B i o g r a p h y

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Professional Profile

I am a policy expert and philosopher who is drawn to bewildering and intractable problems of all kinds. It is this fascination that has drawn me to public policy, a discipline that perpetually struggles with a wide array of unsolvable problems.*

*not least of which being persuading the public that policy makers should not be drawn and quartered when things go wrong.

Policing Policy and Research Officer

Greater London Authority - Link to website

Project Support Officer

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners - Link to website

In my most recent position, I worked as a project support officer at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), working on a team to deliver the £30 million spring 2017 Police Transformation Fund (PTF) application process on behalf of the Police Reform and Transformation Board (PRTB). As a member of a small team delivering a very new process, this position required me to take on varied responsibilities and react quickly to changes in the policy landscape. My projects included drafting both the expression of interest and final application forms, making the form into a survey in order to streamline submissions, creating a draft of a transformation roadmap to communicate the strategic direction of the Police Reform and Transformation Board, and researched Home Office quality assurance methodology in order to align the data we were collecting with their requirements. I also had numerous communication and copy responsibilities included drafting e-mails, communicating with and between government and police stakeholders and processing and managing application content.

Research Intern

Police Foundation - Link to website

As an intern at the Police Foundation I delivered a variety of projects and researched diverse aspects of UK policing policy. Some of my work included writing a literature review for the Police Foundation's response to the Home Affairs Committee's call for evidence on hate crime, mapping out how Police and Crime Commissioners had changed the policing policy landscape, and contributing to a research project examining how police forces set their priorities. I also handled various administrative tasks, including writing the organisation's monthly newsletter and taking minutes for the board of directors.

Data-analysis Intern

Grandparents Plus - Link to website

At Grandparents Plus I analysed the organisation's annual survey. I developed coding protocols for survey data, organised the data in a spreadsheet, performed calculations, and created tables to clearly communicate the results. I also took the opportunity to work on the charity's public relations team. I created social media content and contacted members of the organisations network to arrange for them to speak to the media on the charity's behalf.

Campaign Policy Researcher

Federal New Democratic Party of Canada

During the 2015 Canadian federal election I volunteered on the election team of my riding's New Democratic Party's candidate providing policy research support. My primary responsibility was researching responses to policy queries submitted by constituents, clarifying and/or defending the policies of my candidate and the New Democratic Party as appropriate. I also assisted with various other campaigning tasks, including speaking with constituents on behalf of my candidate and acting as his representative at the ballot counting at a polling station.

Education

MSc Philosophy and Public Policy

London School of Economics and Political Science

At the London School of Economics I delved into the philosophical complexities of some of the greatest policy challenges facing the world today. In my core philosophy and public policy course I explored issues of healthcare distribution and quantification, criminal justice issues such as how we ought to deal with innocent perpetrators (e.g. child soldiers), the ethics of preferential hiring, and the importance of privacy to identity. In Philosophy of the Social Sciences I studied the theoretical underpinnings of social scientific research, developing a nuanced understanding of the meaning of research produced in the field. Through Evidence and Policy I learned about the application of scientific data in policy-making. Finally, in Social Influence, I investigated theories of how groups of people can be influenced and changed, as well as theories of innovation uptake and dissemination.

BASc General Arts and Science

Quest University Canada

At Quest University I studied a broad range of subjects and disciplines, developing a flexible and diverse knowledge base and strong analytical skills. I have experience in the hard and soft sciences, mathematics, political studies and economics, and philosophy. Quest also strongly emphases teaching students how to be good public speakers, and I gave at least 40 presentations over the course of the programme. I also worked as a peer tutor in the university learning commons, providing critical feedback and editing for my peers.

Here is a list of all the courses I took at Quest.

Favorite Books

Being and Time, by Martin Heidegger

Heidegger's 'Being and Time' is my favorite work of philosophy, primarily because it changed my attitude towards life. For me, Heidegger's greatest insight was that death is a part of life, and that accepting this is an important part of living authentically.

Shattered Sea Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie

Abercrombie's art is his ability to make the most awful characters likable, and to have me turning page after page hoping that they will decide to be a better person.

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

My love of reading started with 'The Hobbit', which probably still holds the record for the book I have read the most times.