Emma Slade

Slade was born on 16 July 1966 in Whitstable, Kent, the eldest of three children, to David and Zinnia Slade (née Devan). She attended Joy Lane Primary School, Barton Court Grammar School, and Sevenoaks School. She earned eight O-levels; English, history, and geography at A-Level; and English and geography at S-level. Because of her scores, she was offered a place at Cambridge University to study English at Selwyn College. She started in 1985 and later changed from English to history. She left in the autumn term of her final year and visited her parents who had moved to Summit, New Jersey, USA. Slade returned to Cambridge and worked at an Iceland supermarket until being accepted to the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology for the Art foundation course. In 1993 she earned first class honours at Goldsmiths, University of London for a Fine Art degree. In her final year at Goldsmiths, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer; he died when she was 26. Though she had planned to become an artist or curator, she decided to go into investment banking so she could "make a living and not lean on mum." ==Career and robbery==

Slade worked briefly at a retirement home in Whitstable, Kent, before applying to HSBC's Global Banking Graduate Programme. Slade enrolled in a Chartered Financial Analyst course run by AIMR and completed her first set of CFA exams in New York City in 1995 before returning to London. The following year, she went to Hong Kong to work in marketing while finishing her third level exams. She completed the programme in 1997 with the highest marks. She finished her business trip accompanied by a bodyguard before returning to work in Hong Kong. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. She returned to England, where she joined an intensive two-week therapy programme in Ticehurst Priory's PTSD unit. Slade continued to work at HSBC in London after her discharge but had difficulty finding satisfaction in her career. The robbery, though traumatic, made her want to "explore more of what [she] could potentially do with [her] life." She left HSBC in 1998 but returned to work as a hedge fund analyst from 2005 to 2008. ==Buddhism==

During the summer of 1998, Slade's mother paid for her to travel to the island of Skyros and take time for herself. She tried yoga for the first time, which inspired her to continue travelling to study with the best teachers and become a yoga teacher herself. an organisation benefiting Bhutanese children. It became an official British charity the following year. Their first project included installing cold showers and toilets in the local monastery and improving education facilities in the rural village of Meritsemo, in Chukha. Opening Your Heart focuses on providing access to and training to ensure safe healthcare and education, disability aids and educational projects. The proceeds from Slade's autobiography entirely benefit the charity. She was the subject of a short film called Happiness by the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion in Oxford. She was awarded the Points of Light Award from the British Prime Minister in 2017 for her service in Bhutan ==Personal life==

Slade was in a long-term relationship with an English sculptor that ended in 2005, when she was informed she was unable to have children. She moved back to London to continue in the banking sector and had a brief relationship with another CFA, after which she found she was pregnant. Their son Oscar was born in September 2006. As of 2018, Slade lives in Whitstable, where she teaches yoga and meditation and manages her charity. She travels regularly to Bhutan. ==References==