Andrew Andrea practised as a lobbyist in a London-based Parliamentary Consultancy, after studying history and politics. He then worked for ActionAid on international communication products and strategies before becoming an adviser to several development charities. In 1995, he joined the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to set up and implement the Reliefweb information system coordinating information on natural disasters and complex emergencies. Before joining the HD Centre in 2000, he worked with the World Health Organisation to design the Health Information Network for Advanced Planning and other emergency-related information tools and systems.

An accountant by profession, Murari Aryal also holds an MBA, specialising in finance, and is presently completing a PhD at Murdoch University, Western Australia. He joined the HD Centre in 2002 as an administrator working on the Aceh project, Indonesia. He has over 12 years experience as an external auditor for Arthur Andersen, with clients including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank, and as a financial analyst for the United States Agency for International Development (South & South East Asia). He was also Head of Finance and Human Resources with the British Embassy, FCO (UK) in Kathmandu.

Rohaiza Asi holds a BA in Political Science and Information and Communications Management, and an MSc in International Relations. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2007, she was a research analyst at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Her research focused on issues of political violence and terrorism in Southeast Asia, and included significant field research.

While obtaining her degree in Political Sciences from the University of Lyon, France, Flore Brannon specialised in communications. She then gained a Master's degree in International Journalism from City University, London. After completing several internships in journalism and communications, she joined the HD Centre in 2002, to assist with its communications efforts.

Cate Buchanan has a degree in International Relations and Development Studies from the Australian National University, as well as extensive experience of working in violence prevention. Before joining the HD Centre in 2001, to manage the arms- and violence-reduction portfolio, she worked as a lobbyist for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, as a legal researcher for a public-sector union, and as a campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation on climate change. In 2000, she was the programme associate for disarmament and security for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and then worked for the International Action Network on Small Arms as the New York liaison officer.

Luc Chounet-Cambas holds degrees in political science, and Middle-Eastern and African studies. He has more than ten years humanitarian and devlopment field experience. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2008, he worked with the French bilateral cooperation, as well as non-governmental and international organisations in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Indonesia and the Horn of Africa. Initially focused on humanitarian assistance, his work shifted to DDR and post-conflict programming.

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After completing her studies in Canada and the Netherlands, Suzanne Damman obtained a Master's degree in International Relations and International Organizations from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Before joining the HD Centre in 2007, she worked at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She has also worked as an Assistant Attaché at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York.

Léon de Riedmatten was educated at the Universities of Fribourg and Neuchâtel in various arts disciplines, including law. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2000, he held a range of senior positions including ICRC Head of Delegation in Ethiopia and Myanmar, Deputy Delegate General for Africa, Representative of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan in the UN Office of the Coordinator for Afghanistan, and Programme Director for the Association François Xavier Bagnoud. His humanitarian work has taken him to live in Thailand, Bangladesh, Iran, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Myanmar, in addition to Geneva and Sion.

Suzanne Gentz holds a Master's degree in Peace & Conflict from Uppsala University, Sweden as well as an LLB in Law & European Studies from the University of Surrey, UK. Before joining the HD Centre in 2006, she worked for the Council of Europe, the Transnational Crime and Corruption Centre in Georgia and the UN Office for Project Services. In addition, she has been involved with a Georgian Human Rights NGO and has worked as a freelance journalist covering the South Caucasus region.

David Gorman holds a Master's degree in Social and Economic Policy in Developing Countries and another in International Relations. Before joining the HD Centre in 2000, he work for over ten years in the humanitarian field and in conflict resolution, and has been based in the West Bank and Gaza, Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Indonesia.

With a Master's degree in International Relations from Sorbonne University in Paris, Romain Grandjean has worked for several years as a political analyst within the framework of international electoral observation missions in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He served for more than two years as a field researcher based in Egypt for the International Crisis Group, and joined the HD Centre in 2007.

A lawyer by training, Martin Griffiths has worked in UNICEF in Asia, in the British Diplomatic Service, and in British NGOs, latterly as Chief Executive of ActionAid. In 1994, he rejoined the United Nations (UN) as Director of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (which became OCHA) in Geneva, and then from 1998 as Deputy to the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator in New York. During this period he also served as UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes and UN Regional Coordinator in the Balkans with the rank of UN Assistant Secretary-General.

