OUR TEAM

ES-Executive-Director_square-1-1024x1024

Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop

Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop is a co-founder and Executive Director of HERE. He has more than 28 years of experience in humanitarian affairs, forced displacement, and inter-agency collaboration. In these areas, he has led and undertaken major reviews and evaluations in collaboration with governments, UN agencies such as UNHCR and UNICEF, the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, and NGOs. Earlier, he was Chief Executive with DARA, a Madrid-based humanitarian research and evaluation organisation, and the head of ICVA, the Geneva-based humanitarian NGO network. Ed started his professional career as humanitarian affairs officer with MSF. Specific thematic areas on which he has extensive experience and knowledge include: humanitarian principles; inter-agency coordination; forced displacement; protection and rights; and accountability. He has participated in many high-level forums and humanitarian bodies. Ed has been the Chair of the Board of the Sphere Project and co-authored the Sphere Handbook protection principles (2011 edition). He is a member of the Supervisory Body of Stichting Vluchteling (The Netherlands).

MM-Research-Director_square-5-1024x1024

Marzia Montemurro

Marzia is HERE’s Research Director.

She was most recently the Director for Humanitarian Policy and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)’s representative in New York. In this role, she liaised with the UN on a range of humanitarian issues and engaged Member States in a dialogue on issues, such as access and humanitarian principles. Prior to joining ICVA, Marzia worked for the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement in Geneva as their Head of the Africa and Americas department and a country analyst. Leading up to this point, she held positions overseeing refugee response and justice sector reform programmes in Africa. Marzia has a degree in International Relations from the University of Trieste in Italy and a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

SP-Programme-Officer_square-1-1024x1024

Sophie Parron

Sophie is HERE’s Administration & Finance Manager .

Holder of an MA in International Relations from the University of New South Wales in Sydney (Australia), Sophie has more than 15 years of experience in the International Cooperation in field and headquarters. She has notably worked for various non-government organisations in the areas of Human Rights and Child’s relief in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Socially active, she has a comprehensive understanding of the civil society in Switzerland (networks, platforms, NGOs and federations). In her current role of Programme Officer, she is in charge of the administration, finance and organisational aspects of the HERE-Geneva office.

KW-Researcher_square-2-1024x1024

Karin Wendt

Karin is Senior Researcher/Evaluator at HERE.

She has specialised in institutional law and international organisation theory, and her expertise pertains in particular to the functioning of the international multi-level regulatory setting. Karin also has significant knowledge of research methodologies, having previously worked as a research associate at the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration for many years. Prior to that, she worked with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Karin holds a Licence in International Relations and a Master’s degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

VH-Junior-Reseach-Assistant

Val Hambye-Verbrugghen

Val is Research and Communications Assistant at HERE.

She holds an LL.M in Public International Law from the University of Leiden, and an LL.M in International Humanitarian Law from the University of Essex. Her theses focused, respectively, on Islamic law and IHL in detention contexts, and analysis of the PSEA framework through the lens of the UN Women, Peace and Security architecture. Prior to joining HERE, she worked with ICRC, in open-source investigation with Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, and as a resettlement legal adviser with StARS, a Cairo-based NGO providing assistance to refugees.

FA picture 2 (002)

Freda Agah

Freda Agah is a Research Assistant at HERE.

Previously, she was a Project Consultant at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, Switzerland. In this role, she liaised with different Parliaments to implement numerous projects on strengthening the rights of women and girls in leadership. Beforehand Freda worked at CUTS International Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland as a Research Associate. She researched and analysed International Trade Laws and negotiation discussions within the World Trade Organization (WTO) on trade, gender equality, climate change, agriculture, digitisation, e-commerce, Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and Fisheries. Freda has a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics with Law from Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.

RG profile

Raphael Gorgeu

Raphael Gorgeu is Senior Research Associate at HERE-Geneva, an independent consultant, and a member of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators Talent Pipeline Program. He is currently working on “Thinking About the Evolution of the Humanitarian Sector: An Exploration Within the World of Ideas”, an independent research project.

Raphael has about 20 years of experience in the humanitarian sector both in the field and at headquarters, in operational, advocacy, policy and strategic leadership positions. Most recently, he was Director of Policy and Programs at the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (2015-2018), and served as Deputy Director of Operations and Head of Analysis, Positioning and Advocacy at Médecins Sans Frontières (2018-2022). Raphael holds Masters’ degrees in Management, Humanitarian Aid, and International Relations, and followed a PhD in Political Science. He has developed a specific interest in philosophy and a deep appetite for exploring social science theories.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

daniel-toole

Daniel Toole | Chair

Daniel Toole is currently a private consultant helping companies and organisations with strategic and management issues. He previously worked for over 30 years with the UNICEF, most recently as UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific and previously for South Asia. He also served as Director of Emergency Programmes at UNICEF, as Chief of Staff to the UNICEF Executive Director, and as Country Representative in Mali and in Rwanda immediately following the genocide. His work in UNICEF and previously with USAID and Peace Corps included extended periods in Asia, Africa and New York, as well as numerous missions in South American and the Middle East. From 2001-2003, he was Chief Operating Officer of the start-up team of Acumen Fund, now Acumen, the first venture philanthropy fund supporting international private social enterprises. Daniel continues to serve as an Advisor to Acumen. Daniel Toole holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, now part of Eramus University.

