Welcome to 3Keel! How has your day been so far?

Great, thanks! I’m in 3Keel’s Bermondsey office today which is a lovely space with lots of plants. It’s sunny today so I may also zip out later for a quick walk in the park on my lunch break, and in the afternoon I’ll have a meeting with my supervisor and start the next phase of the soy footprint analysis project.

What have you started working on?

Within the sustainable commodities team I am mainly working on soy-related projects. Currently, I am calculating a rough estimate of the soy footprint of multiple product categories for a retailer based in Germany (I’ve learnt the German names for many different kinds of livestock, game, and seafood in the process!). I will also be assisting with 3Keel’s annual soy reporting data services initiative for much of this winter and will be working on a project analysing the deforestation commitments of 50 UK retailers as well.

What are you looking forward to most about working for 3Keel?

I would say that I am equally excited about the content of the work (it’s energizing to be contributing to tangible sectoral changes!) and the team camaraderie. In my experience so far, 3Keel’s commitment to a positive social culture is just as strong as its commitment to excellent work. Every person here has been exceedingly warm and friendly and I am excited to continue getting to know everyone!

Who or what inspired you to work in sustainability?

I am from a town called Gardiner in the rural northwestern state of Montana in the US. My hometown sits the border of Yellowstone National Park, making it what is known as a conservation “gateway community:” a human settlement on the periphery of a protected area, dependent on tourism for its existence. As a result, I have always been interested in the social dimensions of environmental issues and how we ensure that sustainability regulations are implemented in socially responsible ways. This interest led me to pursue research for my bachelor’s and my MPhil on a similar National Park gateway community in India’s Sundarbans Delta, which also happens to be on the frontlines of climate change due to sea level rise and increasing climate vulnerability and was a site of significant deforestation under British imperialism. I had the opportunity to speak at length with residents about the confluence of these issues during my research there and was moved by their insights. I knew after this experience that I wanted to pursue a career in the sustainability space, with a particular focus on driving change at the industry level. I am delighted to have found a home here at 3Keel, surrounded by dedicated people committed to knowledge development and practical change!

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?

In my free time, you can find me experimenting with new recipes, taking my hammock around to different parks, listening to podcasts, visiting cat cafes, and hiking & mountaineering (I was excited and honoured to fulfil a lifelong dream of summitting Denali, North America’s highest peak, a few years ago!) I love urban exploration as well and enjoy walking around new neighbourhoods and riding double decker buses. I have set a personal goal of visiting all 33 London Boroughs this year. I have little map of them up on my wall and I’m colouring it in as I go. I only have four left (Ealing, Brent, Bromley, and Harrow). I am hoping to make it to each of these at some point this autumn!