My story begins long before I joined the United Nations. I grew up with volunteering in my blood. My father, Bill Jackson, was a senior staff member of the UN Volunteers (UNV) its early days, and through his stories, I learned early on that this work was about more than programmes—it was about serving people with dignity. I have served as UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya since 2021, after nearly thirty years of experience across international development, peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs. I have worked through post-conflict recovery in the Great Lakes, supported peacekeeping and political transitions in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and helped launch global peacebuilding strategies in
New York and led UNDP in Gabon.
Co-creating the future
The seed planted in me by my father’s passion and by volunteering itself remains central throughout my career.
Volunteering, I believe, turns people from passive recipients of development into co-creators of their futures. It builds sustainable solutions because communities own them, not because they receive them.
In Kenya, I saw how volunteering shaped solutions. During the COVID-19 crisis, we mobilized 50 UN Volunteers as health workers to serve in 14 counties. They became trusted messengers and vital partners in reaching communities, accelerating both health outcomes and trust. I am equally proud of the support UN Volunteers provided to the SDG Partnership Platform in Kenya. The Platform, a flagship initiative of the UN
in Kenya, is envisioned as a “one-stop shop” for development solutions. It aligns UN support with Kenya’s Vision 2030, launching transformative innovations like the world’s first Development Impact Bond for Adolescent Reproductive Health and catalysing $6 billion in private sector investments to upgrade 200 public health clinics.
Moment of change
Today, I look ahead with both urgency and optimism. I leave Kenya at an extraordinary inflection point – speeding forward in innovation, sustainability and human development. How we turn such innovative spirit of people into progress for all depends greatly on how we harness the spirit of volunteerism. My job as UN Resident Coordinator was to channel that energy and make the UN’s support greater than the sum of its parts.
Volunteering shaped me. Now, it drives how I lead UN teams—with solidarity, efficiency and hope. I am privileged to walk this path, following in my father’s footsteps and helping turn the peace and development mandate of the UN into reality for people wherever I have had the opportunity to serve.
This blog is part of Journeys of Inspiration, a photobook. Many of the leaders whose stories are captured in this book began their journeys not in positions of authority, but in service—as UN Volunteers, as community activists, as individuals determined to make a difference. The book will be launched on 20 April 2026.