This story begins with a child’s insight

I was volunteering at a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, playing tag with a group of boys through narrow alleyways. The walls around us bore witness to the gruesome 1982 massacre where hundreds of Palestinian refugees were killed. When we stopped to catch our breath, Adam looked up at me with curious eyes.

“Why do you keep coming here?”

“Well, to help you, of course, and help make the world a better place,” I replied, as any self-satisfied hero would.

He doubled over slightly, hands on his knees, his small chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. When he looked back up at me, his words were measured and clear.

“We don’t need you here. You coming here is like changing a light bulb in a room. We need the whole building to be changed.”

Adam’s piercing insight burst my ego, as well as my long-held belief that doing good is – well – good enough! A seed had been planted: “How can I do good better?”. It would take 15 years of working in research at a public policy think-tank, leading a school, then impact consulting before I came across Effective Altruism – a framework to answer that question.

Getting to know Effective Altruism

During my executive master’s in social business at the London School of Economics, we were assigned Will MacAskill’s “Doing Good Better.” I discovered both a philosophy and a social movement combining heart and mind to ask where they could do good better. When I attended my first Effective Altruism Global conference in London (2024), I wanted to resolve a question that had been on my mind: was this movement cultish? 

Meeting diverse people with different perspectives comforted me that this wasn’t a homogeneous group. What drew me in wasn’t that everyone agreed on the answers, but that people were genuinely curious about doing good better: asking hard questions, reasoning from first principles, and willing to change their minds when presented with better evidence. 

EAGxBerlin as career catalyst

Attending EAGxBerlin later that year became the true catalyst for my career transition. Receiving partial funding support from EA Germany’s conference team made my attendance possible, and the connections I made there were like those electric airport moving walkways that fast tracked my journey. For example, meeting Lilli Csabai from AI Safety Hungary showed me that someone with a non-technical generalist background (like myself!) could not only complete AI alignment courses but actually work in the field.

At the same conference, I also hosted two meetups that opened unexpected doors. One session on Islam and EA sparked discussions about potentially founding an Islamic Effective Giving organisation. Another – on navigating difficult conversations in high-impact organisations – confirmed that my facilitation skills and expertise in Nonviolent Communication could translate meaningfully to this new field – and connected me with my future career advisor Simon Haberfellner at Successif, the very person who would inform me of my current role six months later.

One cause area, different roles

Those conference connections led to advisory roles, courses, and consulting opportunities that accelerated my journey. I completed AI alignment courses through AI Safety Hungary and BlueDot Impact, served on advisory boards for High Impact Medicine and the European Networks for AI Safety (ENAIS), and developed a systems thinking framework for AI Safety field-building. I also began offering coaching for leaders in the space, focusing on effective project management, people leadership, and organisational culture.

Supporting transitions into AI Safety Work

Now as a career advisor at Successif, I help experienced professionals navigate similar transitions into careers focused on mitigating AI risk. I believe AI risk is among the most pressing challenges facing humanity, and addressing it requires perspectives from people with diverse backgrounds and expertise. We offer one-on-one advising, workshops, warm introductions, and job recommendations. 

Alongside this, I continue to offer coaching to leaders navigating the complexities of building and scaling high-impact teams. What energises me most is being in authentic, nourishing relationships with experienced professionals while engaging in deeply personal journeys riddled with uncertainty and insecurity.

You can learn more about my career journey in my EA Forum post: “15 Unconventional Ways I Used My Generalist Background to Transition into a High-Impact Career: My Journey from School Principal to AI Safety Advisor”.