformational impact of green spaces on the mood and wellbeing of my students. They were different beings in the classroom and out in the park or on hikes. I saw the lack of opportunities for urban residents to benefit from this natural therapy that was once a common good enjoyed by all. I imagined a city where nature thrived and, as a result, so too would its human residents.”

  • Advocacy and Communications Manager of the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region at Global CCS Institute.See more about Ruth here.

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    “London’s vast green spaces makes it a true outlier as far as city settings are concerned, and Urban Growth is playing a pivotal role in enhancing hands-on nature based activities across the city. Joining Urban Growth’s board has been a journey aimed at shoring up grass roots efforts that enables communities and organisations to take on projects tied to local green space development. Helping to drive that growth – alongside UG’s committed and dynamic team – has been rewarding, both as a board member and as a London resident.”

  • Board member, co-founder of ImperfectlyGood. Katy was previously Managing Director of Urban Growth.

    Find out more about Katy.

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    “When I stepped back from heading up Urban Growth, I felt that I wanted to stay connected to the work and the team somehow. Supporting them as a board member felt like a perfect fit. I love being able to step away from my now more corporate role, put my metaphorical gardening gloves back on and find out what they’re up to. The work urban growth delivers is always exciting and inspiring, and the team is so dedicated to the cause. I love seeing the city around us being transformed, and experiencing the incredible impact that nature has on our wellbeing.”

  • Managing Director of Urban Growth

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    “I decided to take on the leadership role at Urban Growth because the company ticks all the boxes with regards to positive environmental impact! It increases the amount of green space and biodiversity in London while simultaneously building people’s skills and confidence. Urban growth unites communities to build something beautiful. It was a no-brainer for me to get involved!”

  • Senior Construction Project Manager – Igloo

    Find out more about James.

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    “I’m really interested in what steps we can take to bring Nature back into our urban spaces, to support wildlife, and bring unloved spaces back to life for local people to enjoy and feel connected to wildlife. The opportunities Urban Growth create to build communities, and reconnect people with Nature are really exciting, and as well as promoting Wellbeing, help give people the skills and confidence to take action to care for the spaces on their doorstep”

  • Consultant at the Al.in Partnership. Born and bred in Brixton, Gordon brings to bear wide experience in built environment professionalism as well as a prior background in youth and community work. A continuing commitment to locally-led community resilience gives rise to him specialising in genuine grassroots-driven stakeholder engagement, holistic sustainable placemaking, innovation and collaboration.

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    "I'm keen to contribute to supporting collaboration and innovation between key locally based established organisations. Additionally, I recognise that Urban Growth sits at a cross-section between climate response, biodiversity and health & wellbeing.”

  • Co-Founder of Brixton Spirits Limited. She has had an international career, working across many sectors from Education to Fintech. See more about Calandra here.