Emily Payne is an intrepid young traveller whose degree in English and Politics fuelled her appetite for foreign adventure. After studying post graduate law in BPP in London, she decided it was the political more than the legal sphere that particularly interested her and wanted to experience more of the world before starting her career. For two years she travelled alone and spent time in Central Asian, Mongolia and Russia, relying on a 'teach yourself Russian' book for most of her communication. She went off to visit Kurdistan, giving English classes at the local community centre, while accompanying her NGO friends on interviews to leaders of the main political parties and factions in Iraq. After a couple of months travelling through the Balkans, she returned to the Middle East for another six months, experiencing life there. She witnessed the devastation of suicide bombers when one detonated next to her hostel in Tel Aviv, while witnessing the reverse impositions of road blocks, check points and the Wall in the West Bank. Emily completed her world travels by spending time in the Orang-utan Sanctuary in Sumatra and swimming with turtles in Indonesia.

Presently she is studying for and MSc in International Politics at SOAS before starting to work in conflict resolution.