Since March I have been working as a junior policy adviser on genetic engineering at Greenpeace European Unit. The Unit is based in Brussels; it monitors and analyses the work of the EU institutions, exposing deficient EU policies and laws, and challenging decision-makers to implement progressive solutions. Greenpeace European Unit also plays a role in coordinating the Europe-based national and regional offices of Greenpeace. This way Greenpeace is able to influence decision-making processes at the levels where the decisions are being made: national ministries, national authorities, national parliament, European Commission, European Parliament etc.

I come from Kenya and studied at MESPOM in 2006-2008. Before joining MESPOM I worked in the Ministry of Environment of my country. My new job is very exciting and challenging I am the Environment Policy and Compliance Manager for the leading telecommunication company here in Kenya. This is a new position so I am the first environment manager and thus have to set up an environment management system, deal with all environmental complaints from the public, develop environment awareness materials for the consumers as well as the company employees. I have to coordinate both internal and external environment issues.

Prior to joininng MESPOM I had been studying and working in the biodiversity conservation field in South Africa. This was always where I wanted to end up again after finishing MESPOM. During MESPOM studies I tried to focus on topics that I felt would come in useful in this field. I was also lucky enough to focus my MESPOM thesis on the environmental policy relating to the traditional linefishery here in South Africa, which gave me valuable insights into how the small-scale fishing industry in my home country operates. I am glad to say that as a result of my disseration work I have recently been appointed as a capacity development and outreach officer for the Worldwide Fund for Nature's (WWF) sustainable fisheries program.

After having graduated from MESPOM in June 2007 I started my PhD studies at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at Central European University in Budapest. Currently I am in the very beginning of my second year in PhD program, successfully passed my comprehensive exams and have just defended my thesis prospectus.

I have just received an offer with the CDM Registration & Issuance Unit under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Unit is based in the UNFCCC's secretariat, Bonn, Germany, and is responsible for the registration of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and for the issuance of certified emission reduction (CERs) credits, under the CDM Executive Board that oversees the whole CDM system. I will be working on the issuance side as much of my past year's experience with my current company, EcoSecurities, a market leader in the CDM field, relates to CDM project monitoring & verification.

I am currently working for UNDP Bolivia, writing for the Human Development Report (HDR) 2008. I do research and analysis on the environmental and local socio-economic impacts of biofuels expansion, mining activities and development projects in Bolivia such as road and hydroelectric dams development.

I studied landscape planning and worked in nature conservation before joining the first batch of mespom. I choose this programme because I wanted to gain more knowledge on and insight to the strategic and policy levels within the field of environment. Mespom not only met my expectations but went far beyond it! Besides giving me a sound understanding of the million sides to the environment, it provided opportunities for unforgettable knowledge exchange and deep friendships.

I am sure by now you must be wondering where I landed after this exciting voyage of MESPOM. Take a deep breath, here it goes... I was picked up by the Holcim Group (the 2 nd largest manufacturer of cement in the World) as a Corporate Assistant Manager-Environment. I actually felt the benefit of the MESPOM course during my interview, when I was selected from the group, which included people with almost double the work experience I had.