Professor Greta Defeyter

Greta is Professor of Developmental Psychology in the department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing.  Greta is the founder and the Director of the ‘Healthy Living’ Lab at Northumbria University and has spent the last 20 years researching food insecurity, social injustice, school feeding programmes and holiday hunger programmes in the UK.

She has received funding from multiple sources and has published numerous papers on school breakfast clubs, school food programmes and holiday hunger programmes in the UK. She is now a recognised expert in this area and in 2015 she was made a Fellow of the British Psychological Society in recognition of her research with children living in areas of social and economic deprivation.  More recently, she joined a prestigious line up of award winners, including Jamie Oliver, by winning a Food Heroes Award from Sustain for her research on school breakfast clubs and holiday hunger programmes.

In 2020 she was recognised by the Big Issue as one of the top 100 change makers for her research and policy impact on childhood food poverty in the UK.  Greta has advised the DfE on the Holiday Activities and Food Progamme (HAF) and is a member of the British Psychological Society Expert Reference Group-From Poverty to Flourishing, a Subject Expert on the American Psychological Association’s-Equity Flattens the Curve Campaign, a civic commissioner on the Gateshead Poverty Truth Commission, an executive member of the North East Child Poverty Commission, a member of the Royal Society of Medicine Health and Food Council and a trustee of Feeding Britain.

Greta is a fundamental advisor of Nutri Troops and she helps to guide the programmes and improve them based on her findings and research.

Dr Julie Young

Julie is a Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition at Northumbria University, Newcastle. She is also Director of Education for the Dept of Applied Sciences.

Julie completed her BSc (Biochemistry) and MSc (Human Nutrition and Metabolism) at Aberdeen University before moving to Robert Gordon University to complete her PhD in biomarkers of oxidative stress in models of schizophrenia, involving human trials and cell culture studies.

Research has included human nutrition intervention projects as well as extensive expertise in public engagement including a Scottish Government funded public engagement project entitled, “Fat Body Slim: Shape Matters” which involved providing general nutrition and disease related awareness to school children. Other research has included a Public Health England funded evaluation project of nutrition awareness within schools, as well as a school based evaluation project for the Newcastle United Foundation.

Julie helps Nutri Troops with her research to focus on improving nutrition within the schools, clubs and homes for primary school children.

Sarah Carroll

Sarah has spent nearly 40 years consulting in the entertainment, tech and media sectors, including high level work with Sony, Microsoft and major Hollywood studios. In 1988 she co- founded her own market research and consultancy practice. Following a merger, the business became Futuresource Consulting and was sold in June 2017. She was Director of Sales and Marketing at Futuresource and was responsible for the establishment of its Education Technology arm. She led many of the company’s consultancy projects with its leading blue-chip clients. Sarah retired in December 2020.

Sarah is excited to be dedicating time, and a valuable list of contacts, to Nutri Troops, which she sees as leading the market with a much-needed service.