Dr Edwina Thompson (’96) has been motivated throughout her career to help decision-makers think differently and act decisively in the face of distressing situations from gun violence in Papua New Guinea and refugee protection in Australia, to state-building in Afghanistan and experimentation with new technologies in some of the most extreme humanitarian disasters. Edwina’s work in many different countries has introduced her to inspiring people who fuel her drive to keep challenging the way Western countries support the world’s poorest people.

In academia, Edwina has conducted frontline research on how money flows during conflicts and natural disasters. Recognised as a world expert on Middle East finance, her book Trust is the Coin of the Realm: Lessons from the Money Men in Afghanistan (Oxford University Press, 2011) and subsequent work in Somalia and Syria has made a significant contribution to the attempts of Western governments to fight terrorism.

Edwina’s School journey began at St Catherine’s kindergarten, and finished in the United Kingdom due to her parents’ relocation. She has since completed an undergraduate degree with First Class Honours in English from University College London, a Masters degree in Government and Rural Sociology at the University of Sydney and Cornell University, New York, and a doctorate in Law at the Australian National University, with a Doctoral Fellowship in 2005–2007 at St Cross College, University of Oxford.

Edwina lives in central London, but is most at home on the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula.

November 2015