Our Team — The Awen Project

Meet Our Team

Charlotte has had an extraordinary career and education, touring the world from the age of 12 to perform in opera houses and for some of the most powerful people on the planet. She studied her academic subjects on transatlantic flights and did GCSEs in the White House. But her most profound learning was found in conducting the business that she was so viscerally immersed in.

Her vision for the Awen Project came as a mother balking at the unnatural way schools organise children and systematically deny them basic freedoms. She embarked upon an extensive research and development project to understand how education was being done in the best schools in the country, from Springwell Learning Community in Barnsley, to Eton College. Ultimately it was Sands School in Devon that provided the greatest inspiration, and she founded the Awen Project as a charity to support democratic learning communities in 2019.

Rach joined the Awen project in 2025 and is thoroughly enjoying the rewarding work with the tribe! Although born and raised in the south of England, having lived in Wales for nearly 17 years they identify as honorary Welsh!
They have always had a passion for people learning and growing together and now feel more aligned with their purpose on this planet than ever before. Previous career adventures vary, from call centre work to data analytics, software development, business analysis, hospitality, care and support, and most recently teaching employability skills to young people for another local charity. Rach brings a variety of transferrable skills and life experience to share with those keen to find their place in the world.
Rach is incredibly grateful for this opportunity and is really loving being outside, learning together and getting creative. They're really excited to see what they achieve together!

Jonny is a composer, instrumentalist, performer, writer, storyteller and educator, working professionally in these fields for the last 20 years.

At the core of his practice as an artist and learning facilitator is bringing together meaningful and imaginative community, co-creation in all things, following consent-based democracy, and advocating for a group expectation of high achievements.

Beth is Awen’s part-time learning facilitator. She joined at the beginning of 2026, but her passion for alternative education has emerged and grown over many years, particularly the importance of nature-based creative approaches. Beth’s background is in Creative and Therapeutic Arts and she is currently training in Regenerative Applied Ecopsychology and Nature-Based Practice. Outside of Awen she facilitates creative nature-based workshops and loves to paint, dance and write poetry. Inside of Awen she is learning the power of student-led learning and democracy and is loving getting to know the Tribe and supporting them on their learning journeys.

Marie is a mother of four home educated children. She is a children’s entertainer, who is passionate about bringing alternative learning to the mainstream.

Hannah Fitt is a Charity Director, Public Speaker, Life Coach, Musician and Screenwriter as well as mama to two incredible small people, Matilda and Stan.
Hannah co-founded The SAFE Foundation, an international sustainable development charity, which she set up with her Identical Twin Sister in 2006. Through SAFE Hannah has been able to reach over 10,000 people across Africa and Asia and help them access vital health, education and skills resources to lift communities out of poverty.
Hannah is also the Director of Programs and Operations at Keep A Child Alive, the international charity of Grammy award winning artists and activist, Alicia Keys - dedicated to providing health, education and support services to children who have been left behind all over the world.

Charlotte has had an extraordinary career and education, touring the world from the age of 12 to perform in opera houses and for some of the most powerful people on the planet. She studied her academic subjects on transatlantic flights and did GCSEs in the White House. But her most profound learning was found in conducting the business that she was so viscerally immersed in.

Her vision for the Awen Project came as a mother balking at the unnatural way schools organise children and systematically deny them basic freedoms. She embarked upon an extensive research and development project to understand how education was being done in the best schools in the country, from Springwell Learning Community in Barnsley, to Eton College.

Ultimately it was Sands School in Devon that provided the greatest inspiration, and she founded the Awen Project as a charity to support democratic learning communities in 2019.

Stella founded fintech start-up pirkx in 2018. A disruptive force in the UK’s employee benefits industry providing benefits and savings for individuals in order to extend their income spending potential and enhance their health and financial well-being.

pirkx is egalitarian, socially conscious, and the pirkx revolution is set to have meaningful impact for the ‘gig’ economy and beyond.
Prior to pirkx, Stella was a Director at Alternative Investment Specialist, Ingenious and Director, Retail and Private Wealth, at HBOS Treasury. Stella built the financial markets wealth proposition at HBOS after joining from Lloyds and the majority of her early career was in private banking at C. Hoare & Co. Stella holds a variety of banking and financial markets qualifications. Stella has a number of private investment interests and enjoys art, music, property, travel, and spending time with her daughter at home in Covent Garden, London.

John is Co-Founder of XCO2, with a passion for environmental building design and low carbon engineering. He is an Engineer and bioclimate designer with particular expertise in environmental modelling and energy strategies across a broad range of sectors.

John has been involved in major projects worldwide whilst overseeing the engineering design on a number of award-winning buildings with world class architects and clients.

John has spent many years as a guest lecturer at a number of prestigious universities and is a keen speaker at industry events related to climate change and sustainable building design.

Sean Bellamy is the founder and headteacher of Sands School, Devon, which has been running as a democratic school since 1987; a recognised expert in democratic education, he has over 30 years’ teaching experience and works as a consultant with educators across the globe.

Sean has worked with The Awen Project right from the start, providing advice, support, and challenge to the team and has recently joined our trustee board.