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I am lucky enough to have a life-long interest in nature conservation which I have been able to develop as a career. Most of my working life has been spent supporting conservation programmes in Africa, though more recently I have been based in Scotland with a young family which has cut down on my travel to some extent. I work with my husband, Bill Horsman, through our company Logical Cobwebs - although, in practice, much of our work is carried out independently of each other. We do share an office though – and the lovely view from it out over the lower reaches of Glen Isla in Angus.

My passion for working with people and conservation in Africa began when I lived for two years in Senegal, West Africa in the early 1980s. I was a graduate student struggling to carry out research on African bee-eaters with almost no budget but the experience was fabulous. I travelled throughout the country, became fluent in French and experienced all the joys of getting to know people of a different culture and a very different way of life. Senegal is a fantastic country – incredible wildlife, landscapes from semi-desert to rain forest and spectacular coastlines, vibrant music and dance and culture, wonderful cuisine. I didn't get on very well with my PhD field work but the experience has stayed with me and opened so many doors for me since then. I managed to finish my PhD by working in the south of France (the Camargue) for several summers with a lovely team of researchers from Oxford and Sheffield Universities who encouraged me to join their long-term bee-eater research project and carry out my own research. The friendship, horses, wildlife, food, wine and way of life in the Camargue were fantastic and I have many long-lasting friendships and collaborations from those days too.

I decided that full-time research was not my vocation and that I would rather work in a more practical way in nature conservation management. In 1987 I joined RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK) International Department and spent 6 months developing European projects before moving to manage the Africa Programme, including projects in Ghana, Nigeria and a new one I initiated in Sierra Leone (probably my favourite African country) in the early 1990s. Soon after this, I was seconded from RSPB to BirdLife International (an international umbrella organisation for national conservation organisations like the RSPB with a focus on the conservation of birds and other biodiversity). At BirdLife I was Head of Africa Division for about 5 years, responsible for strategic planning of the Africa Programme, managing projects, fund raising, liaison and negotiation with host governments and donors and supporting the development of national non-governmental conservation organisations which make up the BirdLife Africa Partnership. I have travelled to and worked in more than half of the countries in Africa and made very many long-lasting friendships. Recently (in 2007) I visited three African countries while carrying out consultancy work and it gave me tremendous pleasure to see the Africa Programme of BirdLife now firmly established, with a central office in Nairobi, headed up by one of my old Sierra Leonean friends and supporting a continent-wide programme of conservation action.

In 1995 I left BirdLife (sadly!) and moved with Bill Horsman (my husband) to live and work in Scotland. Since then I have worked as a consultant on a wide variety of biodiversity conservation, policy research, literature review, project management and evaluation and other projects, both internationally and in Scotland. Clients have included Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage, the National Trust for Scotland, WWF Scotland, BirdLife International, UNDP and the World Bank. I travelled rather less for a few years while raising a young family and currently carry out one or two international contracts a year. I am a Board Member of the Cairngomrs National Park Authority (Britain's largest and Scotland's newest National Park).

In between work and family I have always been a keen outdoor sports person. At University in Dundee I was a member of the Scottish Kayak Slalom team (national champion in 1979). I have ridden horses all my life (a very useful skill in the Camargue!) and also enjoy cross-country skiing, hill running and sea kayaking. In 2003 and 2004 I took up adventure racing and took part in the Hebridean Challenge – a fantastic, friendly five-day team race, full of challenges, along the length of the Outer Hebrides. My husband Bill – and now the children - also love sport and the outdoors and our home on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park allows us all to indulge in all kinds of outdoor adventures.

See my resume.