Munawaratul Makhya

I am an educator, a counselor, and a conservationist with a passion in improving other’s life quality. Having the privilege to learn about nature and participate in community development activities since I was in an undergraduate study has shaped my interest recently. After years of teaching Biology and English, I broadened my horizon by working closer to community-based biodiversity conservation with WWF and pursuing a master’s degree in the UK. I always enjoyed educating others and helping them grow. As a teacher, I educated my students to achieve teaching objectives and also to assist them to discover their passion and future dreams. As a conservationist, I increased the knowledge and capacities of local communities, businesses, and government to gain economic benefit, adapt to climate change, reduce inequality, and protect the ecosystem. With these experiences, I have been providing consultation services for students who want to pursue higher education, from university applications to proofreading essays. Now I am looking forward to bringing more impact to others in my future role and am excited to welcome new roles and challenges.

From January 2017 to August 2021, I worked as a Program Coordinator at the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the following achievements:

• Designed and led the implementation of nature-based climate change adaptation and mitigation programs. I was in charge of program conceptualization, team preparation, stakeholder engagement, communication, and monitoring.
• Co-designed and conducted climate change vulnerability assessments for rural and coastal communities in Aceh. 
• Increased climate resilience of local communities, civil society organizations, businesses, and government authorities through policy revision, sustainable livelihood, education, public awareness, spatial planning, and district development plan. 
• Led community-based conservation programs (funded by WWF Netherlands to safeguard international public goods) for four years and successfully sustained them for additional two years. 
• Led community-based mangrove restoration and protection program with mangrove-based sustainable livelihood, multistakeholder partnership, and spatial planning improvement. 
• Coordinated private sector engagement to build community empowerment, wildlife protection, and habitat restoration partnerships. Three oil palm companies, one water company, and one timber company were engaged to take part. 
• Engaged government authorities and arranged collaborations among civil society organizations to build consensus for climate adaptation and forest restoration. 
• Performed overall project leadership (grant application, communication strategy, campaign, financial management, knowledge management, and training among partner organizations). 
• Ensured the integration of gender equality and social inclusion in the projects and partner organizations by raising awareness, women empowerment, lobbying, and advocacy. 
• Co-designed gender equality assessment and monitoring tools; and trained organizations to implement the tools for communities, businesses, and government. 
• Led the implementation of the Outcome Harvesting method for real-time project monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The success story was acknowledged by WWF Netherlands and adopted in WWF international networks.

I also spent years teaching, tutoring, and providing education consultation with the following details:

October 2022 - Present, as freelance English and higher education counselor:

• Proofreading university and scholarship application documents, such as essays, motivation letters, and resumes.
• Proofreading academic documents.
• Assisting applications for universities in Europe, USA, and UK. 

November 2022 – January 2023, as a Teaching Assistant at Teaching Personnel Ltd, United Kingdom: 

• Assisted daily indoor and outdoor learning activities at Engage Academy. 
• Arranged classroom setting to stimulate pupil engagement.  
• Conducted one on one learning for primary school pupils with special needs.

January 2016 – December 2016, as a Biology Teacher at Nurul Fikri Foundation, Indonesia:

• Developed comprehensive teaching plans for high school students (grades 7 – 12) with interactive strategies.
• Implemented fun, creative, and student-led learning approaches to stimulate thorough understanding and research mindset. 

April 2015 – August 2015 as a TOEFL and IELTS Tutor at Kampung Inggris Aceh, Indonesia:

• In charge of TOEFL and IELTS preparation for university graduates. 

April 2015 – December 2016 as a Freelance English Teacher

• Taught English writing, reading, listening, and speaking to lecturers, graduates, and university students. 

September 2015 – December 2015 as a Biology Teacher at SMAN 10 Fajar Harapan:

• Taught Biology to high school students (grades 10 – 12) as part of teaching practice to complete a bachelor’s degree in education. 

January 2011 – December 2016 as an English Tutor at Bimafika Foundation:

• Taught English structure, writing, and reading to high school students and high school graduates. 

December 2011 – December 2016 as a Trainer at Natural Aceh:

• Trained computer-based teaching approaches to biology teachers in Banda Aceh.

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, United Kingdom: MSc Biodiversity and Conservation (September 2021 – September 2022). Funded by the Chevening Scholarship.

Research topic : Revealing spatial and temporal patterns of human-elephant interactions in Aceh, Indonesia, in the light of conflict resolutions and coexistence narrative. 

Key knowledge: Biodiversity and Conservation Projects, Habitat management, Community ecology, Research Methods, Climate change, ecosystem-based adaptation, Greenhouse gas emissions projection, Environmental policy, economics, and governance, and Population Dynamics.

SYIAH KUALA UNIVERSITY, INDONESIA, BSc of Education, Biology Education (September 2011 – May 2016).

Research topic: Carbon stock estimation in the greenbelts of Banda Aceh, Aceh. 

GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITÄT GÖTTINGEN, GERMANY, Forest Science (October 2014 – March 2015). A non-diploma funded by Erasmus+ Scholarship.

SOUTH FLORENCE HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA (August 2008 - July 2009). Funded by the AFS Intercultural Exchange and Study.