Who I Am & What I Do

I am a Senior Lecturer in Systems Thinking and Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School. I work with governments, international organisations and policymakers to design tools and approaches that make sense of complex, interconnected challenges, and turn that understanding into practical action.

My research develops original, complexity-aware tools for understanding and intervening in complex policy and socio-ecological systems. I draw on systems thinking, complexity science and futures-oriented methods to tackle problems defined by uncertainty, interdependence and contested values, where conventional linear approaches fall short. A defining thread across my work is methodological leadership: designing practically usable approaches that help policymakers and organisations test and evaluate interventions in non-linear, dynamic and politically embedded contexts.

I have built this expertise through sustained collaboration at the highest levels of policy. I recently completed a British Academy Fellowship at the Evaluation Task Force, a joint Cabinet Office–HM Treasury unit, advising on systems approaches in evaluation, and served as lead contributor to the forthcoming Test & Learn Annex to the UK Government’s Magenta Book. I have worked with the European Commission on the Tourism Transition Pathway for 2030, and partnered with the UK Cabinet Office, DESNZ, UN Tourism and the OECD to translate complex systems research into policy-relevant tools, guidance and capacity-building.

I hold a PhD and Post-doctoral qualification in Sustainability Management from the University of Surrey. Before academia, I spent over two years in Myanmar with the Luxembourg Development Agency, leading the monitoring system for a €5M sustainable tourism development project, an experience that also took me into curriculum design, quality standards for community-based tourism, and a practical handbook for guesthouses and B&Bs across the country.

I have also contributed to the DMOcracy project on the regenerative future of destination governance, and to World Animal Protection’s You’ve Been Ranked initiative, holding the global travel industry accountable on wildlife welfare.