Career spotlight: Communications and Public Affairs

Please introduce yourself and give a brief overview of what you do.

Hi, I’m Zacharia, and I work in Communications and Public Affairs for the Sustainable Soils Alliance (SSA). My role entails drafting and developing a range of communications materials, project assistance and delivery, organising stakeholder and fundraising events, and developing and delivering our communications strategy.

The SSA’s central aim is to increase the awareness, understanding and action around soil health, and much of our work involves researching, developing and disseminating clear, compelling and concise materials and messages about the policy, practice and science of soils to our target audiences in business, policy, the media and beyond. Our work also seeks to tackle many of the environmental, economic and societal challenges which are integral to promoting soil health - the impact of climate change on land use, the future of farming, clean and healthy rivers and how to incentivise and regulate the agriculture sector.

What was your route into the sustainable food sector? 

I have always been passionate about food systems change, as food and farming lies at the intersection of many of the challenges that I hope that I can work to address throughout my career, namely climate and racial injustice, environmental degradation, and land rights and food sovereignty. It was this that led me to my master’s degree in Sustainable Food and Natural Resources. During this degree, I wrote my thesis on plant-mycorrhizal symbiosis in soil, which led me to researching soil functions and health, ultimately leading me to the SSA.

What’s the best thing about the work that you do?

I enjoy engaging with people from across many different sectors who approach soil health and regenerative agriculture from vastly different perspectives. As an organisation, we often convene groups which bring together academics, policy makers, industry leaders, and people working in the third sector. Working in communications means that I am learning to tailor the way that I interact with different groups to their specific interests and objectives, which is a skill that I hadn’t previously developed in my work or research.

What challenges or obstacles have you faced in your career or research and how have you overcome them?   

While I wouldn’t necessarily define it as an obstacle to my career, I am conscious of the underrepresentation of racialised people in the food sector and the wider environmental sector and movement. This is a challenge that people from across the movement are aware of, and conversations about the impact of a broken food system on racialised people are becoming more regular within the movement. Engaging in these conversations has enabled me to better understand my role in the movement and continues to validate my experience working in a sector and in research in which I don’t often see people who share my positionality represented.

Who or what inspires your work in this movement?

There are many organisations and individuals from whom I draw inspiration across the movement. Firstly, our team at the SSA has invested a lot of time and resource into my personal and professional growth, which has helped to build my confidence and inspires me to strive to make a positive and lasting impact on the movement and for which I am very grateful. Conversations with growers and farmers both in my local community and beyond always inspire me to envision a world in which food can be grown sustainably and shared equitably. Lastly, my grandmother has inspired me to reimagine my own relationship with food to become one which is based on joy and love.

What are your hopes for the future? 

I hope that we can build a food system which encourages connection with community, the land, and enjoyment of the food. I hope that this food system is founded on principles of equity and mutual aid, and that the food that we grow and eat is nourishing, fairly priced, and tasty!

What advice would you give to anyone that is passionate about sustainable food systems and wants to work in this sector?

To be patient. The challenges which our food system faces are manifold, and work in this movement can often seem slow or appear to have little impact. Despite this, one year on from starting at the SSA, I have learnt a lot and the impact that our work has achieved is clear. I am not the most patient person myself, so embracing patience is perhaps the most useful piece of advice that I have received in my career so far.

Find out more more about Zacharia and the SSA below.

Sustainable Soils Alliance website                                   

Connect with Zacharia on LinkedIn