Merlinda Kammerling
Hi, my name is Merlinda (people call me Merly) and I am the founder of Well & Being.
I have been working in the hospitality industry for over 10 years now, starting in a London sourdough bakery and then moving into restaurants such as Caravan, Modern Pantry, Temper, The Good Egg and Sambal Shiok.
It was during my time in kitchens, that I suffered with depression and anxiety and I eventually burnt-out and started my own journey through therapy and counselling.
It didn’t take long before I realised that I would like to use my natural empathy and compassion to help others, and I started re-training.
I am a therapeutic coach with over 5 years experience working as an integrative therapist offering psychological support and education to the hospitality industry. I use all my knowledge and experience of working in hospitality, as well as what I continue to learn about workplace culture and other people’s experiences and apply this insight to creating training courses and working with clients therapeutically to help them avoid the same mistakes I made.
Shaun Crabtree-Alpine
Shaun started his career as a classically trained chef in his early twenties and went on to co-own an award-winning restaurant in central London for 14 years.
During Covid, Shaun took the opportunity to begin studying Psychotherapy while also developing his passion for gardening while working as gardener at Hampton Court Palace, and is a strong believer in the power of nature to help with mental health issues.
Three years on, he has gained a Level 4 certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at Birkbeck University and is now completing his Masters.
Tony Carelli
Tony has been working in the field of psychological support and intervention for over 24 years, but it was in 2016 that his passion for food pushed him to take a leap of faith and he opened his own London restaurant and began his hospitality career.
When the pandemic hit, he began to cross over his clinical therapy within the hospitality sector, developing groups and workshops as well as individual support. Tony currently works with adults suffering a range of complex mental health difficulties within inpatient and outpatient settings specialising in addictions, eating and personality disorders.
Michelle Moreno
Michelle is a hospitality leadership specialist with over 25 years in the industry. She is hugely passionate and dedicated to empowering and inspiring teams within the industry. She excels at engaging, focusing and creating honest conversations, enabling leaders to go from surviving to thriving in their roles, which in turn creates resilient and high-performing businesses.
Michelle has the unique ability to provide precise and effective training infused with energy and a genuine love for hospitality. Michelle works with companies such as Wright Brothers, Leon, Trinity, Accore Hotel Group , MJMK, Ministry of Sound.
Katharine Yates
Katharine is an experienced facilitator and coach with a background in theatre, conflict awareness and group facilitation. She specialises in creating intentional spaces for relationships and organisational culture to flourish. Over the past 5 years she has been collaborating with Tony Weekes to deliver workshops that support people to have conversations about race and racism. As a trained mediator she is skilled at holding space for teams as well as individuals to have challenging conversations and blends lightness with depth, understanding with curiosity and acceptance with challenge.
Tony Weekes
Tony is one of the most practised conflict resolution, personal development and safety experts in the UK. He has decades of experience in working with violence, challenging behaviour and aggression in culturally mixed communities throughout Europe, plus training adults who face these issues in either their voluntary or employment roles.
Doug Sanham
Doug Sanham is an award-winning chef who has spent years advocating for Mental Health reform in the workplace. Taking his passion for food, he wants to introduce people to the gut-mind connection, showing people that what you eat and how you eat can have a vast impact on overall health, from the damage it causes to the benefits it has on our well-being.
Alex Kammerling
Alex started his career in hospitality over 30 years ago working as a bartender and waiter in London, Hong Kong and Australia. He went on to work as a brand ambassador and has delivered spirit and brand trainings for 1000’s of bartenders across the globe. He has helped to launch several spirit brands including his own and brings years of sales and marketing knowledge to the team. Alex is Operations Director at Well & Being.