I’m a green activist involved in local politics in Tampere and Pirkanmaa. I work as service manager in a speech therapy company. My previous employers include an IT startup, the university of Tampere and the student union (see LinkedIn). I volunteer for a mental health association and I’m a member of the council of Pirkanmaa Hospital District. In my free time I like to orienteer, cook, take care of our community garden, and play board games. My husband Mikko is a senior software designer who programs software used in child welfare services. We have two school-aged children. Our family has previously been very active in CouchSurfing, we’ve hosted plenty of foreign travellers from all over the world and it’s been a great experience. I was also actively involved in Refugees Welcome movement, helping asylum seekers to find native host families to live with, and hosted a couple of families. I’ve learnt much about our society and this city from a non-native citizen perspective, and want to use this knowledge in the decision-making.
My background as a politician is in student politics. In the beginning of my studies I volunteered in subject organizations and at the student union. Eventually I got a job as a secretary for academic affairs. My job involved matters concerning higher education, university administration, employment and well-being of students. I’ve also been representing students as a board member at the University of Tampere. These jobs and positions of trust have taught me a lot. I can handle administration, strategical thinking, management and budgeting. I’ve also seen how important it is that people can take part in decision-making. It was important to get student’s voice heard, but I also came to realize that many people need someone to speak for them much more than students do. So now I’d like to use my skills to make the world a better place.
I’m an experienced, versatile and solution-seeking politician. I’ve been involved in the local politics for over ten years. I’ve served as a vice-member of the city council and member of the committee that makes decisions about secondary education and enhancing employment and entrepreneurship in Tampere. Previously I was chair of the board of Tampere water, and member of the board of Tampereen vuokra-asunnot (a company that provides rental apartments). I’ve also been involved in local green associations, election campaigns and volunteering. As a decision-maker I prefer to negotiate, but my most important principles and values are not for sale. It’s typical for me to study all matters carefully before making decisions and to use clear argumentation. I’m also good at listening to people and coming up with ideas of how to solve their problems. In general I’m interested in promoting education, human rights, good administration, knowledge society, usability of public services and well-being of people.
If you want to know more about me, my goals or opinions (there’s lots of material available in Finnish, but unfortunately I can’t translate it all), don’t hesitate to ask! I also hope people to propose their ideas of how to make the society a better place. All kinds of feedback is most welcome, too. My email is johanna.roihuvuo@fixel.org, you can also send me a Facebook message.