Who we are
Karen Bentley-Brown
A co-founder of Future Fixers with husband Dave, Karen has a long-standing passion for nature and the environment. Early childhood experiences of beach combing, pressing wildflowers and joining WWF’s Panda Club laid the foundations for a degree and teaching qualification in Geography, and subsequently a career in environmental education and development. Her interest in the environment has landed her roles at WWF and The National Trust, as well as at several smaller environmental organisations.
Karen is an expert in business development and coaching and initially honed her skills whilst working at The University of Cumbria and Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, where she was able to combine a passion for the planet with a love for good business. She set up Bentley-Brown Associates in 2015, and Simply Repair, a not-for-profit, in 2017, with the aim of reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and encouraging a ‘make do and mend’ culture. She loves to learn new mending techniques, and her current favourite is sashiko.
Spending time in the outdoors is high on Karen’s list of leisure pursuits. She especially enjoys walking in the Lakeland fells and wild swimming in the local lakes and tarns.
David Brown
A desire to help businesses become more proactive in benefitting people and planet led Dave to co-found Future Fixers with Karen. He is committed to our mission of creating a kinder, greener, fairer world, and inspires his clients to step up and play their part in this.
Dave has a background in education and linguistics and is passionate about language and how this shapes people’s experiences in the world. He focuses on enabling clients to become more resilient, and on developing highly effective relationships with themselves and others, so that they can thrive both at work and at home.
Enjoying nothing better than spending long afternoons in the kitchen, turning produce from the weekly organic crop share bag into delicious curry feasts for family and friends, Dave also loves heading out with Karen for extended dog walks in the surrounding fells close to their Lake District home. As an ex-player, he loves watching rugby, as well as his beloved Newcastle United football team.
Dave is a qualified business coach and mental health first aider. He has huge enthusiasm for promoting wellbeing in the workplace, which he sees as essential to getting the best out of people.
He is a member of The Climate Coaching Alliance.
David Beuzeval
David is an independent consultant who helps people to create and develop charities, social enterprises, partnerships, projects and services. He believes that people are more effective when they collaborate, and he works alongside his clients, motivating them to turn challenges into opportunities, then supporting them as they tap into their creativity and try out fresh, innovative approaches.
At home, David lives as sustainably as possible. Professionally, he sees a huge opportunity for businesses and organisations to play their part in shaping a better world for everyone. Like all of our directors, he is committed to the idea of ‘people-planet-profit’ as a guiding principle for those who wish to create a more positive future and is keen to support people to bring this about.
David loves working with everyone at Future Fixers, especially enjoying the opportunity to share ideas with a group of people committed to finding solutions to the social, economic and environmental challenges the world faces. In his spare time, David enjoys being in nature and walking his rescue dog.
Lauren Munro-Bennett
Lauren is an outdoor coach, a competitive athlete, and female record holder of the Frog Whitton Challenge. She loves motivating her clients to overcome their physical challenges as they stretch for their goals. Nature is vitally important to Lauren’s own mental health and she feels most connected to herself when running in the mountains, swimming in the tarns or biking the Lake District trails.
Sustainably is key to the way Lauren lives from day to day, and she is constantly open to different ways of developing her lifestyle to embrace new ideas and innovations. She is a leader of positive environmental change and organises community litter picks as one example of this. She is keen to set up similar initiatives with Future Fixers.
Lauren is our youngest director and brings huge energy to the table. She enjoys being part of our mission to connect, encourage and inspire organisations to embrace a greener approach, and believes that this begins with environmental accountability. She dreams of a future where wildlife is restored, precious ecosystems are rebalanced, and where people develop a deeper respect for nature.
Lauren is a mental health first aider.
Claire Steele
Claire is an ethical designer, specialising in graphic and website design, branding and identity, as well as exhibition and display. She made her home in Cumbria after leaving her native Australia several years ago and spending time developing her eco design skills in Bristol. She runs her design studio from a base in the South Lakes and enjoys the challenge of providing visual solutions to the problems her clients bring.
Carefully considering the impact of all of her choices on people and the environment, Claire regularly takes stock to assess whether there are further improvements she could make to her lifestyle, or to make her business even greener. She loves working on creative projects and is motivated to leap out of bed in the morning by the wide range of possibilities that each day holds.
Claire is passionate about helping businesses and communities to create sustainable futures, and through Future Fixers, aims to play a part in ensuring that the world slows down and becomes a much kinder place.
Photo credit: Mindy Coe Photography
Our Associates
Tim Maiden, of Green Small Business, can help you develop a certified Environmental Management Scheme (EMS) for your business. An EMS will help you stand out from your competitors and provide you with the necessary paperwork to tender for new business.
