Patience studied Rural and Urban Planning at the University of Zimbabwe and worked as a planner in the private construction sector before serving as a research assistant. She holds a joint master’s degree from TU Dortmund and the University of the Philippines Diliman. In the Philippines, she worked as a junior planning consultant on ecological profiling, climate and disaster risk assessment, and development planning. She joined ZEF as a junior researcher in October 2025 where she focuses on land degradation, smallholder farming systems, and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).