Anna Simpson

Background

Before I came to Green Futures in 2009, I worked as an editor, writer and fundraiser specialising in social and environmental change. I have a 1st class degree in English and French from Oxford University, and a Masters in Gender Studies from SOAS.

What do I do now? One of the highlights of my job is the great conversations I have with our writers as they get stuck into the features and briefings. It's a joy to spend each day asking 'What are the real solutions here, and how might the future look if we manage to take these to scale?' The aim of Green Futures is to inspire our readers about the potential for change, and that makes my job very exciting.

I also enjoy talking to the experts, whether they're working at the grassroots, in business, as policy makers, in academia, or starting their own enterprises. There's little that I find so uplifting as hearing someone express their ambition to drive change, and describe the opportunity they have spotted. They know what they are up against, but they refuse to be discouraged.

I'm on the jury for the European Commission Environmental Management Awards Scheme and the EU Ecolabel Communication Awards, and I sometimes escape the office to speak and chair discussions at conferences: recently the World Forum for a Responsible Economy, the Future Cleantech Forum, and the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Efficiency Forum.

My dream project? Working on it now! A book called 'The Brand Strategist's Guide to Desire', which offers brands a way of understanding what consumers actually want, and find ways to enhance their daily lives and their world. It will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014.

What floats by boat outside work? Running along Regent's Canal in a lunch break with my colleagues, Turkish grammar (there's a whole tense to describe something you heard on the grapevine!), and playing the violin.