Hello!
I’m Issie and I’ve recently joined the CO2balance team as a Carbon Projects Officer. I’m excited to be part of such a knowledgeable and supportive team and to start exploring the world of carbon development projects!
Completing my BSc degree at the University of Leeds, where I studied Geography and explored the interaction of social and environmental science, was the first step I made to discovering what interests me about international development and sustainability. Following four years in the workplace, I led a research trip to the Middle East and experienced the resilience of communities in complex environments. As a result of this unique trip, I decided to continue my studies by completing an MSc in Sustainable Development at the University of Exeter. I specialised in investigating integrative water governance as a mechanism for gender mainstreaming in SDG implementation in Official Development Assistance recipient countries and contributed towards an academic paper on the topic. During my course I completed a work placement at CO2balance, producing a research report on the suitability of interlocking stabilised soil bricks under a carbon methodology. After graduating and working at the Environment Agency as a Flood and Coastal Risk Management Officer, I secured my position at CO2balance as a Carbon Projects Officer!
My interest in travel is a key part of why I am so delighted to be working for CO2balance. I have been very lucky to have travelled to many amazing places, from a research trip to New Zealand to travelling from Moscow to Beijing on a (very long!) train journey known as the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian Railway. Previous humanitarian trips to Peru and Ethiopia undoubtedly opened my eyes to extreme poverty as well as the astounding resilience and adaptation of communities living in incredibly challenging conditions. I look forward to working hard to support similar communities in developing countries across the World. I welcome the opportunity to see first-hand how CO2balance’s hard work is helping communities access basic resources, such as clean water.
In my spare time I love to be outdoors, skiing, walking, camping etc. Post-lockdown, I look forward to continuing my challenge of walking the Cornish stretch of the SW Coast Path… and one day completing the whole 630 miles around the SW!
