I have combined academia with a career in humanitarian assistance and international development cooperation focused on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The early part of my career, I worked in the private sector in Norway and in the fire and rescue services in Sweden. In 2000 I started to work for SRSA, which was partly a Swedish governmental humanitarian and development aid organisation that since 2008 is part of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). After various positions within SRSA, I was appointed Head of Capacity Development and Recovery Section, which I was until coming back to academia in 2007.

I am still involved in the field personnel roster of MSB and have also been a Delegate for the International Red Cross/Crescent Movement since 2005. I work regularly for international organisations, mainly on shorter missions but also on longer field postings. Most recently as Risk Reduction and Preparedness Specialist for UNICEF in the South Pacific and as Regional Disaster Risk Management Coordinator for IFRC in Dakar. I have experience from working in Sweden, Fiji, UK, Kiribati, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Chad, El Salvador, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, with visits to many other places.