We’re thrilled to welcome Adekemi Omisakin to the CTP team as our new Data Analyst and Researcher. Adekemi brings a wealth of expertise, from public health to counselling to research analysis and design. Below she shares some of the diverse pathways that led her to CTP.

I’m excited to have started work this month with Centre for Thriving Places, but working for a UK NGO that is trying to shift our economic model hasn’t always been my goal! Growing up, I was fascinated by the idea of being a pharmacist – I was drawn to the dispensaries, white coats and complex medical knowledge required by the profession. However, life led me down a different path.

I studied physiology for my undergraduate degree at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. After graduating I was drawn to mental health study and gained a Child and Adolescent Mental Health graduate degree in University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. During the programme, I assisted a professor with a research study, sparking my passion for research methodologies – collecting data, designing qualitative and quantitative research guides.

This led me to volunteering – first as a mental health counsellor, and then as assistant team leader in the counselling team at the Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI). In my second year of volunteering I took on a research analyst role at a market research firm working on projects spanning FMCG, fintech, health, and social sectors.

But my interest and desire to work in healthcare persisted, so I returned to studying and completed a MSc in Public Health in 2022. By now my education, counselling experience, and health-focused volunteer work was solidifying an interest in public health and being socially useful, which led me to my new role with CTP.

CTP’s mission, centred on enriching community wellbeing and driving social change strongly resonates with my commitment to service, alongside the disciplines I have studied such as physiology, mental health and public health. I’m also inspired by CTP’s evidence-based approach – research methodology is a huge area of interest cultivated through my academic projects and analyst role. The emphasis on metrics and data analysis to inform local interventions allows me to apply my analytical skills in a practical way that can change outcomes in communities.

Outside of work I enjoy volunteering for health initiatives, finding it a positive way to contribute. I also love reading, fiction in particular, as exploring imaginative settings and storylines unrelated to my own experiences is a great way to unwind. Overall, contributing to larger causes and reading diverting literature both add value for me, the former through enabling small-scale change and the latter by supplying mental diversion and inspiration.

I look forward to working with many of CTPs diverse partners and clients in the coming months.

Adekemi Omisakin, Data Analyst and Researcher

• Are you inspired to work with CTP? We are growing in 2024. Our rigorous approach is gaining a national reputation and we are expanding our team and Board to step up to the challenge of delivering at scale. We also have a growing team of associates, so there are many ways you can get involved. Find out more and apply here.

• If you’d like practical support to help shift your organisation, community or region to a Wellbeing Economy approach, get in touch at hello@centreforthrivingplaces.org