“We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
- Arthur O'Shaughnessy (& Willy Wonka)
Da Vinci Life-Skill Ltd. was founded in November 2021 and changed it's name to Biophilic Education Alliance Ltd. in March 2023. Our Founders are a passionate team who are dedicated to improving education for all.
Co-founder & Director -
Change-maker/Entrepreneur, curriculum designer, art, design and technology teacher, portrait artist and furniture designer. Rosina has spent 20 years developing creative learning programs. She is passionate about making education more creative and inclusive. She aims to help alleviate the growing mental health crisis by supporting people to find and be valued for their unique talents. FIND OUT MORE>>>
Co-founder & Director of Operations - Founder at Teacher-Gamer, curriculum designer, Life-Skills Innovator, author of Teacher-Gamer Handbook, Green School educator and English teacher. Zach combined his love of games with his Masters in Education and teacher training to produce a ground breaking system that integrates RPGs into education to help develop resilience and well-being. FIND OUT MORE>>>
Co-founder & Chair, Director of Business and Finance -
A career entrepreneur specialised in corporate finance, commercial structuring and operations to create realised value. His experience spans sectors from FinTech to hospitality. In recent years he has focused on the creation of sustainable communities comprised of healthier, happier and more productive members, best equipped for our fast evolving future.
Director of BE Mentor Development,
Founder of Chatmore British International School, Bermuda, educational psychologist, leadership & management consultant.
Angela has an affinity for small schools and the unique challenges they must overcome to be recognised for the big difference they often make as pioneers in education and learner reform.
She is helping build a world class BE Mentor Development program, supporting teachers to deliver our DVLS Curriculum and DVQ Assessment Framework, as well as enhancing their best practice in PLB and formative assessment. We are working together to define the best teaching practice for the future, one where both teachers and students can thrive.
Co-founder & Director of Administration -
Corporate affairs director,
principal in m3 Ventures. Former compliance officer at Capital Assets, management and director at East London Originations (Development and Management of Old Spitalfields Market). Anna is a long time advocate of evolving education for the future, to create a more equitable and sustainable system for all.
We are grateful for all the hard work and expertise of our exceptional working team.
Toby works for us as a curriculum designer, BE Mentor and operational support manager. His specialisms are table top role playing games, human relations, disability awareness, languages, history and geography.
He was previously a manager at Cambridge Hub, leading their programmes, projects, finances, fundraising, and partnerships with the University of Cambridge.
Toby is instrumental in designing and delivering our Multiverse Games pathway and has a knack for policy and report writing that is very helpful when working in education. He is a compassionate and energetic teacher and we are very lucky to have him as part of our team.
Joe is a Canadian video artist, director, cinematographer and activist.
He is primarily a storyteller and he immerses himself in the narratives that he takes on. Joe is remarkably friendly and open, and it’s because of this openness that he brings out such rich and varied experiences in his work.
Joe is currently working as artist in residence at Empathy School, Bali where he is making a documentary with Zach about the Teacher Gamer experience and he is providing us with a plethora of beautiful imagery of teaching our curriculum in the rice paddies of Bali.
We have a growing number of brilliant ambassadors who are supporting our Biophilic Education mission. People who have achieved amazing things with their lives and whom our team and our young people can look up to for wisdom, guidance and inspiration.
Iain McGilchrist is an author, psychiatrist, philosopher and former Oxford literary scholar, who came to prominence after the publication of his landmark book, 'The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World' (2009). This book was described by Professor Louis Sass as “Unbelievably rich… of absolutely crucial cultural and intellectual importance”
In 2001 he published his latest gift to humanity, 'The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World'. This important work combines the brilliance of science, the deep reasoning of philosophy and the profound wisdom of the great spiritual traditions across the world to provide us with a restorative vision that is necessary, if we are to survive as a species on this planet.
Dr Alison Wood is founding Academic Director of Homerton Changemakers, a co-curricular, pioneering programme equipping Cambridge University students to be wise change-agents amidst complexity and challenge. The programme focuses on global citizenship; leadership; enterprise; self-hood; narratives of changemaking; adaptive mindsets; & regenerative thinking in the era of climate crisis and geo-political instability.
Alison also teaches and writes on the philosophy of education; the history and future of Universities; the future educated self; and the deep questions of what universities are really for. Her work combines two decades of experience building cross-sector and cross-disciplinary research initiatives with a research career in the history of intellectual institutions and changemaking. She’s also worked in 7 different disciplines, including medicine; spent 10 years working as a musician; and is what might be called a serial intrapreneur.
