9 to 5 with Avi & Anita

Curry, a cream egg and a good gin cocktail

Anita Dullard and Avigail Shai Season 1 Episode 2

Based in New York, Aarathi Krishnan specializes in Strategic Foresight for the humanitarian and development sector, working with UNDP as their strategy and foresight advisor. She is also a technology and human rights Fellow at the Harvard Carr Center for Technology and human rights, and also a Berkman Kline Fellow at Harvard University, researching and supporting decolonization of humanitarian digital policy and governance.

We spoke to Aarathi about preparing for the future, be it good or bad; the kind of ancestors we want to be; choosing community over competition; class barriers in building the careers we want; imposter syndrome as  construct; decoloniality and ethics in the humanitarian sector; the importance of giving yourself a break; and icecream for breakfast.

Key facts about Aarathi 

  • Last meal: my dad's lamb curry, a good gin cocktail and a Cadbury creme egg.
  • Read: Design Justice by Sasha Constanza Chuck 
  • Watch: horror movies
  • Listen: Simon and Garfunkel 
  • Favourite unwind: a good drink in a good bar with good friends

Advice for those wondering how to figure out the next step in their career?

Speak to as many people as possible from very different backgrounds to work out what is interesting and what is happening out there. Often we think that the jobs we know of are the only ones that are there…. one of the most beautiful things about this time that we're living in is people are doing really crazy things. And there's different kinds of jobs, but you don't often hear about it…Because you surround yourself with people that are like yourself. Just speak to as many people as possible to work out what the options are. And just because you've been doing something your whole life doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. You can take that and spin it off into something different. Just speak to lots of different people and keep your mind open about what that could be.

A little about your co-hosts
Anita Dullard is a media and advocacy strategist; Avigail Shai is a diplomatic and policy adviser, and former diplomat – both currently work in the international humanitarian sector.

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