Rosehanna Chowdhury

Deputy Director for Strategy and EU Exit at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (LLB 2004, LLM 2005 )

Respecting and valuing differences will enrich our work and help to ensure that our policies reflect the needs of the people we serve.

Rosehanna Chowdhury

A headshot of Rosehanna Chowdhury, LSE alumna
Rosehanna Chowdhury

Rosehanna Chowdhury is an LSE alumna, Governor, co-founder and chair of the LSE Civil Service, Government and Public Policy Alumni Group.

What led you to pursue a career in the Civil Service?

It all started in Tower Hamlets when Sir Richard Wilson, the late Mo Mowlam MP and former senior civil servants, such as Suma Chakrabarti, visited my school to raise awareness of careers in the Civil Service. I had neither heard nor considered such a career previously but after that visit, I wrote to Suma Chakrabarti asking for work experience.

In the summer holidays that followed, aged 16, I completed a two-week work experience placement at the Cabinet Office and what really struck me was that their work had a real impact on people and communities. The experience stayed with me through my time in university and the early days of my career in the private sector and inspired me to join the Civil Service.

When considering my opportunities, I reached out to Kate Starkey, a fellow LSE alumna, through the LSE Mentoring Programme. Kate gave me some helpful advice and let me spend some time shadowing her in the then Department of Children, Schools and Families. She also arranged a number of introductions with colleagues in other central government departments. I’m very grateful to Kate and she has been a huge inspiration.

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Read the full interview with Rosehanna Chowdhury