I am an experienced Senior Lecturer with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. I graduated from the University of Sussex in 2001 with a BA (Hons) in Geography and Development Studies. I then developed my career as a researcher by working for British non-governmental organisations Barnardo’s and Centrepoint. Developing from a graduate researcher to Senior Policy and Research Officer I conducted research into the issues facing vulnerable children and young people from a variety of social, economic and cultural backgrounds.I returned to academia in 2008 when I studied for a Masters in ‘Children, Youth and International Development’ at Brunel University. I was then awarded a studentship to study for a PhD at the University of Reading. I completed my PhD, titled ‘Making the transition to adulthood in Zambia: a comparison of caregiving and non-caregiving youth’ in 2014. While completing my PhD I was also employed at the University of Reading as a Teaching Fellow, co-teaching on a number of undergraduate modules, and a Research Fellow working alongside colleagues on a number of UK-based research projects.I have volunteered and conducted research in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Zambia, and also been a youth worker in the UK. Following the completion of my postgraduate studies I joined the University of Portsmouth as a lecturer (now Senior Lecturer) in Geography and Development. I am the Geography Course Leader, as well as the open day coordinator for the School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences.I am skilled in Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis, Research Design, Report Writing, Interviewing, Policy Analysis, and teaching across both the Geography undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I supervise Masters and PhD students. My research interests include Youth Development in sub-Saharan Africa, Youth Aspirations, Employment and Education, Transitions to Adulthood and most recently the relationship between the level of Education and Employment achieved by women in Zambia and the link with Gender Based Violence.