Deanna Donovan

  1. Whatdoyoudo?

As the Environmental Economist at JNCC, I support my colleagues in interpreting and integrating the concept of natural capital, including ecosystem services and their valuation, into their work, projects and programmes across JNCC. Accordingly, I have advised on the economic elements in projects from the BES Team, BIA/OT Team, Global Team and various marine teams. I collaborate with Defra economists in several groups as well as the Country Conservation Bodies (CCBs) and advise on methodology, policy and project development. Seconded to the Research and Evidence Division in the Department of International Development one day per week I have supported the Climate and Environment Team in identifying and valuing the contribution of a healthy environment to development goals through various programmes such as Darwin Initiative, ESPA, REACH-IWSP (Integrated Water Security for the Poor), among others.

  1. What was your first ever job?

Emerging after four years of university with a Batchelor’s degree in Economics, I joined the first cohort of women taken into the International Division in the Bank of America in San Francisco. There I worked on the Canadian Desk where I developed client relationships with Canadian international banks and prepared economic forecasts for that country.

  1. What’sthe biggestlessonyouhavelearnedinyour career todate?

Be flexible and empathetic.Be able to put yourself in the other guy’s shoes. I have increasingly worked in multidisciplinary, multinational teams over the years and have found this both intellectually stimulating and educational. I like to reach out to new ideas and explore new horizons and always try to learn something new which I can adopt to my own way of doing things.

  1. What wouldyou doifyou didn’t work for JNCC?

If I didn’t work for JNCC, I would probably work for an international consultant or international agency, and most likely in the field of forestry. I am trained as a forester, as well as an economist. Early on I knew I wanted to work internationally, so I spent time learning French and Spanish, and have picked up a bit of Nepali and Bahasa Indonesia in my fieldwork. These skills have been more or less in demand over the years and are now quite popular due to the recognition that forests are great at carbon sequestration.

  1. Whatis yourfavouriteplaceintheworld?

That is a very difficult question. If you are speaking of countries, I tend to take the attitude of ‘love the one you’re with’. So when I am in a particular country, I try to make the most of what is there and focus on the positive, not what is somewhere else. I have lived in some two dozen different abodes in about a dozen counties. I have no specific favouriteplace although I do prefer a slightly warmer climate with a bit more sunshine than we have here. I must say though that I was pleasantly surprised to find the east of England slightly better in this regard than the west, where I have spent considerable time in years past.

Now if you are speaking of generic locations, then for certain a garden is my favouriteplace --- big gardens, small gardens, I love them all. I need to be surrounded by green.

  1. Whatis theworld’s bestinvention?

This is a difficult question –but I think harnessing electricity was a marvelous achievement. Electricity facilitates to many other things – communications, transportation, art, medical care and more. Certainly it is key to our current lifestyle. I always chide myself for not paying more attention in my Physics classes --- I did not realize then that electricity was important to know about.

  1. Whatmakes youproud toworkfor JNCC?

The mission. I am passionately committed to nature conservation. For me conservation means ‘wise use’; I have no conflict between my training as a forester and in forest managementand conservation. I have no qualms about using some forests, i.e., converting some natural capital to manufactured capital—schools, hospitals, etc.. The people in the Congo need to be able to enjoy the same fruits of civilization that we do. It is challenging to try to convince people working in development, including health and education, that conservation matters to them and their clients as well, but it is something I enjoy doing and feel passionately about.

  1. Whatdoyoulookfor inaleader?

Vision, courage, commitment, passion, a healthy skepticism of received wisdom and bureaucracy, common sense, and a good sense of humour.

  1. What’sthemostrewardingpart ofyour job?

I think that the most rewarding part of my job is its interdisciplinary nature and the cross-sectoral working. I enjoy working with and learning from people from a variety of backgrounds, expertise and experience. I enjoy taking the message of conservation into places that don’t expect it. Everyone should care about the environment --- the sad fact is that it is for the most part still treated as other, out there, over there, rather than integral, even by the agencies responsible for it.

  1. Whatsecretskilldoyou have?

I am not good at keeping secrets so I doubt that I have any truly secret skills.One set of skills I seldom use any more though are those related to sailing. When my husband was alive, we owned several sail boats of pretty good size and I lived on a yacht for several years, in Singapore and in Holland. As I do get seasick though so I tend to think that those things are behind me now. I am really a ‘land lubber’at heart, although I did gain a good appreciation of the maritime sector from living in working harbours.

  1. Whatis your greatestachievement?

I guess I have achieved a fair bit: I have gathered a few academic degrees, received several awards; published a number of articles;lived and worked in a dozen countries; maintained friendships of people met on jobs around the world; carefully nursed several family members; travelled extensively—to nearly every continent; successfullyrenovated a few gardens;survived innumerable house moves. But greatest? Often the points I raise at various meetings seem to be a bit radical for the audience at hand, and I get no response --- neither positive nor negative. And I can sometimes raise the points again and again: it’s not the science, it is the communication of the science; it is not the ‘how much’ but the ‘who’ – who benefits and who bears the cost; a healthy environment is not an ‘extra’ but ‘essential’; Mother Nature is like the Mafia--- it is not if you pay, but when and who—you will pay. When I see these sentiments coming back in position and policy papers, then I think it is all worth it --- I have changed some thinking. maybe shaped the future in a small way.

  1. Howdoyou achievea goodwork lifebalance?

Well I really don’t do that terribly well. As the focus of my work is a great passion of mine, it seems to spread to other areas of my life as well. Cooking, gardening, volunteering, vacationing, they all seem to link back to nature. I do like art, architecture, design, fashion and history, but in that too I see the links to nature. I should spend more time in enjoying the museums we have on offer in London.

  1. WhatTV showdoyounever miss?

I am not really a TV buff. The only thing that I watch regularly is the world news. World affairs have gotten so incredible – with BREXIT, Boris, Trump, Syria, etc. I have given up listening to the Archers in the evening just to see what incredible thing Mr Trump has done today.

  1. Whattuneis guaranteedtogetyouonthedancefloor?

I’m rather a clumsy person and so not an avid dancer I must admit. Some of my favourites that will get me tapping the table include Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee, the Eagles’ Hotel California, and Gloria Gaynor’s I will Survive, George Michael’s Faith.Lots of bittersweet memories with music.