Co-ordination of bi-lateral and inter-departmental projects and initiatives in Latin America.  Volunteer Co-ordinator for the Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives (HLAA) Department.

Co-ordination of inter-departmental and overseas research group inputs into projects and initiatives in Tropical America through the development of the Neotropikey and the Sustainable Management of Fuelwood Trees in the Caatinga of Northeast Brazil projects. This involves the provision of coaching and guidance to project development work, interfacing between partners and researchers to maximise specialist input, as well as managing the communication and activities of contributors to the Neotropikey project, reporting, including conclusion of research findings, evaluation and recommendations. Activities include budget formulation and financial analysis, and drafting collaborative Terms of Agreement, thus enabling all parties to gain valuable multiple interest, multi-scale and multidisciplinary scientific and community work within the collaborative framework of the bilateral Programme.

More recently Amélia has taken on the development and management of HLAA Volunteers and Internship Programme. This is making an important contribution to the department and has included input into Kew’s volunteer strategy development. It has helped Kew to focus on new opportunities for volunteering, and identifying and selecting potential volunteers and interns as well as interfacing between specialists and potential volunteers. It also involves the development of on-line resources for the dissemination of volunteer news.