36: What It’s Like To Work in Climate Change & Energy With David Nicholson, Mercy Corps [Main T4C Episode]

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David Nicholson is the Senior Director of the Environment, Energy & Climate Change Technical Support Team* (TSU) at Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development organization.  This team is responsible for honing Mercy Corps’ technical sector approaches and enhancing uptake across a global portfolio of development programs. Prior to joining Mercy Corps in 2012, David worked in Uganda as an energy project specialist working for the Uganda Carbon Bureau.  He has also worked at Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) supporting a Climate Change knowledge platform called InfoSpring, an integrated ICT-based innovation and knowledge sharing tool for development practitioners. David received his undergraduate BSc degree in Business Management from the University of Southampton and his MA in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

*David is now the Senior Director of Climate Change and Strategic Initiatives at Mercy Corps.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• What it’s really like being a technical specialist inside a global NGO (2:33)
• Why having the ability to see the world from a broad perspective is really important (7:31)
• What you should look for in the graduate school you may want to attend to get a Master’s degree in international development (18:51)
• How to network effectively and some tips you can use right now (36:43)
• How to find a job in another country by being scrappy and resourceful (38:47)