Name: Safiya Freya Sawney

Age: 29

Occupation: Environmental and Climate Change Consultant

Place of birth: Grenada (or as we say ‘Greenz’)

Current residence: Brooklyn

When I was growing up, I loved writing about outside more than being outside. I would get lost in the childish fantastical mysteries of British author Enid Blyton and the deep-rooted, flamboyant writings of Caribbean authors Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and V.S. Naipaul. I would indulge in the stories of my imagination prompted by the uniqueness of my Grenadian environment. My mother nurtured my dedication to writing by assigning me writing projects about new places we would visit in Grenada, like the ancient rum factory in River Antoine that turns sugarcane into spirited liquor to the waterfalls in Mt. Camel – nature’s shower within Grenada’s rainforest. She has read every single story and still does to this day.

I work at the United Nations (UN) as a technical officer within the Secretariat of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). AOSIS is a negotiating group consisting of 43 members within the UN. We represent the countries vulnerable to climate change such as small and low-lying islands of the world. As a technical officer I am responsible for securing important partnerships and projects that would assist AOSIS members in achieving their environmental and climate change objectives and providing  technical support during critical conferences such as the recent climate conference in Durban, South Africa. AOSIS has been under Grenada’s chairmanship for the last 4 years and most recently the South Pacific island of Nauru has taken over the reigns. My contract has now ended with AOSIS and I’m currently pursuing opportunities within the Caribbean. However, AOSIS will continue to work with larger developed countries in 2012 to secure funding to achieve their sustainable development and climate change objectives. AOSIS is also working diligently on placing Oceans on the agenda for the RIO+20 conferences in Brazil this June.

The one thing I love about Grenada is the ocean. Grenada has a vast underworld just off the coastline and offers the best diving spots. I love being surrounded by the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea (Grand Anse Beach, St. Georges) and the deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean (Bathway and Levera Beaches, St. Patrick’s).

I am Complexd because I am a child of the Caribbean calling Brooklyn, New York my home. I find comfort in art, music and fashion, just as much as I do in nature. I am not one-dimensional. I am neither a creative nor a scientist – I am an amalgam.

My purpose in life is simply to accomplish everything I said I would as a child. I believe a Complexd woman is a woman that listens to the stirrings in her soul and never limits herself to just one thing. I am Complexd because I embrace all of who I am – I am not conformed to any stereotype.