Staff

David Harland holds a doctorate from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Masters of Arts from Harvard University. Prior to joining the HD Centre in April 2011, he served as Director of the Europe and Latin America Division, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (2007-2010); Acting Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti (2010), in Pristina (2008); and in East Timor (1999 -2000). He also held the positions of Senior Policy Advisor with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as that of Political Advisor to Commander UN Protection Force and Head of Civil Affairs for the UN in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993-1998). He has published widely on issues of conflict and international relations.

Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2009, Marc Hofstetter worked for several non profit organizations at a senior management level: the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), as Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, 2006-2009; the ECLT Foundation (Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-growing), as Executive Director and Secretary of its Board, 2001-2005; and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in various positions, including head of delegation in Iraq and Tajikistan, 1988-1999. Marc also worked as project manager for the World Economic Forum, and as an oil trader for the Royal Dutch Shell company. A Swiss and French citizen, he holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston, and a Master degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland.

David Gorman has up to 20 years experience in the field of peacemaking and peace building. He began his career in 1993 in the Middle East. Since then, David has worked for several international non-for-profit organisations on many conflicts around the world. He has been based in the West Bank and Gaza, Liberia, Bosnia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. He holds a Masters degree in Social Policy in Developing Countries from the London School of Economics as well as a Master's degree in International Relations from Florida State University.  He currently resides in Cyprus.

Before joining the HD Centre, Katia Papagianni worked for the UN OHCHR, UNDP, Democratic Institute and the OSCE.  Her work focuses on political transitions, national dialogue and constitution-making processes. Her field experience prior to joining the HD Centre included work in Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq.  At the HD Centre, she has supported mediation efforts in several countries, including Liberia, Libya and the Philippines.  She has also been seconded by the HD Centre to the team of the UN Special Envoy on Yemen as an expert on national dialogue processes.  She holds a doctorate in political science from Columbia University, New York, a Master's degree in Public Administration from Princeton University, and a Bachelor's degree from Brown University. She has taught on peace- and state-building at Columbia University and the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies.

Meredith Preston McGhie has a background in history and a Master's degree in Conflict Studies. She began her career working with the Naga in Northeast India and with ethnic minorities in Burma. She has worked with various UN agencies and NGOs in Kenya, Sudan and Somalia, focusing on developing new approaches to post-conflict reconstruction, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and small-arms control, with a particular emphasis on gender, inclusion of women and addressing the needs of disabled soldiers. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2007, Meredith managed the Upper Nile State office for the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Southern Sudan. As Regional Director for Africa, Meredith leads a range of programmes for the HD Centre, including on women and mediation, elections and mediation, and on reconciliation. She manages  range of public and confidential mediation processes.

Roland Steininger holds a Master of Arts in political science as well as a Master of Laws in International and European Law from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He served a Legal Adviser of the Temporary Internal Presence in Hebron (TIPH) of the international observer mission in the West Bank city of Hebron (1997-1998), following which he joined the Swiss diplomatic service in 1999. Mr Steininger initially worked for the Federal office of Refugees of the Department of Justice and Police. He then went on working as an Attaché to the Swiss Mission to the OSCE in Vienna (2000-2001), and as a Desk Officer at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs dealing with issues linked to Israel/Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq (2001-2003). In 2003, he became Advisor to the Swiss Envoy for the Middle East peace process, and in 2005, he was appointed Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Swiss Embassy in Syria (2005-2009). Prior to joining the HD Centre in late 2012, Mr Steininger headed the Representative Office of Switzerland to the Palestinian Authority (2009-2012).

Formerly Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Michael Vatikiotis has been a writer and journalist in Asia for twenty years. He has lived in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, and speaks the Thai and Indonesian languages fluently. He is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and earned a doctorate from Oxford University.