Say hello to Tanya, our newest team member and Social Finance Relationship Manager
What led you to working at Sefa from your career in traditional finance?
I started my career in traditional finance, fascinated by the intellectual challenge and keen to work overseas. My move to New York coincided with the onset of the GFC, so whilst I was suitably dazzled by the Big Apple, I also had my eyes opened to the huge inequities at the heart of the US economy. I returned to Sydney a few years later and though I continued to enjoy my role working with leading global investment firms, I also began to feel drawn towards a field that more actively contributed towards the public good. When I heard about impact investment, it resonated strongly with my belief that the financial principles and tools I was using could and should be applied to organisations assisting the vulnerable and disadvantaged. I enrolled in an MBA in Social Impact in 2017 which paved the way for me to take up my role at Sefa this year.
What is the most interesting project you have worked on/thing you’ve learned about since you started?
The diversity amongst Sefa's clients means that I've been learning so many interesting things every single day. An agricultural start-up, a preschool and a crisis accommodation provider are just a few of the organisations that have crossed my desk. To be able to serve frontline organisations and see directly how Sefa's input can make a huge difference to their capacity and operations, not to mention to their clients' wellbeing and outcomes, is a huge privilege and inspiration.
What are people usually surprised to learn about you?
Maths is not one of my favourite subjects, and I have very little interest in numbers for their own sake! Though I have a reasonably firm grasp of mathematical fundamentals, I'm more interested in the story that numbers tell, whether it be about the financial health of an organisation, or understanding how a machine works. The subjects I'm much more fond of are firmly in the humanities realm: history, languages and music.