Mina’s Story
When I tell people that I grew up under power lines in Australia, they usually shake their heads and tell me that it explains a lot! But as a child, I was grateful for those cables above my head. They made it possible for us to have a big piece of land to grow things and to play games on.
Despite the big open space, I was never a sporty kid. I couldn’t figure out how to make my body do what I wanted it to do. I quickly withdrew to intellectual pursuits like schoolwork. I dreaded the selection of sports teams.
As I got older, I figured out clever ways to avoid sport. Music rehearsals were scheduled at the same time as my sports classes. Doctor’s appointments coincided with Phys. Ed. At the same time, I started to make plans for the future. I was set on becoming a doctor and going abroad to spend time looking after sick children. It was all mapped out, and I knew with certainty what I was going to do. So, I put my heart and soul into my study.
When I got my final year results, however, my world fell down around me. I'd missed the grade to study medicine. I couldn’t believe it. I accepted a place to study Science at Monash University and adapted quickly to undergraduate life. I threw myself into my course work and university activities. I'd gone from the school kid with plaits to starting to taking on leadership roles in clubs and the student union.
But I had another setback. A swimming pool prank gone wrong would prove to be an accident that would change the course of my life. I hurt my back so badly that doctors told me I'd never be able to run again. Given my lifelong antipathy towards sport, this might have been good news. I could have used this diagnosis as an excuse to sit on the sofa and eat pizza. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity – to redefine my limits.
I started swimming. Day One, my lungs burned and two laps of the pool felt like crossing an ocean. Eventually, swimming led to biking and biking led to running. I was driven to prove to myself that I could defy the odds.
At the same time, my career began to move forward. I finished university and accepted a position as a lawyer at a Melbourne firm. I kept swimming, biking and running in my spare time, but in daylight hours I began work on privatisations and infrastructure investment.
I fell into the world of climate change by accident. A project opportunity arose at the Sydney Futures Exchange. Nobody else wanted to take it, and as the newest member of the team, it fell into my lap. I embraced the challenge to learn about the subject, and managed to become a bit of an expert. Admittedly, this was mainly because it was so early that nobody else was working on it.
I took an opportunity at the World Bank and moved to Washington DC. From there, I moved to London, and then to Beijing where together with Tim Clissold (the investor and author who was to become one of my closest friends) I co-founded Peony Capital, an investment company focused on developing climate-friendly projects.
From my work at Peony, I got the chance to be nominated to join the World Economic Forum's community of Young Global Leaders (YGL). This introduced me to an incredible group of young achievers committed to changing the world. It was through this community that I was introduced to the problem of 'invisible water' - the shocking amount of water needed to make everyday items like clothing and food.
My life changed. I would go on to make it my life's work to help solve the global water crisis.
I launched the non-profit Thirst in March 2012. What started as a crazy idea sketched on a whiteboard became a movement that would stretch across China. Thirst has now reached well over a million kids, parents, teachers and government officials.
I realised that I needed to do more. I took on a challenge issued by me to the YGL community – create a stunt that would capture the world’s attention about the global water crisis. My ultra-running campaigns for water was born.
In March 2016, I finished running 40 marathons across seven deserts on seven continents in seven weeks. It was a world first. I was amazed to be named on Fortune's list of the 50 greatest leaders in the world. It was a strange feeling to see my name alongside the Pope, Angela Merkel and Jeff Bezos, but there I was!
When I was growing up on that big block of land, digging holes for trees and running under sprinklers, I never would have imagined my life today. I am honoured to have brought inspirational stories from the front lines of the water crisis to people around the world.