About
With a passion for travel as well as a thirst for conveying the news, I’m fortunate enough to be able to combine the two in my journalistic career. This has led me on adventures around the globe; from writing about climbing a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka for Fodor’s and Maya portals to the underworld for BBC Travel to reporting on the terror attack I witnessed in Nice, France, (resulting in three front page bylines in the print edition of the Los Angeles Times and more than a dozen by-lines in the print and web editions). Many of the publications I write for are based in the USA, so I’m used to writing in American English/AP/Chicago Style as well as British English/Oxford/Guardian Style.
After being awarded a scholarship to Bruton School for Girls and then graduating from Brunel University with a BA Honours in English 2.1 (3.7 GPA) I began my career in journalism. Initially working as a full-time staff reporter in London, I covered news, politics, travel, the environment and celebrity interviews (including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child), Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays/Black Grape) and Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet). I then decided to go freelance and wrote about news, travel, lifestyle, culture and the environment for outlets including CNN International and ITN, as well as newspapers and lifestyle magazines.
In 2010 I was offered the role of News Editor of Maldives Traveller in Male’, the capital of the Maldives. I spent a year overseeing the re-launch of the daily news and travel website, reviewed resorts, wrote about regional travel trends and interviewed prominent figures including British TV chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
I then set up Manta Media after recognising the demand for native English-speaking journalists and writers in the Indian Ocean region. As one of just a handful of Maldives writers to have actually lived there long-term, I'm still constantly asked to write about the Maldives and frequently return to keep my knowledge fresh. I've visited around 80% of Maldives resorts and have been writing about it for a decade using my unique perspectives as a Maldives expert who has explored the country from top to bottom with the eyes of a foreigner but the insights and connections of a local.
I've now lived in eight countries on four continents; demonstrating cultural intelligence through my expertise in sensitively working with international teams across cultures and languages. Post Colonial studies was a major component of my English degree and as such I strive to seek out and uplift local voices and talent in my articles.
