About
Me
I am a global nomad! I grew up in Scotland, but spent most of my life in Sudan. I trace my ancestral descent to Sudan. Arabic is my mother tongue and I speak English with a wee bit of a Scottish accent. I live in Washington D.C. with my husband.
​As an international lawyer and international civil servant, my commitment to development is primarily motivated by the desire to connect international law to the people who need it the most. Especially transboundary peoples negatively affected by an international boundary or a territorial change they did not freely determine. ​
​​​
I have been privileged to work in remote locations, in post-conflict contexts, and learn from local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
My primary goal is to combine my professional experience and legal training to find solutions to the worlds most pressing development needs. In that process, I would like to pass it forward and share with others some of the lessons I've learned along the way.
International Civil Servant
-
I have benefited from over 12 years of international development experience.
-
I specialise in international law and cross-border rights.
-
The output I'm most proud of is the Somali National Action Programme to the UNCCD. Prepared in consultation with over 400 stakeholder representatives, and endorsed by the Prime Minister of Somalia.
Legal Scholar
-
I specialise in action-based legal research
-
I have an excellent command of black-letter law but prefer complex legal questions entailing the human element
-
My LLM dissertation and PhD thesis are my proudest research outputs alongside the Natural Resources Sector Study I developed for the Somaliland Government.
-
To read and cite my work click here.
Mentor
-
If you are interested in pursuing a PhD and not sure where to start.
-
If you are a non-traditional law student from a historical under-represented university, and are interested in the World Bank's Legal Internship Program.
-
If you would like me to mentor you, please send me specific questions so we can start our mentorship journey!