The world’s special places are stories written in songs or carved on stone, physical embodiments of a people’s highest aspirations toward transcendence. At Global Heritage Fund, we protect these places that their stories may not pass away but remain, as strong and vital as the day they were written.
This work would not be possible without our dedicated team, who work every day to conserve the world’s most vulnerable places. In this new interview series, we shine a spotlight on the people behind our work – the conservation heroes working tirelessly to ensure that our projects are successful throughout the world.
As the latest employee to join Global Heritage Field, Cameron Tattle contributes a strong background in global affairs, cultural studies, environmental sustainability, and even studio art to the team.
What do photography, private aviation, and environmental sustainability have in common? They’re all interests of Global Heritage Fund’s newest employee, Cameron Tattle. As the new Programs Associate, Cameron’s international background and eclectic mix of interests bring great value to the GHF programs team.
Cameron visits Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Cameron has always been surrounded by international heritage and history. She attended high school in Bonn, the headquarters of the United Nations in Germany. Her classmates were the children of United Nations officials, and interacting with these leaders on a familiar level introduced her to the personal side of UN work. Cameron reminisces, “It was amazing to be surrounded by people who were part of the UN. It definitely inspired my studies!”
Throughout high school, Cameron was an active member of Model United Nations (MUN), an international organization that allows students to participate in mock debates and conferences. Even then, Cameron knew that she was most interested in the history and cultural aspects of the United Nations. She recalls always requesting to be part of heritage and antiquities committees.
Her interest in international history and culture continued at Arizona State University, where she studied global affairs. As part of her studies, she spent one term in Buenos Aires studying Spanish and the following term in Heidelberg brushing up on her German. It was through her college studies that Cameron first learned about Global Heritage Fund. “I had a very influential class,” she recalls, “about the history of cities and culture.” While researching UNESCO World Heritage sites, Cameron discovered Global Heritage Fund’s projects. “I instantly knew that I would love to work there someday. But it seemed so far away!”
Unbeknownst to Cameron, that “someday” was only a few short years away. However, before eventually joining us in California, she still had other international aspirations to accomplish. After graduating from Arizona State with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, Cameron taught English with The Fulbright Program for one year in Sri Lanka and traveled throughout Southeast Asia. Visiting historic sites such as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple structure, she was impressed again by the weight of history and culture from past civilizations on the present day.
Cameron with her class of students in Sri Lanka.
After her year abroad, the opportunity finally came for Cameron to move to California. She applied to the CivicSpark Fellowship, a special Californian AmeriCorps program that focuses on climate change initiatives within local governments. As a Fellow, Cameron drew on her academic studies in environmental sustainability to develop a recycling and compost program in the Bay Area’s Contra Costa County. When the Fellowship drew to a close, her opportunity to join Global Heritage Fund finally arrived in the form of the Program Intern position.
Cameron laughs telling the story of how she joined GHF. “Initially, I was interested in joining Global Heritage Fund in any capacity – no matter what position! But fortunately, the Program Intern position was actually perfect. I was dying to learn more about the nitty-gritty of the projects and the work behind the scenes, which is exactly what the internship offered.”
After six months as an intern, Cameron joined GHF full time as our newest Program Associate, analyzing the details of projects by working with data and project reports. As the primary support member in office for Nada Hosking, our Director of Projects, Programs and Partnerships, Cameron’s day can range from writing grants to resourcing studies to finalizing travel reports. “The position involves a little of everything,” Cameron explains. “It can be a lot to handle, but that’s why I like it so much.”
Of course, some of our audience will know that Cameron’s work at GHF also includes creative projects. She is one of the three regular members of the new GHF Podcast, launched in April 2018. Listeners have already heard Cameron talk about the gory remains found at archaeological sites and wax poetic about one of her favorite sites — Göbekli Tepe. “Of course, every site is so different. It’s hard to identify just one as my favorite! But I love Göbekli Tepe. It’s fascinating that this is humanity’s first temple, that it existed before the pyramids, before the wheel, before agriculture — it’s impossible to imagine what the site was like as an active temple. There are still so many questions surrounding it!”
Of course, Cameron’s interest in podcasting is no surprise, since her other hobbies are also quite creative. She is an avid print maker and photographer with experience photographing sites throughout the world. She’s even thought about which GHF site she would most like to photograph: “I’d love to photograph the granaries in Morocco. The mix of landscape photography with architectural details would require so many technical skills. And of course, the stunning natural setting is simply amazing.”
And if she could visit another GHF site? “Definitely Ciudad Perdida. I love that the site is such an immersive experience. It requires a three-day trek to visit, and you are fully present in the rainforest. It really shows the cultural respect the Tayrona peoples and indigenous communities had (and have!) for the surrounding environment.”
Clearly, Cameron’s background in global affairs, cultural studies, environmental sustainability, and even studio art are all valuable assets to her current position at Global Heritage Fund. And when not in the office, Cameron is pursuing yet another interest, private aviation – just one more hobby added to her diverse background.
We’re delighted to have Cameron join us as a key member of our programs team, and her enthusiasm and energy are clear to all who work with her. “I love the opportunity to work firsthand on reports of community engagement. I get to learn how people on the ground are affected by our projects, which is simply amazing. And that understanding adds another aspect to the concept of heritage. People think about heritage as being all about the past, but in reality, heritage is about creating a better future.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.