I am a British ethnographer, storyteller and justice seeker with a passion for people and planet. A long and winding path has led me from farming roots to a PhD researching Peruvian potato culture. 

ROOTS

Born of Scottish and English heritage, I was raised on a Yorkshire dairy farm with my hands in the dirt and the wind in my face. Curious about other cultures, I went on to study languages before a twenty-year career in environmental and social justice issues. Through my work across Latin America, Southeast Asia and Australasia, I have been honoured to learn from and collaborate with extraordinary grassroots organizations tackling local environment, human rights and education challenges. 

My feet have now found their way back to English soils, but my heart remains scattered across the globe. A large part of it lives in the Peruvian Andes, a physical and spiritual home for me since I first worked with Quechua communities in 2004.

After three years managing  Andean community development projects, in 2007 I founded Latin American Foundation for the Future (LAFF), a UK-registered charity supporting vulnerable children to access education. Fifteen years on I stepped down as LAFF's Executive Director and Chair of Trustees to meet the needs of my young family. LAFF continues to support over 100 children through our partner organizations in the Cusco region. 

STORIES

It has been my greatest privilege to connect with local people through their stories. From coffee smallholders and fisherfolk in Sulawesi, to children living on the streets of Cusco, each person's story has given unique insight into lived realities and diverse cultures. Together, these stories opened my eyes to other ways of being, seeing and doing.

I believe stories matter. They connect us to our roots and each other. They change perspective and inspire action. This is why storytelling is at the heart of my PhD research.

RESEARCH

In 2022, I started to explore how storytelling could unite across borders, disciplines and cultures in our efforts to adapt to climate change, protect cultural heritage and preserve biodiversity. It led me back to the field, and potatoes. Peru's 4,000+ native potatoes are not just food or income; they are biocultural heritage as well as key to global food security under climate chaos, so their future is of critical importance, both locally and internationally. 

My research aims to critically engage with and consider potential synergies between Indigenous epistemologies and Eurocentric science in an interdisciplinary way, exploring the interconnected themes of climate change, food security, indigenous knowledge loss and cultural extinction. This will see me return to potato farming communities in Peru where we will use participatory video as a tool to preserve and platform indigenous knowledge around potatoes, so the communities that know the crop best can speak directly to international decision makers and foster social change.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

University of Leeds, PhD (current) 

Extinction Studies

University of Sheffield, PGCE (2013)

Postgraduate Certification in Education in Spanish and French

Durham University, BA Hons (2:1) (2004)

Modern European Languages (Spanish, French, Italian)

CERTIFIED TRAINING

Spectacle (2022)

Participatory Videomaking

Voluntary Services Overseas (2010)

Participatory Tools for Research and Action

UK Institute of Fundraising (2009)

Certificate in Fundraising Management and Practice