Suzy Herzfeld has a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Geneva and a further qualification (Brevet Fédéral) in Personnel Management. Her professional experience includes seven years in the Human Resources Department of BearingPoint, with responsibility for all aspects of human resources for a group of 60 consultants. Before joining the HD Centre in 2005, Suzy worked for Bunge, a Geneva-based trading company, as an international HR specialist with a focus on Western and Eastern Europe.

Caroline Johnigk holds a Master's degree in Violence, Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a Diploma in International Business and Cultural Studies from the University of  Passau, Germany. Before joining the HD Centre in 2008, she worked for UNDP BCPR in New York, and for German Technical Cooperation in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kenya. She has also worked and researched in Indonesia and Vietnam, and was employed as an intern with UNICEF in Bangladesh.

Hemant Katoch has degrees in Economics from McGill University and the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2002, he worked as an intern with the World Trade Organization in Geneva. His work experience also includes serving as Head of Sub-Office for the World Food Programme in Timor-Leste.

Nicolas Kupferschmid has a Master of Science in Economics and further education in HR Management from the University of Geneva. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2008, he worked for more than ten years in the area of people development, for the Employement Office of Geneva, the ‘Société de Gestion de Surveillance' and within a fast growing company in Russia. More recenlty, he worked for SITA as a contract process manager

Prior to joining the HD Centre in January 2008, Stine worked at the Danish Defense Academy (2007), the Danish Institute for International Studies (2003-6), and the Danish Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (2005). Her field of experience also includes work for an NGO in Cairo (spring 2007) and the set up of a private consultancy in Copenhagen in 2006. As such she has been working on a variety of issues, including conflict management and resolution, UN and regional peacekeeping, as well as peace building and development. Stine has an MA in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University (UK) and an MA in International Development from Roskilde University (Denmark).

Yodit Lemma holds a Master's degree in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African studies, London. Before joining the HD Centre in 2004, she served as an intern for UNESCO at UN ECOSOC, and for the UNHCR's Refugee Women's Unit. She also worked as the Assistant Program Coordinator to the Georgia Council for International Visitors while completing her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, USA.

James LeMoyne studied at Harvard University, Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and has served as a senior foreign correspondent and foreign policy analyst specialising in conflicts and peace processes around the world. He has also been involved in peace processes and peacebuilding for more than 20 years, including in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Guatemala and Colombia. He was appointed as Special Adviser on Colombia to the UN Secretary-General in 2002. He is now a senior adviser to the HD Centre on its mediation activities.

Ram Manikkalingam holds a doctorate in political philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked as Senior Adviser to the former President of Sri Lanka on the Peace Process with the Tamil Tigers. He was also an Adviser on Peace and Security to the Rockefeller Foundation, leading the Foundation's work in global initiatives related to preventing conflict. He is a member of the International Advisory Groups of the Security Council Report and the East West Management Institute, in New York, as well as of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust in Sri Lanka. He is now an adviser to the HD Centre as well as Visiting Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam.

After obtaining his Master's degree in South Asian Studies at the University of Toronto, Andrew Marshall worked for several years at the Canadian International Development Agency. In 1990, he joined the UN, working successively for UNDP, WFP and OCHA. Before joining the HD Centre in 1999, he was responsible for the management of the OCHA Regional Office for the Great Lakes Region in Nairobi and was Humanitarian Adviser to the Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region.

With a legal background, Dennis McNamara has experience of practising private law, as well as several decades of humanitarian experience mainly with UNHCR and OCHA in Asia and Africa. Before joining the HD Centre in 2007, he headed the Human Rights Component of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, and was then appointed to various Director's positions in UNHCR and OCHA. During this period, he also served as UNHCR Special Envoy to the former Yugoslavia and to Iraq, as Deputy SRSG in Kosovo, and in East Timor at UN Assistant Secretary-General level.

   Theo Murphy holds degrees from McGill University and the London School for Oriental and African Studies in political science and international law, economics, and international relations. Before joining the HD Centre in 2007, he worked extensively in humanitarian aid, human rights, regional analysis and mediation. His work experience has focused on South/Central Asia, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. In addition to his work with the HD Centre, he currently provides specialised support to the African Union/United Nations Darfur Peace Process.  

Before joining the HD Centre in 2006, Katia Papagianni worked for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UNDP. Her work has focused on governance and human rights, post-conflict transitional politics and institutions, and constitution-making processes. Her field experience includes work for the National Democratic Institute in Russia, the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UN in Iraq. 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.