Professor John Wood is a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner, Chair of ATTRACT. John is a materials scientist by background and has honorary chairs at a number of UK universities. He is an adviser to governments on international research infrastructures and Open Science. He is a consultant to CERN in Geneva and a member of council of Brunel University.
John combines his love of science with his faith in God and encourages a joyful and imaginative exploration into the world around us. He inspires us to explore our natural curiosity through blending the arts and sciences. He embraces ethical ways to advance our technologies and to develop our understanding of the universe, encouraging connection and collaboration within our scientific communities.
We have been blessed to be supported by our extraordinary and expert Advisory Board who have guided us in building a world class curriculum and assessment model.
Professor of Arts, Creativities and Educations at Cambridge University, Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, prolific author of works which advance the theory of multiple creativities across education sectors, and co-editor of the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity.
Pam continues to inspire and support us with her boundless energy and enthusiasm for bringing together the arts and sciences in transdisciplinary learning.
Teacher/researcher/author/adviser/school vice-principal and inspector/consultant in the field of educational development and the creation of more motivating and engaging learning systems. Derry Hannam has a bachelor's degree in education from Oxford University and an M.Phil, in educational research from Exeter University. Over 30 years of experience creating and advising democratic schools.
Derry keeps showing us what is possible in democratic education and has inspired our PEP projects with is 20% student led time.
Adult college principal, DfE Senior Education Adviser for HMI OFSTED, Principal of a secondary academy, education author ('Secondary Curriculum Transformed: Enabling All to Achieve', 2020), international educational consultant, trainer and DfE academies ambassador. Her insights into education are shaped by placing learners’ aspirations and needs at the heart of curriculum.
Meena's experienced advice on curriculum building and assessment are invaluable. She is also helping make sure that we meet the needs of OFSTED from our planning stage.
Founder of Futures of Education, Senior Deputy Head at Lord Wandsworth College, Chair of Educational Futures at Harvard Universities Human Flourishing Programme, Salzburg Global Fellow, Published contributions to UN General Assembly 2022 & Davos 2023, Global Ambassador and judge for HundrED, Premier Football League leadership and coaching mentor.
Alex has brought his compassionate and inspirational leadership skills to our team. He has helped us with business strategy and raising finance with his bold and positive attitude.
Senior Lecturer at the University of Winchester in performing and street arts. Teacher of visual development and contemporary performance in a combination of real and virtual formats. Background in fine art, street dance, African percussion, physical theatre and the martial arts. His aim is through the use of practice, to propagate 21st century issues concerning the interaction between the body, identity, audience, street and technology in an age of Globalisation.
Olu helps us to always consider things from different perspectives, his creativity and insights add dynamics to our work.
Founder and CEO of LIFEbeat, MA in Psychotherapy, entrepreneurial creator of community projects and events nurturing the wellbeing and personal development of young people and empowering their voices as agents of social change. Previous Head of Press and Public Relations at The Mall Galleries and Director of the London Art Fair. Lucy is passionate about new styles of leadership embedded in community, equality, creativity and social justice.
Lucy has helped us develop our social and emotional learning for both students and mentors. She reminds us all to take care of ourselves and others through her wise expertise.
Our Founding Patron. CEO of the British International School's Group (Ukraine, member of COBIS). Director of a London-based consultancy developing innovative models of education and providing bespoke solutions for learning opportunities in the UK and Europe. Anton runs four schools in the Ukraine which has courageously kept open for the students and teachers throughout these current conflicts.
Anton has supported us as a Founding Patron. He has helped inspire us with his compassionate resilience, and visions for a new education system in Ukraine after the war.
Founding Director of Positive Peace Cambridge, a social enterprise to support schools in the U.K. and internationally to address the issues of direct and institutional violence and build a culture of peacebuilding. Founding Director of Undiscovered Country, an arts lead training company supporting learning and change explored through science, specifically: neurology, psychology, mythology, sociology and 'self-organising' systems.
Roy keeps us connected and vital with his passionate wisdom and extensive knowledge on the science of life. He has supported the building of our teacher training program.
Our visionary Youth Advisory Board have helped us embed the National Curriculum into 5 exciting project pathways. They are all warm, enthusiastic and dedicated to making education more equitable and inclusive. It is essential to have young people at the heart of designing a new system.
(Aged 20yrs) Founder of Pupil Power, a student led campaign to tackle inequality in education. Public speaker on the future of education and student voice. Aliyah is currently an Undergraduate at Cambridge University, studying Education. She has recently worked as a judge on Big Change's Big Education Challenge. We are lucky to have her support as she drives forward the future of education movement.