laetitia-van-den-assum

Laetitia van den Assum

Laetitia van den Assum currently works as an independent diplomatic expert. Previously, she served as ambassador of the Netherlands to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, to South Africa, to Kenya and Somalia, to Mexico and to the UK. Earlier, she worked as UNICEF’s representative in Tanzania and also assisted UNAIDS with policy development. In 2016/2017 she was a member of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, chaired by Kofi Annan, which advised the Myanmar government on reforms required to ensure a joint future for Rakhine’s ethnically and religiously diverse population. Ms. van den Assum is a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion and also a senior advisor of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. She regularly contributes opinion articles to publications in SE Asia and Europe. She holds law degrees from Amsterdam University and Columbia University (Ll.M.)

kathleen-cravero-kristoffersson

Kathleen Cravero

Kathleen Cravero is a Distinguished Scholar at City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and a co-Director of CUNY’s Center for Immigrant, Refugee and Global Health Policy. Dr. Cravero is also a Professor of the Practice at University of Bridgeport School of Public and International Affairs in Connecticut (USA) and an independent consultant on ending violence against women and children. She served as President of Oak Foundation for ten years, stepping down in February 2019. In this capacity, she supported the Trustees of Oak Foundation to address issues of global, social and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Prior to her tenure at Oak Foundation, Dr. Cravero worked for over two decades on a range of international development issues, from newly emerging democracies to conflict and emergency situations. She held different senior positions in various UN agencies, including UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP and WHO. At UNDP, she chaired the Steering Committee of UN Action: Ending Sexual Violence against Women in Crisis and Recovery Settings, which united the work of 12 UN entities with the goal of ending sexual violence in conflict. Dr Cravero holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (Fordham University), and a Masters in Public Health (Columbia University).

niels-dabenstein

Niels Dabelstein

Niels Dabelstein was Head of the Evaluation Department of Danida, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark from 1988 to 2007. He was Chairman of the OECD/DAC Working Party on Aid Evaluation from 1997 to 2002. He participated in drafting the DAC Principles for Aid Evaluation (1991) the DAC Guidelines for Evaluating Humanitarian Assistance (1998) the DAC Evaluation Glossary (2002) the DAC Guidance for Joint Evaluation (2005) and the DAC Evaluation Quality Standards (2006). From 2007 to 2012 he managed the Joint International Evaluation of the Implementation of the Paris Declaration, which received the American Evaluation Association 2012 Outstanding Evaluation Award. In 1994 he initiated and led the Joint Evaluation of the International Response to Genocide in Rwanda. He promoted the creation of ALNAP (honorary member since 2007) and he was Chairman of the board of the Humanitarian Accountability Project, which led to the creation of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) in 2003. He was instrumental in initiating and managing the ‘Tsunami Evaluation in 2005-2006. He has served as member or chair of a number of committees and boards concerned with development, humanitarian and human rights issues and has been teaching evaluation at three Danish Universities as well as at IPDET at Carleton University in Canada. Niels Dabelstein holds a M.Sc. in Development Economics from Copenhagen School of Economics and Business Administration. He chaired the Board of HERE 2014-2018.

Markham Aine 2020 (002)

Áine Markham

Áine Markham is currently an independent consultant with expertise in humanitarian response, humanitarian and global health, and non-profit governance. Her work has mainly been concentrated in Africa, Latin America, Middle East North Africa (MENA), and Eastern Europe. She has worked in the humanitarian and development sector for over 25 years, predominantly for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) where she was the Director of Operations from 1999 to 2004. Over the years, she served on a number of non-profit boards including the MSF International Board from 2015 – 2021, where she chaired the Medical Standing Committee and held the office of Vice-President. Áine trained as a general and peadiatric nurse in her home country Ireland. She holds a Master degree in both public health and international politics.

martha-maznevski

Martha Maznevski

Martha Maznevski is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Faculty Director for Executive Education at Ivey Business School, Western University. She is an expert in global teams, global leadership, culture and identity, and empowering individual differences. Before joining Ivey as a Professor, Dr. Maznevski served fifteen years as Professor at IMD (Institute for Management Development) in Switzerland. She developed, directed, and taught in open and custom executive education programs for senior leaders, including CEOs, from a wide range of industries and in countries around the world. She also directed IMD’s globally top-ranked MBA program. She publishes the popular textbook International Management Behavior, now in its 7th edition, with Ivey professors emeriti H. Lane and J. DiStefano. Her research has been published in leading journals including Journal of International Business Studies and Strategic Management Journal. Professor Maznesvki holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behaviour, which she completed at Ivey.

Eva Svoboda_square

Eva Svoboda

Eva Svoboda is currently Head of Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. Eva worked with the ICRC from 1999 until 2011 in Kashmir, Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq, East Timor, DRC and Algeria as protection coordinator, head of office, head of sub-delegation as well as head of delegation. Prior to joining the ICRC, Eva worked for the Swiss Development Agency and various non-governmental organisations. From 2012 until 2018 she was working as a Senior Research Fellow with the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London. Between 2016 and 2017 she worked as the senior expert for detainees and missing at the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Syria. Eva holds a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies (University of Berne) and a Masters in Public and International Law (University of Melbourne).

MonetteZard_image

Monette Zard

Monette Zard is the Director of the Forced Migration and Health Program and Associate Professor of Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is an expert on forced migration and human rights, and her work has spanned the fields of policy, advocacy and philanthropy. She has served as the Global Human Rights Program Officer at the Ford Foundation in New York and as Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva, Switzerland, a think tank focused on applied human rights research. Her work there explored issues of political violence and the human rights obligations of armed groups, economic and social rights and human smuggling. From 2000-2003, she was a Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington D.C. and held a visiting research fellowship in law at the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford University. She has consulted on international human rights and forced migration issues for a number of organisations including Amnesty International, the Brookings Institute, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She holds a Law Degree from Cambridge University and a Masters degree in International Relations and Middle East Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University.