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Natural hazards is a popular topic at KS3, GCSE and A Level, and there’s a range of careers available to geographers who are interested and passionate about this topic.

We’re talking to professionals based in the UK who have careers spanning flood risk management, to humanitarian response. Speakers will share their career journey, educational background and the steps they took to get to where they are today.

This event is appropriate to all secondary school students who study weather hazards and/or tectonic hazards, as well as students who are interested in this topic generally. We hope this event will increase awareness of the career paths available to young geographers, and how they can access them.

Students can download an optional activity and complete it as they watch the webinar.

This event contributes to Gatsby Benchmarks 4 (Linking curriculum learning to careers) and 5 (Encounters with employers and employees).

About the speakers

Edward Tonkin - MEAL Coordinator at ShelterBox. Edward is a humanitarian professional with extensive experience in coordination, data analysis, and strategic planning in complex crisis contexts. He is currently Emergency MEAL Coordinator at ShelterBox, where he integrates Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) into humanitarian programmes.

Edward previously worked for several years in Northeast Syria, including as Sector Coordinator for Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), where he led operational coordination, strategy development, and engagement with UN agencies, NGOs, local authorities, and donors.

He has also worked with the NES NGO Forum as an analyst, and with REACH as an Assessment and GIS Officer, specialising in multi-sectoral needs assessments. He holds an MSc in Risk, Disaster and Resilience from University College London and a BSc in Geography from Aberystwyth University.

Saajeda Bandali - Flood Risk Management and Resilience Consultant at RAB Consultants. Saajeda holds a BSc (Hons) in Geography and Natural Hazards and an MSc in Natural Hazards and GIS. She has over nine years of experience with RAB Consultants and the Environment Agency, where she has worked to increase resilience, reduce flood risk, and support preparedness and response to flood and environmental incidents.

Saajeda is also the Environmental Manager for RAB’s Environmental Management System (ISO 14001). Before joining RAB, Saajeda worked at the Environment Agency, focusing on flood monitoring and warning, and emergency planning, including the creation and updating of flood response plans and related documents.

In addition to her professional work, she has volunteered with the Birmingham Resilience Team and as a Natural Hazards Research Analyst. Saajeda has also collaborated with Disastermap.net in the past to raise awareness of natural hazards and disaster alerts.

Libby Davis - Emergency Planning Officer at East Sussex County Council. Libby developed an interest in disaster management while studying geography in school, leading her to complete a BA in Geography at the University of East Anglia and gain early work experience in Emergency Management.

She now works as an Emergency Planning Officer at East Sussex County Council, where she supports planning and response for a range of natural and human-made hazards, including flooding, coastal pollution, and large scale evacuations. Her work includes using GIS for risk mapping and developing community resilience initiatives, including projects using innovative reusable technologies.

Booking information

• Advance booking for this event is required. In order to book you will need an account on our website. If you already have an account you will be prompted to log in when you click 'book now'. Please if you do not have one yet (you do not need to be a member of the Society to create an account).
• This event will be held on Microsoft Teams and joining instructions will be included in your confirmation email.

Making a booking on behalf of someone else

If you have any questions or require assistance with your booking, please email events@rgs.org