OUR TEAM
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).
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.
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 20 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.
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.
Jonathan Zurbriggen is Research Assistant at HERE.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and a Master’s degree in public management and politics from IDHEAP. Throughout his academic career, he has been actively involved in associations related to political science, international relations and the influence of Swiss culture. His academic thinking has focused particularly on the links between scientific expertise and the political sphere, a subject explored during his master’s thesis. His work highlights the porosity between these two worlds, analyzing the reciprocal influences that shape public decisions and institutional dynamics.
Rigmor is Associate Research and Communications Officer at HERE.
Rigmor Tholstrup has a background in project management through her role at THE WHY Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing free global access to reliable, documentary-based information. Furthermore, she worked in the Emergency Response Section of OCHA in Geneva before working as Producer at Trumanitarian, a podcast that, through smart, honest conversations, seeks to shed new light on what the humanitarian sector is—and what it should be. Additionally, she holds a consultancy with IOM to support the Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) training.
Joseph is HERE’s MEL Expert.
He has a master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation and a Bachelor of Science in population studies from Uganda Technology And Management University (UTAMU) and Makerere University respectively. Joseph has worked for both national and international non-governmental organisations in East Africa, with a concentration on Uganda, and has over ten years of progressive transformative technical expertise in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning, research, programmatic, and project management. He is trained in project cycle management and data management. In both humanitarian and development settings, Joseph has implemented projects/programs that cover a wide range of thematic areas such as cash transfers, blended financing, health, protection, conflict management, education in emergency and economic recovery with a particular emphasis on displaced persons while paying close attention to the localisation agenda.
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 | 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.
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 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.
Adelina Kamal
Adelina Kamal is an independent analyst with more than 25 years’ experience with ASEAN. She led the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance as its Executive Director during the period of 2017 to 2021, and prior to that, worked with the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta for over two decades. Adelina is a steering committee member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators, where she joins seven other prominent ladies from the region to facilitate efforts aimed at preventing or resolving escalation of violent conflicts in the region and beyond. She has also been consulting for local, regional and international organisations in the areas of disaster management, humanitarian assistance, crisis management, resilience building, health, and public financing. Adelina serves as a voting board member of the Melbourne-based Centre for Humanitarian Leadership Executive Committee, an Advisory Group member of the London-based Overseas Development Institute Humanitarian Policy Group, and an Early Member of the Association of Indonesian Society for Amnesty International. Adelina is the newest member of HERE Board of Trustees, beginning in October 2024.
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 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
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).
Monette Zard
Monette Zard is the former 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.