Before joining Camborne School of Mines (CSM), Penda was Senior Resilience Advisor at CARE International-UK, providing technical support and project development assistance on resilience building projects in various CARE country programmes including Niger, Nepal, Somaliland, South Sudan, and Haiti. Before joining CARE she was a livelihoods and governance advisor, where she worked on natural resource management projects in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cameroon. Previously she had worked as an environmental consultant for AECOM, and in research and communications roles for the Conflict, Security and Development Group in King’s College London, Helen Keller Worldwide in Guinea.

 

Penda has worked and lived in several developing countries. Her expertise includes, advising different stakeholders on building sustainable community relationships in mining areas, monitoring the resilience aspect of development and humanitarian projects,  social impact assessment for the delivery of sustainable natural resource management projects, market analysis, identifying and working with local, national and international institutions, supporting the design of locally appropriate development projects in mineral resource rich countries, and increasing the capacity of local institutions and vulnerable groups to manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner. She also advises different organizations on advocacy, marketing and communication strategies.

Penda holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Sciences with a focus on the impact of mining on development and politics.