I am working on issues pertaining to Corporate Social Responsibility for CSR. Prior to my arrival at CSR, I worked for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) in London, as a consultant to the Environmental Health Department on issues such as water, sanitation, hygiene, indoor air pollution and gender. My time at DfID saw me participate in the formation of the WHO’s Healthy Environments for Children Alliance (HECA) strategy in Geneva and I also contributed to a multi-agency (World Bank, UNEP, USAID, DFID, SIDA) paper linking poverty reduction to improved environmental health. In conjunction with this, my work focussed on implementing and integrating environmental health related policies in respect to meeting the Millennium Development Goals through collaborations with multilateral agencies, donors and NGOs Before being involved with DfID, I received for my Masters degree in International Policy Analysis from the University of Bath in England. My research centred on Corporate Social Responsibility and HIV/AIDS. More specifically, the aim of this research was to assess whether concepts of corporate social responsibility within MERCK & CO (US-based) and CIPLA (Indian-based), in the face of globalisation, were evolving into a converged representation of a universal standard or were inherently tied to the unique cultural context of the supporting state in which each enterprise operates. Before undertaking my postgraduate studies I worked for Deutsche Bank (Zurich Scudder) Investments as a Trading and Portfolio Management Assistant in Boston, where my interest in ‘corporate social responsibility’ began to take shape. As a native of Detroit, Michigan, I studied for my undergraduate degree at Kalamazoo College (Michigan) and Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelm Universität in Bonn (Germany). During the course of my Bachelor’s degree in Biology I worked as a research assistant at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospherical Sciences in Miami Florida, where I undertook work on my undergraduate thesis. My desire to witness the spectrum of stakeholder efforts and international policies put into practice led to my arrival at CSR in India. My decision on India was one that was supported by personal interest and an adequate research-based background that included various health and policy issues in the Indian context. A goal of my work agenda pertaining to corporate social responsibility at CSR is to expand CSR’s contact with local and regional businesses to develop and implement codes of conduct that deliver sustainable results in the hope of a more productive work environment that strives to create an equitable environment for women. In doing so, we are hoping to develop several partnerships that have HIV/AIDS and violence as their focus. In order to raise awareness among local businesses, institutions and communities, our efforts will include increased advocacy that promote gender-friendly practices through transparent and accountable business practices. One mechanism through which these goals will be delivered is through the creation of training programs that seek to educate businesses’ management structures and employees about a ‘healthy, productive and empowering’ work environment for women. Inside and outside of work, my time in India has proved invaluable thus far. In conjunction with moving closer to my career aspirations, I have had the opportunity to grow tremendously on a personal level through the ability to experience life from a different perspective. Many times challenging, in the end it is always rewarding. The people that I have encountered, from those I work with on a daily basis to the people I pass on the street, are catalysts in my evolving relationship with India, its people, its culture, and the desire to improve the social, health and economic livelihoods of its citizens.