Our Patrons

John Griffin

Born on a dairy farm in County Clare, Ireland, where I grew up on Home Farm helping my dad and learning the disciplines of the farming day. I learnt that this was a full-time role as the animals needed milking twice a day, including agricultural college, every day, and that all the supporting chores never stopped.

These disciplines have never left me because whatever you choose to do you need structure and some sort of routine around you.

My journey brought me to London where I got work as a security guard and went on to get myself some qualifications in sales and marketing. I went into a sales roles in the Midlands, and moved to Dorset 20 years ago, and happily settled and living near Sherborne in Dorset and developing a property company and am an operational manager for a management consultancy company.

I also trained as a business coach, a skill I bring into my everyday life, which I use to help others on their journey.

A long way from farming you might say but my beginnings are never far away from me, and the grounding has served me well which is why I am delighted to have been invited to be an ambassador for Future Roots.

 

Clive Farrell

Clive is a Patron of Future Roots.

After studying law he decided to take a break and travel the world. On his return he had decided not to practice law after all. After a variety of jobs, Clive turned to his hobby of breeding butterflies and moths, an interest he had never really lost during his university years and into his adult life.

His first major projects came when he entered London’s property market, which led him on to building the London Butterfly House in the 1980s. From there, Clive went on to building other butterfly exhibitions in England, Switzerland and Florida, before establishing a butterfly farm in Belize and a nature reserve in Dorset.

 

John Nash

John started his career as a teacher, and spent four years as a Deputy Head. After this he did a range of roles from Advisory Teacher for Drugs and Health Education, School Inspector for Personal and Social Education and Chief Inspector of Schools before moving to Poole initially as Director of Education and then Director of Children’s Services. From 2008 John was Dorset’s Director of Children’s Services retiring in 2012. John is Future Roots Patron.

 

Yvonne Shell – Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist

A chance encounter on a train led me to a small body of fiercely determined spirits fired by an unquenchable belief in their mission to make a difference every day in the work they do with young people and older age adults. The passion and determination to dare to reach out their hand to those they see as in greatest need is truly remarkable, once grasped they tenaciously hang on to that hand, not letting what they cannot do interfere with what they can do. Future Roots offers opportunities for those they work with to think about change, to consider the possibilities of new narratives and future directions. Inspirational and humbling, it is a complete privilege to be invited in to spend time with this exceptional team and be a small part of their essential work.