We are excited to welcome Mickey Tennis to the Cadasta team as our new Program Assistant. With over a decade of experience in international education and environmental advocacy, Mickey brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to our team. Before joining Cadasta, she taught English in Thailand, served in the Peace Corps in Mexico, and worked as an Education Consultant for Encyclopedia Britannica. In addition to supporting Cadasta’s programs, she is working towards her Master’s in Natural Sciences and Environmental Education. We had the chance to ask Mickey a few questions about her professional journey and her vision for her role at Cadasta.
What inspired you to join Cadasta, and how do you see your role contributing to the organization’s mission?
Land is such an important sector in international development, but one that many don’t consider. Strengthening land rights has implications on many other issues, such as gender, community development, indigenous rights, and environmental conservation. Learning about these effects made me realize the importance of Cadasta’s work and the potential it has for growth. I am excited to contribute to multiple aspects of the organization, including programming support, communications, and streamlining our processes. I look forward to continuing to learn more and grow Cadasta’s capacity for positive change.
How has your experience teaching English in Thailand and serving in the Peace Corps influenced your approach to program management at Cadasta?
This variety of international experience in multiple regions has given me important cultural competency skills that I think are key to Cadasta’s work. Effort has to be made to understand the specific cultural or geographical context to ensure our work is effective, and I feel I’ve had extensive experience in this. I also gained important patience and flexibility skills through these experiences, which are important when working in program management, where there are many players and moving pieces.
If you could bring one environmental concept from your studies into Cadasta’s work, what would it be?
My background and passion lie in environmental education and making sure people have essential knowledge about the environment in order to confidently take action and address important issues. Strengthening land rights has beneficial ripple effects on climate change, deforestation, and other environmental issues, and educating people on this is an important step in engaging them with our organization, which I hope to do.
What do you like to do with your free time when you are not working to secure land rights?
I fancy myself an amateur mycologist and love taking hikes to look for mushrooms. I also teach yoga to both adults and kids. And I enjoy traveling to new places and reading books—the scarier, the better!
We are thrilled to have Mickey join the team and look forward to seeing her impact on our projects and initiatives at Cadasta!