I can hardly believe it’s been over 25 years since I left Radley in 1999. Marking the 25th anniversary of the Radley Foundation provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on everything that’s happened since then and the important role Radley life played in shaping my journey.
Looking back on my time at Radley, I recognise how fortunate I was to attend such a well-resourced and supportive school. The facilities, whether for academic work, music, or sports, provided countless opportunities, and the teachers’ dedication created an environment where we were encouraged to challenge ourselves and thrive.
Music, for example, was a significant part of my experience at Radley. I made the most of opportunities given to me, such as choir, orchestra, and music trips, which taught me the value of teamwork, gave me experience performing publicly, and boosted my confidence. Academically, Radley also played a central role in shaping my ambitions. Geography classes, in particular, sparked my interest in international development, which has been the foundation of my career.
Radley gave me the grounding to aim high. With excellent, dedicated support from my tutors, I successfully applied to Cambridge University to study Geography. That degree was a stepping stone for the next six formative years in East Africa, working on community development, environmental projects, disaster management, and food security with NGOs. Those early years deepened my understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable communities and gave me the drive to look for sustainable solutions.
To deepen my expertise, I completed an MSc in Public Health Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). For 14 years since then, my career has been split between hands-on humanitarian and development work, and academic research focusing on maternal and child nutrition. Highlights include setting up emergency nutrition programs in Ethiopia and Liberia to treat severe wasting in children, establishing research studies in Ethiopia, India, and Nepal to address undernutrition and anaemia, and completing a PhD with the Medical Research Council in The Gambia. My doctoral work focused on designing and testing a micronutrient supplement to improve maternal nutrition during the dry season.
In my current role as Senior Technical Associate with the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN), I’m fortunate to combine my humanitarian project management and research experience. My work spans maternal nutrition, wasting and stunting, and adolescent nutrition. It’s a varied role: some days focus on advocacy to highlight overlooked nutrition issues with governments and donors, others involve contributing to international guidance with agencies like the World Health Organization and UNICEF. I also write journal articles and reports to share research findings widely. While I’m no longer based abroad doing hands-on fieldwork, my focus now is on supporting local experts who are already driving impactful change in their communities.
Looking ahead, I hope to remain at the intersection of research and practice, influencing global decision-making while ensuring evidence-based solutions reach the communities that need them most. Improving maternal nutrition remains central to my work, as it is critical to breaking cycles of poor health and undernutrition for future generations.
