Featured Interview: Christina Dixon

ALUMNI INTERVIEW: CHRISTINA DIXON

We reconnected with Christina (Chris) after she kindly agreed to be a member of our in-person careers fair in 2022. We thought we would catch up with Chris again to ask some more questions about her work for the Environmental Investigation Agency and if she had any advice for our students and alumni.

CLASS OF 2004

How would you describe your work?

I am an environmental campaigner working at an NGO specialising in investigations, advocacy and campaigning. I lead the ocean programme where I’m predominantly involved in working on national, regional and international policy related to plastic pollution and fisheries, so my work tends to comprise of meeting with governments, companies and grassroots/non-profit organisations, writing and publishing reports, speaking at conferences and organising events, inputting into policy processes and working with the media to amplify the issues we work on. In our organisation we also do investigative work to expose things like illicit trafficking and other environmental crime, and use this information to work with enforcement agencies and law makers.

How did you come to work for the Environmental Investigation Agency?

I have been working in this field for around 12 years. At university I studied journalism and then did a Masters in communications and cultural theory. I also spent time teaching overseas and did an EU-funded internship at an international non-profit agency in Berlin as well as a brief stint working in TV.

I only ever wanted to work in the non-profit sector but didn’t have a strong view on a particular field within that, though at school and beyond I was involved in environmental activism. I’ve always been interested in human rights, politics and environmental issues and working at EIA allows me to cover issues that transect all of these interests.

While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a degree in journalism, having a communications background has really helped me hone my campaign skills, as a key aspect of the work is being able to take complex geo-

political issues and communicate them effectively to a broad range of audiences. On any given day I can be talking about my work to school children, the United Nations or the Guardian, and there’s a different way of getting across the message with each of these groups. I was lucky to land a job at EIA when another campaign I was on was starting to wind down and I think they were looking for someone who could combine robust research with compelling storytelling.

I’ve been there for three years and came from a background of working on fisheries and animal welfare issues, so this has allowed me to work on a much broader range of topics, including the human health impacts of plastic pollution, environmental justice and climate.

Do you have any advice to students or alumni who would like to work in the Environmental sector?

I don’t think there is a set career path to working in this sector and there is a big movement at the moment to boost diversity by removing some of the obstacles that have hindered this in the past, such as reliance on unpaid internships and steep academic requirements.

For campaigning the most important skills from my perspective are interpersonal ones - so knowing how to break down complicated issues, how to convey things to different audiences, how to frame a topic to capture public and political interest, how to mobilise people behind a cause and inspire them, how to communicate creatively, and so on.

When I’m hiring I look for people who have broad skill sets and a genuine interest in community or political organising and activism. Recruits don’t have to be subject matter experts - for example, a lot of people ask me if I have a degree in marine conservation or chemistry, which I don’t - but an ability to pick things up, organise yourself and be curious to dive into topics with an open mind.

I’d really recommend getting some volunteering experience and starting to build a network and profile within the sector if it’s of interest as a career path, but I also think setting a broad base from an educational perspective is really important as well, as in this field you can be working on quite a wide range of issues and in many different settings.

What is your most memorable experience at EIA?

Being in the room at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi when the gavel dropped on the decision to adopt a resolution initiating negotiations for a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.

My team and I have been working on this for several years alongside partners around the world and it was a truly historic moment. The hard work is just beginning and now we have to keep pushing through two years of negotiations to ensure the ambition remains high and the final agreement reflects the severity of the challenge at hand, but with so many voices calling for a robust agreement I believe we can do it. I still get shivers thinking about that moment.

Once again we would like to thank Chris for her contributions, if you would like to share with us your own mini careers interview please do get in touch.