Paula Tenaglia
Paula Tenaglia is Director of Operations for Action Against Hunger Canada. She graduated from Sussex with a Migration Studies MA in 2004
Studying at Sussex opened an immense range of networking and research.” Paula tenaglia
What fuelled your passion for Development and encouraged you to undertake your course at Sussex?
Growing up in northern Ontario, Canada, my parents fostered within me a deep appreciation for the wild outdoors and travel – seeing and experience new things and meeting new people has always been a big part of my childhood. I spent countless hours out in the forest discovering nature or exploring the rocky coastline of the lake where I grew up. It was during a year long exchange program to Brazil when I was a teenager did my passion grow even more for exploring, learning new languages and understanding different cultures. I knew I wanted to see more of the world and that was exactly what I did. Prior to studying at Sussex I had travelled, lived and further studied extensively in South and Central America.
In Canada my previous national level emergency work experience gained me to my first job in the humanitarian relief sector in Guatemala where I spent endless days working on the logistics of aid, travelling across the country to remote communities and ensuring delivery of aid from ports to warehouses from one end of the country to the other. During my time working with communities in the highlands of countries like Ecuador and Guatemala had a deeper awareness of the impacts of migration on people and families and on a wider scale the countries and regions of both where I worked, and also where I was from in North America. I left my work in Central America wanting to explore both on an academic and a professional level global migration issues. The M.A. in Migration Studies at Sussex seemed like the perfect fit allowing me to broaden my perspective and connect with some of the leading academics in the field.
How did your experience at Sussex enhance your passion?
Studying at Sussex opened an immense range of networking and research opportunities that allowed me to really dig deep into my passion at the time. Throughout my MA I worked alongside academics and sector professionals conducting national level research in the UK on temporary agricultural migration – something very topical at the time and still today and relevant to European and North American migration policies and practice. Linked directly to my studies I travelled across the United Kingdom to farms speaking and learning about the experiences of migrant workers. This led to my own final piece of academic work comparing temporary migration schemes in the agricultural sector across Canada, the UK and the USA.
Being at Sussex allowed for a different and unique level of exposure to global development topics and interaction with students from around the world, top academics and practitioners. The network I built with my fellow students has been invaluable. Crossing over with Sussex alumni around the world has opened doors and led to interesting collaborations that I value tremendously.
What did you do directly after graduating?
After graduating from Sussex I began working with the international charity Action Against Hunger where I managed a humanitarian programme in north eastern Kenya. I continued working on program design and delivery and eventually moved into senior management roles for many talented teams working in very difficult and protracted humanitarian crises in Kenya, South Sudan, Guatemala, Sierra Leone. I again took some time to study mid-career and did a post graduate diploma in Human Resources Management and re-entered the humanitarian sector focusing my work on learning and development and directing a training center for Action Against Hunger that served East and West Africa. My passion for both migration, humanitarian issues and learning and development have been central to my career and the professional choices I have made.
What do you do right now? What ambitions do you have for the future?
I am currently the Director of Operations with Action Against Hunger Canada and am proud to be at the helm of two very important global learning programmes for nutrition and for gender equality and gender based violence. The right to food is fundamental for human existence and development. It is within this realm that I will continue my work in the future. With the increase of climate related disasters and movements of people around the world we will all bear the responsibility of ensuring that lives can be saved and people can live and move freely with dignity.