Kieran Prendergast served for many years in the British Foreign Office, including in Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, the Netherlands, Kenya and New York. He was Private Secretary to two Foreign Secretaries and later head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office dealing with Apartheid and Namibia. He also served as UN Under-Secretary-General for Political, providing political advice to the Secretary-General on matters relating to peace and security, with responsibility for the UN's preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, and peacebuilding activities worldwide. He was also the convenor of the SG's Executive Committee on Peace and Security and engaged in peacemaking efforts in Afghanistan, Burundi, Cyprus, the DRC, East Timor, Guatemala, Iraq, the Middle East, Somalia and Sudan. He now advises the HD Centre on its mediation efforts.

With a background in history, and a Master's degree in Conflict Studies, Meredith Preston began her career working with the Naga in Northeast India and with ethnic minorities in Burma. She then worked with various UN agencies and NGOs in Kenya, Sudan and Somalia, focusing on developing new approaches to post-conflict reconstruction, DDR and small-arms control, with a particular emphasis on gender, inclusion of women and addressing the needs of disabled soldiers. More recently, she managed the Upper Nile State office for the UN Resident Coordinator in Southern Sudan, before joining the HD Centre in 2007.

Marc Probst studied economics and international relations at the University of St Gallen, Switzerland, and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2004, he joined the Political Affairs Division of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs as Project Officer in the Peace Policy Section. He was also Head of the Desk, Human Security and Business, in the Human Rights Promotion Section. He joined the HD Centre in 2008 in Singapore as project officer.

 

Juita Puthucheary's research experience has focused on Southeast Asian political history, with special emphasis on Malaysia. In particular, she has researched the process of decolonisation and of the acquisition of independent status in Southeast Asia, including the evolution of political rights, and the related management of potential or actual conflict. Since the award of her doctorate in 1997, and prior to joining the HD Centre in 2000, she has extended her research into more recent political dynamics and changes in the region.

With twenty years experience in the private sector, working as a management consultant and project-management expert, Chris Rotas has lived in South Africa, the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, Oman, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, working on complex project- and business-development initiatives. Before his ten years as a freelance consultant, based in Geneva, he worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche and an engineering contractor. He has a Bachelor's degree from the University of the Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK, and a Master's degree from the University of Texas, Austin, USA. He joined the HD Centre in 2008.

Claire Salignat holds a Master's degree in Contemporary European Studies from the Sussex European Institute, and a Master's degree in Human Rights and Democratisation from the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights. Before joining the HD Centre in 2007, she worked for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the OHCHR and for the European Council on Refugees and Exiles.

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Juan Sanchez Sierra has worked in accounting and finance for more than ten years. Prior to joining the HD Centre in 2007, he was responsible for the financial analysis of a group of companies operating in the gas and oil sectors. He has a degrees in Commerce and finance and accounting.

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Ouseph Tharakan has a Master's degree in International Relations. After being briefly associated with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in New Delhi, India, he was selected for the Young South Volunteer programme of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries based in Geneva. He was then attached to the Global Governance unit of the South Centre as a Fellow, working on issues connected to the UN reform process. Before joining the HD Centre in 2007, he worked as a Programme Associate with the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of UNCTAD and the World Trade Organization.

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.  

Aurélie Villar has a degree in Public Relations and Tourism and a diploma from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). She has worked as a product assistant with various tour operators in Geneva, with a focus on Latin America and Asia. Before joining the HD Centre in 2005, she was in charge of sales training for a retail company in London.

Judyta Wasowska has a diploma from the Institut supérieur d'Interprétation et de Traduction in Paris. She has worked for the UNHCR Regional Office in Caracas, Venezuela, as Senior Secretary to the Regional Representative. She held a similar position in the office of the Assistant High Commissioner at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, and worked in UNDP as Administrative Assistant in the Emergency Response Department. She joined the HD Centre in 1999.

Donna Yiu has a certificate in Business Studies. Before joining the HD Centre in 2006 in Singapore, she worked as a marketing assistant in a cosmetic firm handling events and product promotions, and as a real-estate agent in Singapore.

In her studies of economic history and international relations, Céline Yvon's research focused on Central Asia with particular reference to nation building and the oil issue. While completing her Master's degree at the Graduate Institute for International Relations in Geneva, she joined the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs where she worked on humanitarian aid and international development with special reference to Kosovo, Tajikistan and the Great Lakes region. Before joining the HD Centre in 2004, she worked for an international consultancy company where she specialised in change-management processes. Clients included banking and insurance companies as well as public administrations.