Profile

I used to be a history teacher and returned to university when I was older to do an MSc in Development Studies which helped me change my career. I value life long education and believe you’re never to old to learn. I enjoy travel and learning from different cultures. I’ve visited 15 African countries along with countries in South America and the Caribbean. I’m much more mindful of my personal carbon emissions now, but I’m grateful for the experience of travel and what it’s taught me. Finally I’m very proud of my Irish identity and how my background has given me a strong sense of social justice and the sense that things can change for the better.

I’m responsible for understanding the topics and campaigns which Oxfam is working on, selecting the issues which I think will be interesting to schools and young people and then turning those topics into school projects. For example, when the COP27 climate conference took place in Egypt last November I produced learning materials on climate justice and asked young people to apply their learning by designing colourful postcard messages which we handed out to the climate negotiators at the conference to encourage them to make good decisions. We ended up with 17,000 postcards!

In addition I have to keep up with my reading on the topics Oxfam works on. My MSc in Development Studies was very important in giving me the knowledge and skills to quickly understand complex global issues and my experience as a teacher helps me to make these topics clear and relevant for young people.

For example, I’ve been writing a piece about education in Somalia. I had to read several United Nations technical reports and then decide how to explain the information in an interesting way on one page  of a schools resource.

I think it’s incredibly important that these topics are made accessible and interesting to everyone. This helps to break down stereotypes and ‘fake news’, giving everyone an opportunity to learn for themselves.