Members
Laura Whitby - Program and Development Manager for Living Earth
Laura has an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies, and whilst studying she worked in a voluntary capacity for Survival International during their involvement in the historic ‘Bushmen’ court case in Botswana. She then spent two years at Plan UK as a Corporate Fundraiser, where she played a key role in developing a wide-reaching microfinance initiative with a leading international bank, and managed a wide range of large and small corporate funded projects. Laura has extensive experience of facilitating the development of public private partnerships and she joined Living Earth in 2008 as Programme and Development Manager to initially focus predominantly on supporting Living Earth’s activities in Alaska.
(Please refer to the bottom of this page for useful links related to Programme & Develpment field)
Accademia Apulia UK has asked Laura Withby the following questions:
You are a Program and Development Manager for Living Earth - what is the mission of this organisation?
It’s a sustainable community development organisation, aimed at helping different communities meet their needs for the present without compromising their ability to meet these needs in the future.
What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
We are a very small organisation which means that we work in a flexible and innovative environment compared to some big organisations I have worked for in the past.
What is the most important skill for somebody in your role?
Flexibility - you need to be extremely flexible and open to opportunities. This is certainly the case where I work, in the middle of the Arctic, out on the Tundra. For example, you may set up a series of complicated scheduled meetings and none will come off as you planned Situations change all the time and you have to be prepared to get on with it.
The ‘Long Conversation’ is the name given to a process of community dialogue that you have initiated in Alaska - how is the conversation going?
It’s going okay, it’s in its development stages and it’s very much informed by the communities we are working with. So it will continue to evolve gradually. It is a process of community dialogue aiming to reach those individuals in communities who are not comfortable with standing up in public meetings - don’t want to fall out with the local council and don’t want to play a key role in any of the Tribal organisations. It’s people who have concerned like every one else about the various issues and challenges faced by people living on the North Slope, such as environmental, sociological and economic . The program aims to reach these people who have concerns but want to live a quiet life and don’t want to be caught up with social rivalries.
Do you think that communities and industries speak the same language?
No, they do not. This is one of the big objectives we try to achieve by oiling the wheels of the communication process.
Your experience as Programme and Development Manager aims to connect profit and non-profit ventures. Do you believe that it is possible to manage a non-profit business without a profit attitude?
It is tricky. In Alaska we work with the oil industry and obviously they are very driven to extract oil in order to sell it with targets to meet - that’s a reality we can’t escape. But we still need to talk to people, to show the progress that is being made and give people an insight of what’s happening.
How does micro-finance actually help local communities?
It gives people an opportunity to save money destined for community projects, it is money that does not go into big banks. Communities actually have a box in the local village and that money is made available for small business loans at an agreed rate of interest - sometimes quite high.
Why? Aren’t these people from communities with little or no money at all?
They work on the principle that it is a business that they are running for the community and they want it to be financially viable. It seems to be working spectacularly well, they have a 0% defaulting rate.
You are a mediator in the 'Polar Pairs' School Exchange Program for schools on the North Slope (Alaska) and in Aberdeenshire(North Scottish). How has this program developed?
There is an historical link between the two areas - commercial whalers from Scotland did their whaling around the North Slope of Alaska. The link which has led to this exchange is that in Aberdeenshire too off-shore oil development changed the economy local communities. Until then they were relatively isolated, economically depressed fishing areas. Things changed suddenly when big oil money reached these areas and everything changed.
And the School Exchange Program?
Oil brings new opportunities and new challenges. Big influxes of people reaching the area that will bring their children into the schools as well looking for new employment opportunities. If you are going to have an oil rig off your coast affecting your subsistance hunting, you may as well take advantage of the employment opportunities that it presents. This is something that the education system and the training system currently do not really address because it’s all new. This is one of the major aspects of the exchange program whereby teachers share their understanding of their own respective situations.
How successful is this program? How does your company, Living Earth mediate between parties?
It’s been going for 3 years and it’s very popular amongst the school districts of both areas.
In very practical terms we reach the community and make contacts with the people there.
What level of schools are involved in the program?
They are predominantly secondary school, but we also have some primary schools. However, the focus is more with the older kids as they are the ones who are beginning to think of their future.
You are also fundraising to support your initiatives in Alaska
Yes, a lot of money needs to be raised - the cost of living out there is high - there are no roads between villages, everything has to be flown in.
How do environmentalists relate to this part of the world?
It’s an area of huge fascination for environmentalists. This is an area where people rely on whale hunting, there are polar bears on the brink of extinction and the Tundra is under threat - it’s a hot bed for environmental issues.
Your career has put in touch with remote communities, spending much time in different parts of the world - how have other cultures influenced your outlook in life?
It has taught me a lot in terms the way you have to adjust your strategies and styles of communication in different contexts.
You have a sound experience both as volunteer and manager in the environment of developing countries, can you please tell us how your past roles helped to become the professional that you are today?
The volunteering work is very important - you develop a certain degree of humility whilst getting an overview of the area you are involved with. You also toughen up quite quickly particularly when you volunteer. It is a difficult industry to get into even if you are not expected to be paid.
How long does one have to volunteer before he or she can get on a payroll?
I was lucky because I only volunteered for four months, which is nothing considering that I now have volunteers working for me who have been volunteering for years.
What is an essential requirement to become a volunteer for an organisation such as yours?
You need to do some research because there is a huge amount of opportunities in the industry, but you need to head for the right organisation. Volunteering for a big organisation often means spending your entire time stuffing envelopes; go to a small one and they have nothing for you to do. Medium sized organisations often have a particular project or area that paid staff don’t have time to follow up that you can get your teeth into and make it your own.