(Aged 18yrs) Youth MP for Birmingham, Chair of Birmingham Aspiring Youth Council and youth activist. Yumna is the Co-author of Struggles of War, a public speaker and founder of RESILIENCE HQ, part of BiteBack 2030's Youth Board in Birmingham, which is a youth-led movement, redesigning the food system to put children's health first. She had made an inspirational TED talk and we are blessed to have her support in our vision.
(Aged 20) Co-Founding Flourishing Youth, an online youth lead platform to support young people to find different educational and career pathways. Ben is studying Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University. He is just completing his study abroad year in Spain and we are looking forward to him returning to Cambridge with his enthusiastic, warm and insightful support.
(Aged 15) Co-Founding Flourishing Youth, with Ben Holmes. Tom, a High Performing student, left his English state school to forge his own path in education. Working with home ed groups and online programs he is now able to study the subjects he choses. He is keen to help all young people to be heard from within the education system. He took on the incredible task of coding all the learning objectives from the UK National Curriculum with us and we are eternally grateful for all his hard work.
(Aged 18yrs) Member of the HRW Next Gen. Leila is a 6th form student at Bedales independent school. She is working on a research project based on progressive education in the UK; pushing to innovate the way we learn now, to create a better, more unbiased, and unrestrained system of schooling. Leila has shared her insights and experience of project-based learning to help us build our project pathways.
(Aged 21yrs) Beth is an Undergraduate student at Sheffield Hallam University, studying primary education. She is passionate about improving education, with a focus on how we can make the curriculum more creative. Beth has been an invaluable support, volunteering her time weekly to help build our curriculum. Her dedication and kindness is inspirational.
We have a wonderful and dedicated team of part time and volunteer workers that are helping us build curriculum, media, raise funding, research our pedagogy and so much more. Let us know if you would like to get involved.
Sally is the Founder of Wild Things Farm, where she is managing an agro-ecology based farm business on 25 acres. She uses her expertise in permaculture to farm free range rare breed cattle, pigs, ducks, chickens, organic vegetables, fruit trees and woodland. She is also an experienced drama and English teacher.
She has been helping us build our Food pathway projects and is training to become a BE Mentor. She spent a term with her children, co-teaching our DVLS Curriculum at Empathy Middle School, Bali. She is now back in Bristol with plans to build a BE Hub for local students on her farmland.
Sonia is the Assistant Headteacher at Pilgrim Pathways School, where she is leading on curriculum development and teaching for students suffering from mental health issues.
Previously she taught English and History and lead the implementation of the IB Middle years and Diploma programs at Impington Village College, Cambridge. She has also worked as an examiner and consultant for Cambridge Assessment International Education. Sonia has been supporting us with curriculum design, ensuring that our projects are covering all the English learning objects in the UK National Curriculum.
Educator, researcher, digital media producer and recent graduate of the MPhil in Educational Leadership and Improvement from Cambridge University driven by a passion for developing learner-centric solutions.
He has eight years of experience in education in Armenia and Egypt, impacting effective learning outcomes through teaching, teacher training, curriculum development, and online learning. Nork is currently exploring ways of leveraging his 12-year background in film and digital media to produce 'edutainment' resources and creative learning solutions in the EdTech sector. He is supporting us with media development and educational research.
Vincenzo is a PhD student in pure mathematics at the University of Cambridge and an ambassador for the Homerton College's Changemakers program. He has been helping us with embedding mathematics into our transdisciplinary projects.
He is also a musician and artist who explores harmonies among humans and nature, in an universe which is deeply interconnected with our souls and dreams.
His love of music, poetry and philosophy adds to his ability to thread wonder and excitement into the teaching of mathematical thinking across all disciplines.
Suzanne is a history and English Teacher who has 13 years experience teaching in American state and private schools. She also taught project-based learning at Green School, Bali.
Suzanne is bringing her expertise in teaching History and English to help us build our project pathways.
Kevin has had 11 years experience teaching history and social studies on three different continents, with students from over 30 countries. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Charleston Southern University.
Educational Research is his passion and he is supporting us with developing our Multiverse Games pathway.
Vikki is a Cambridgeshire based biologist and science teacher who has been sharing her scientific expertise and helping us build scientific skills across all our projects, particularly the Food pathway.
Med has had eight years of teaching experience and three years as a middle leader in UK schools. Her specialism is biology and general science. She is currently studying APMG AGILE Project Management.
Med has been supporting our curriculum content creation with her expertise in science.