Michele Sanders (2012)

I was born and raised in South Africa, where my love of the natural world led me to study Zoology. Always keener on the application of knowledge than just its acquisition, my M.Sc. looked at whether river crabs could be used as bioaccumulative indicators of heavy metal pollution. 
 

I moved to the UK at 25 and joined KPMG's graduate recruitment programme. During my first three years there I worked as a financial auditor. Once I obtained my Chartered Accountant qualification I moved into their Sustainability Advisory Services division, where I provided audit and advisory services in the environmental, social, and health and safety spheres. Although I enjoyed that work, I felt that it was very focussed on the reporting of performance rather than on what organisations were actually doing. There was (and no doubt still is) a lot of greenwash out there! So I moved to GoodCorporation, where I got to dive deeply into actual business practice. The assessments we conducted there looked at how ethical organisational business practices were with regard to their customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, local communities and the environment. Clients were global so there was a lot of travel for this role. 

When my father and two uncles became ill, I decided to take stock of my life. I made the difficult decision to quit my job and take some time to reflect and decide what I wanted to do next. I funded that break by doing some freelance consultancy and tutoring A-level biology students. I realised I had strayed from my love of the natural world, and I wanted to get back into it. I applied to read for an M.Sc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management at Oxford University and in 2009 began along my new path. I went on to read for my D.Phil at Merton College. Although I was in the Zoology department, the focus of my research was more business than Zoology – due diligence of wildlife conservation organisations and the barriers these organisations face in their work. I funded my D.Phil by working for Synchronicity Earth, a wildlife conversation funder that was keen to have the answers to the questions I was asking in my degree. My role with them also included identifying and managing organisations risks. 

Although I enjoyed being back in the field of nature conservation, I was saddened by the (often) insurmountable challenges faced by those trying to protect the natural world. I decided that I would rather support the efforts of those better suited to working in such challenging fields financially and instead allow my entrepreneurial spirit to grow. 

I now run a small business that I had set up as a side line while I was studying – Alc-au-Lait provides alcoholic milkshakes at the Oxford college balls. I am also developing a range of tools and resources to help people work more efficiently, manage overwhelm and build their confidence. I have needed those tools at various points in my life and now I feel I would like to share what I learned with those who feel they would benefit from it.