What is your message for aspiring professionals starting up a career in your field?
As long as you are genuinely interested in the area you want to get into, there is always scope for whether you are going to have to start without being paid or whether you are going to go into a paid position, which is possible, as long as you are genuinely interested in the culture, the people and the country and the issues facing them. Soak up every opportunity linked to the area you are interested in.
It’s a sustainable community development organisation, aimed at helping different communities meet their needs for the present without compromising their ability to meet these needs in the future.
What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
We are a very small organisation which means that we work in a flexible and innovative environment compared to some big organisations I have worked for in the past.
What is the most important skill for somebody in your role?
Flexibility - you need to be extremely flexible and open to opportunities. This is certainly the case where I work, in the middle of the Arctic, out on the Tundra. For example, you may set up a series of complicated scheduled meetings and none will come off as you planned Situations change all the time and you have to be prepared to get on with it.
The ‘Long Conversation’ is the name given to a process of community dialogue that you have initiated in Alaska - how is the conversation going?
It’s going okay, it’s in its development stages and it’s very much informed by the communities we are working with. So it will continue to evolve gradually. It is a process of community dialogue aiming to reach those individuals in communities who are not comfortable with standing up in public meetings - don’t want to fall out with the local council and don’t want to play a key role in any of the Tribal organisations. It’s people who have concerned like every one else about the various issues and challenges faced by people living on the North Slope, such as environmental, sociological and economic . The program aims to reach these people who have concerns but want to live a quiet life and don’t want to be caught up with social rivalries.
Do you think that communities and industries speak the same language?
No, they do not. This is one of the big objectives we try to achieve by oiling the wheels of the communication process.
Your experience as Programme and Development Manager aims to connect profit and non-profit ventures. Do you believe that it is possible to manage a non-profit business without a profit attitude?
It is tricky. In Alaska we work with the oil industry and obviously they are very driven to extract oil in order to sell it with targets to meet - that’s a reality we can’t escape. But we still need to talk to people, to show the progress that is being made and give people an insight of what’s happening.
How does micro-finance actually help local communities?
It gives people an opportunity to save money destined for community projects, it is money that does not go into big banks. Communities actually have a box in the local village and that money is made available for small business loans at an agreed rate of interest - sometimes quite high.
Why? Aren’t these people from communities with little or no money at all?
They work on the principle that it is a business that they are running for the community and they want it to be financially viable. It seems to be working spectacularly well, they have a 0% defaulting rate.
You are a mediator in the 'Polar Pairs' School Exchange Program for schools on the North Slope (Alaska) and in Aberdeenshire(North Scottish). How has this program developed?
There is an historical link between the two areas - commercial whalers from Scotland did their whaling around the North Slope of Alaska. The link which has led to this exchange is that in Aberdeenshire too off-shore oil development changed the economy local communities. Until then they were relatively isolated, economically depressed fishing areas. Things changed suddenly when big oil money reached these areas and everything changed.
And the School Exchange Program?
Oil brings new opportunities and new challenges. Big influxes of people reaching the area that will bring their children into the schools as well looking for new employment opportunities. If you are going to have an oil rig off your coast affecting your subsistance hunting, you may as well take advantage of the employment opportunities that it presents. This is something that the education system and the training system currently do not really address because it’s all new. This is one of the major aspects of the exchange program whereby teachers share their understanding of their own respective situations.
How successful is this program? How does your company, Living Earth mediate between parties?
It’s been going for 3 years and it’s very popular amongst the school districts of both areas.
In very practical terms we reach the community and make contacts with the people there.
What level of schools are involved in the program?
They are predominantly secondary school, but we also have some primary schools. However, the focus is more with the older kids as they are the ones who are beginning to think of their future.
You are also fundraising to support your initiatives in Alaska
Yes, a lot of money needs to be raised - the cost of living out there is high - there are no roads between villages, everything has to be flown in.
How do environmentalists relate to this part of the world?
It’s an area of huge fascination for environmentalists. This is an area where people rely on whale hunting, there are polar bears on the brink of extinction and the Tundra is under threat - it’s a hot bed for environmental issues.
Your career has put in touch with remote communities, spending much time in different parts of the world - how have other cultures influenced your outlook in life?
It has taught me a lot in terms the way you have to adjust your strategies and styles of communication in different contexts.
You have a sound experience both as volunteer and manager in the environment of developing countries, can you please tell us how your past roles helped to become the professional that you are today?
The volunteering work is very important - you develop a certain degree of humility whilst getting an overview of the area you are involved with. You also toughen up quite quickly particularly when you volunteer. It is a difficult industry to get into even if you are not expected to be paid.
How long does one have to volunteer before he or she can get on a payroll?
I was lucky because I only volunteered for four months, which is nothing considering that I now have volunteers working for me who have been volunteering for years.
What is an essential requirement to become a volunteer for an organisation such as yours?
You need to do some research because there is a huge amount of opportunities in the industry, but you need to head for the right organisation. Volunteering for a big organisation often means spending your entire time stuffing envelopes; go to a small one and they have nothing for you to do. Medium sized organisations often have a particular project or area that paid staff don’t have time to follow up that you can get your teeth into and make it your own.
What is your message for aspiring professionals starting up a career in your field?
As long as you are genuinely interested in the area you want to get into, there is always scope for whether you are going to have to start without being paid or whether you are going to go into a paid position, which is possible, as long as you are genuinely interested in the culture, the people and the country and the issues facing them. Soak up every opportunity linked to the area you are interested in.
Accademia Apulia UK suggests the following links for a career in Development Management
© 2012 Accademia Apulia - all rights reserved
web dev logovia