My guest today is Johanna Von Toggenburg, MiyahCon Partnership Co-ordinator for GVC Italia, a leading Italian international development NGO.

At the time of this episode posting in June 2018, Johanna has only just joined GVC Italia, having been until very recently with the United Nations as co-ordinator of the Arab Integrated Water Resources Management Network. She’s known professionally as an expert in water resources. What’s perhaps less well known is her expertise in competitive frisbee, and she has been a leading figure in establishing the sport across the Middle East.

I spoke to Johanna online from her home in Beirut. We talk about her childhood in Berlin conscious of boundaries and barriers, learning from her grandmother’s humility, kindness and forgiveness, feeling paralysed by the scale of the challenge, pursuing passions in work and play, the importance of being true to yourself and what she’s learned from sport for building confidence as a leader.