Please tell us about your role at PNDC

As a member of the Business Development team my role is to work closely together with senior researchers, partners and clients to develop high quality commercial and grant funded bids and proposals. Ultimately my role is to bring more work into PNDC while keeping an eye on future opportunities that are in line with the centre’s development strategy.

 

How long have you worked at PNDC?

I joined in October 2020 so almost six months now. Such a funny time to join a new workplace and I am really looking forward to meeting all of my colleagues in person!
 

What was your background before joining PNDC?

I have worked within the sustainable energy sector for around 15 years now. I started out working for a small renewable energy consultancy in Cape Town (where I was born) and then made the move into community energy working for Community Energy Scotland for over 10 years. I worked with both rural, island and urban communities and also headed up a four-year programme of work in Malawi in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. This impacted over 20,000 rural Malawians who previously had no access to electricity. More recently I worked for a not-for-profit energy supplier to develop innovative business models in partnership with local communities.
 

What do you enjoy most about working at PNDC?

I love that there is such a mix of people working at the centre. I also really love the fact that I am working towards energy system change. My work with communities for so many years has shown me that fundamental shifts need to be made within the energy system in order for all to benefit and that is why I feel passionately about the work that PNDC is doing and the direction in which it is headed.
 

What can we find you doing in your spare time?

Having a very active 2 year old boy means there is not a great deal of spare time outside of building mud kitchens, chasing balance bikes, scooters and puddle jumping. But I do have aspirations to get him wild camping and surfing with me before too long. I also have dreams of backpacking with him once he is old enough to carry his own luggage!