Elizabeth Mayer

I’m Elizabeth. I am the London Communities Emergencies Partnership (LCEP) Programme Manager, a new role at LCEP.

The intent for this position is to develop and deliver the programme at a time when LCEP grows into a more influential stakeholder as a representative of the voluntary and community sector in the London resilience system. I focus on how LCEP can embed transformational change in this system.

This is about the fifth time I took a role that didn’t exist before. I enjoy shaping the way a department’s objectives fit into the wider organisation in a constructive and efficient way for the team.

I taught myself functional Chinese when living in China for almost a year. I was motivated to learn in my first few hours of arriving because I couldn’t communicate that I needed a bathroom and proceeded to get very lost.

Oh, and when I was in my 20s, I won a cannonball contest at a neighbourhood pool, wearing all my clothes, against a bunch of kids… a proud moment.

I’ve worked in some form of humanitarian and/or development work for almost 20 years now. One of my most interesting and fulfilling roles was coordinating organisations across South Sudan to respond to humanitarian needs. When I saw this job at LCEP, I was happily surprised to see a similar job existed in my home in London.

Life isn’t fair, and I was raised in schools that emphasised service to others. At some point I felt my education and professional experience could be valuable in humanitarian crises locations. In those roles, I learned the importance of prevention, preparedness and a functioning system to support those efforts, focusing on local communities.

It’s the people that really stand out. I love how collaborative and driven everyone is. The work we do is important and fills a gap in representing communities for resilience, but that work can’t be impactful if these kinds of people aren’t behind it.

I love trying new, spontaneous activities, and learning new skills. More specifically, I love outdoor activities, dancing, and travel. If I travel to a non-English speaking country, I like practicing the language on Duolingo to learn some basics before and during my trip.

Café Laville is a great place in Little Venice. It’s on a bridge over the canal and just looks so different from any other part of London. I love to go there and watch the sunset.

I also really enjoy Clifton Nurseries, a lovely green space with a café.