Maya Thatcher began her professional life working as a newswire journalist in London, at Reuters News and Platts before moving to Indonesia in early 2011. Here, she used her passion for the environment and development to shift careers to the non-profit sector. She balances her time between writing for CIFOR and developing research at other NGOs. She has a Masters degree in conflict and development studies and Bachelors in modern history and politics, both from the University of London.