Profile – I'm a Geographer, Get me out of here

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Rohinga Refugee Camp, Bangladesh

About Me:

I live in London, and am currently part working for HelpAge International, and part freelance consulting. I have an international family, with a husband who is half Haitian and half Sri Lanka, with two teenage boys both studying geography (as they should!). I love the theatre, walking my dog and travelling both in the UK and overseas. I am an active member of my local Baptist Church.
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I loved geography growing up and it was always my favourite subject. My earliest memory is living in Japan where my Dad worked. He then worked in Australia and South Korea too so I learnt first hand about the diversity of countries. I am also motivated to serve others, and to make the world a better place – with a predominant focus on helping those who are in poverty, both overseas and via my church in the UK.
My pronouns are:

She/Her
How I use Geography in my work:

I work in international aid and development – geography runs through my work every single day! I have learnt to understand and work with other cultures, understanding populations, where they live, and how they interact with the enviroment. My understanding of physical geography helps me understand the predictability and unpredictability of disasters, and their impact. My human geography helps me understand how important it is to provide schools, health clinics and livelihoods to help people escape from poverty. I also understand how important geography is for governments to make decisions – from understanding how climate change can effect the availability of food we eat, through to knowing the break down of demographic populations so they can provide enough schools or homes for older people.
My Work:

I currently work for HelpAge International, co-ordinating organisations across the world who care about the issues of older people. I also work on making sure there is enough funding available to support communities in poverty across the world when a disaster strikes.
My Typical Day:

My days are always varies, as some days I work in the office, some days I work from home and some days I am travelling overseas. The days activities nearly always is a combination of managing the projects which are being funded, dealing with the issues and the reporting to the funders, and then reviewing and assessing what we can do to improve or strengthen the work we do. This means A LOT of time on the computer and on emails, helping my team solve problems, and understanding what the latest innovations or learning the lessons from past projects.
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Much of my communication is with people in different countries, so I always have to remember different time zones and languages. I also need to be aware of their cultural holidays and respect what is important to them.

Often we use lots of different kinds of software – including googlemaps or databases which help us capture data then help us analyse it so we can design projects based on this information. I also spend a lot of my time doing admin! It takes a long time to plan, book and confirm a trip.
What I'd do with the prize money:

Gosh – that’s a good question! I would commission some more research on the lives of older people in a country the students choose. I would try to make it a photostory so they could communicate in pictures, as a picture paints a 1000 words

CV

Education:

If the students want to talk to me, I will talk them through my journey. The CV does not paint the picture well enough.
Qualifications:

If the students want to talk to me, I will talk them through my journey. The CV does not paint the picture well enough.
Work History:

If the students want to talk to me, I will talk them through my journey. The CV does not paint the picture well enough.
Current Job:

If the students want to talk to me, I will talk them through my journey. The CV does not paint the picture well enough.
Employer:

If the students want to talk to me, I will talk them through my journey. The CV does not paint the picture well enough.

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Passionate Disaster Basher!
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  Didn't know initially - thought I was going to work in the city of London. Very different!
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Nope - sorry kids...
  
  If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
  
  Teach geography!
  
  Who is your favourite singer or band?
  
  Oh man - do I really need to show my age? My last concert was Robbie Williams
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  String Hoppers
  
  If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
  
  To win the lottery to buy the Amazon Forest to protect it!
  
  Tell us a joke.
  
  I'd rather the kids guess my true or false - which one of the following 3 options is false. Option A: I have flown a two man plane over the Amazon. Option B: I was in Sri Lanka when the Indian Ocean Tsunami happened. Option C: I was in Iceland during the last volcanic eruption.