This year marks a powerful and emotional milestone for us at The Noakes Foundation, as we celebrate 10 years of Jayne Bullen’s unwavering dedication, visionary leadership, and transformative impact on our organization and the broader health community.
Jayne joined The Noakes Foundation in March 2015 as its first employee and quickly became an instrumental force in shaping our mission and expanding our reach. With her background in research, finance, and strategic development, she brought both heart and precision to everything she touched. Over the years, Jayne has helped secure critical funding, shape long-term strategy, and bring structure and vision to key projects that have changed lives across the globe.
One of her most significant contributions was co-founding Eat Better South Africa, a community-driven initiative rooted in compassion and justice. Jayne saw, first-hand, how many people in under-resourced areas were suffering from entirely preventable diseases, simply because they lacked access to clear, trustworthy information and affordable, nourishing food. She believed fiercely that health shouldn’t be a privilege, but a right. Through Eat Better South Africa, she helped turn that belief into action, creating a movement that brings simple, science-backed nutrition education to the people who need it most, empowering them to take back control of their health.
In 2018, after years of receiving countless messages from individuals desperately seeking medical professionals who understood and supported the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) lifestyle, Jayne Bullen and The Noakes Foundation team recognized a critical gap in the healthcare system. There was a clear need, not just for public education, but for credible, evidence-based training for doctors and allied health professionals in therapeutic carbohydrate restriction (TCR).
In response to this need, Jayne played a key role in launching the Nutrition Network, a global education platform developed by The Noakes Foundation in collaboration with pioneering doctors and scientists. The aim was simple yet ambitious: to empower healthcare professionals with the knowledge and tools to effectively integrate LCHF and TCR approaches into clinical practice.
Under Jayne’s leadership as Managing Director, the Nutrition Network has grown into an internationally respected hub of learning and collaboration, supporting thousands of practitioners around the world to bring science-backed nutrition into real-world patient care. One of the major milestones during her time in this role was the publication of Ketogenic: The Science of Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction in Human Health, a groundbreaking academic textbook. Jayne served as an editor and was an integral part of the team that brought this landmark project to life. Her vision, attention to detail, and deep commitment to advancing the field of nutrition played a vital role in shaping a publication that now stands as a cornerstone resource for healthcare professionals around the globe.
Jayne’s passion for this work runs deep. Her journey into health advocacy was profoundly personal. After witnessing the devastating effects of lifestyle diseases in her own family and social circle, she committed herself to understanding and challenging the root causes of poor health, from dietary misinformation to the unethical marketing practices of the food industry. Her academic work, including an MBA focused on the regulation of marketing to children, reflects this commitment to systemic change.
What truly defines Jayne, however, goes beyond her impressive professional achievements. She leads with compassion, creativity, and a deep sense of purpose. Her ability to inspire those around her, to dream big while staying grounded in service, has cultivated a culture of integrity, innovation, and hope within The Noakes Foundation and all its projects. She is as comfortable in a boardroom presenting a strategic vision as she is in a community workshop listening, learning, and connecting.
As Jayne steps into her new role as Advocacy and Strategy Lead within The Noakes Foundation, we celebrate her legacy, her evolution, and the exciting road ahead. Her voice, her vision, and her heart remain at the core of who we are and what we do. In this next chapter, Jayne will continue to shape our mission with the same passion and purpose that has defined her journey over the past decade. We are so proud to continue this journey with her and can’t wait to see the incredible impact she will make in this new role.
Thank you, Jayne, for your ten years of tireless work, bold ideas, courageous leadership, and above all, your deep love for people. You have helped build something truly meaningful, and we are all better for it. Here’s to the future, we will continue to shape together.
