Staff and trustees
Our staff and trustees are at the heart of Saferworld’s work. Their skills and expertise ensure that we continue to be a leading conflict prevention and peacebuilding organisation. With offices in 14 countries, we have over 200 staff members working across our geographic, policy, advocacy and support teams.
Find out more about working for us.
Our trustees help guide Saferworld in all major decisions. Their advice is backed up by years of experience and expertise in a range of areas – from finance, policy research and communications to peacebuilding and management.
Jeremy Lester, chair
Jeremy has extensive experience spanning four decades in senior EU roles in development and conflict prevention. As chair he brings a wealth of expertise to Saferworld steering the board’s oversight of the organisation.
Until his retirement in 2014, Jeremy worked as an adviser on conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding to the Africa Department of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Prior to that he was the head of the EEAS division responsible for the Horn of Africa, East Africa and the Indian Ocean and earlier, EU Head of Delegation first in Rwanda and then in Niger. He was at various times responsible for EU relations with countries and he supported programmes for several countries of the former Soviet Union following its collapse. Jeremy has also served on the boards of several NGOs, including the Quaker Council for European Affairs, Refugee Action, Oxfam Belgium and Conciliation Resources. Jeremy provides guidance on Africa, justice, human security, refugee issues, development, management, NGO administration and finance.
Jeremy joined Saferworld in 2014 and was elected as chair in 2017.
Golam Morshed, treasurer
Golam Morshed is the chief executive at Charity Accounting Services, a specialised accounting and financial management organisation supporting charities and non-profit organisations. He brings a strong background in financial management to Saferworld's board.
Golam previously worked in various financial management roles for a wide range of global development agencies including Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Farm Africa and ACORD. Golam is a qualified accountant with an MBA.
Golam joined Saferworld in 2017.
Owen Greene, trustee
Owen is professor of international security and development at Bradford University. In addition to his deep understanding of Saferworld as an organisation, Owen brings a wealth of expertise on a range of issues including conflict analysis, security sector reform, community security, arms control and international advocacy on conflict prevention.
From Saferworld’s early beginnings, Owen has worked closely with the organisation, serving as chair of the board of trustees for over a decade. He has held many expert and advisory roles for Bradford University as well as for over 20 governments, the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations and multiple policy networks.
Owen has been an active member of Saferworld’s board since the 1990s.
Godfrey Allen, trustee
Godfrey is the former chief executive of the national employment charity, the Apex Trust. With vast experience, he advises the board on organisational governance issues, and he has specialist knowledge of criminal justice sector reform and community economic development.
Godfrey is a former CEO of several other national and regional organisations that specialise in community economic development and crime reduction. He currently serves on the NHS Trust board among others, and is the England and Wales council member of the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates.
Godfrey joined Saferworld as a trustee in 2006.
Vicky Knight, trustee
Vicky is head of partnerships and projects at BPP University. She brings more than 25 years’ experience in programme and project management to her role as trustee. Her areas of expertise include refugees and forced migration, international protection, programme management, education, gender and Africa.
Vicky spent over ten years working in international refugee protection in Africa and went on to manage a global refugee programme portfolio from New York. She now works in higher education and has lectured in management and organisational behaviour for a London business school. She has managed a number of degree programmes and is working with education partners in Asia and elsewhere to develop and deliver degree programmes for international students.
Vicky joined Saferworld as a trustee in 2017.
Ismayil Tahmazov, trustee
Ismayil Tahmazov is the global strategy manager at Islamic Relief Worldwide. He brings wide-ranging experience in development programming, strategy planning, governance and advocacy.
Before his position at Islamic Relief Worldwide, Ismayil co-founded The Humanitarian Forum and the Muslim Charities Forum. Ismayil has experience of working on projects across a wide geographic stretch, from the Middle East and the Caucasus to Haiti. He has held senior positions at the International Rescue Committee, Cooperative Housing Foundation International and Oxfam, and he has served on other boards including Skillshare International and HealthProm.
Ismayil joined Saferworld as a trustee in 2017.
Stephanie Blair, trustee
Stephanie runs an independent consultancy specialising in security and justice; peace, stabilisation and intervention; and fragile and conflict-affected states. She brings a comprehensive understanding of the challenges for the peace and security community as it addresses the difficulties faced by fragile and conflict-affected countries.
Stephanie also has expertise in strategy development, and her geographical specialities are the Balkans and North Africa. Her consultancy business offers strategy and policy advice, training, facilitation and evaluation. Clients include the UK Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, the Stabilisation Unit, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Canadian Government and NATO.
Stephanie joined Saferworld in 2015.
Lars-Erik Lundin, trustee
Lars-Erik is a distinguished associate fellow at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). He contributes a wealth of knowledge about the functioning of international organisations in areas such as arms control and conflict prevention in a range of geographical and thematic settings.
Lars-Erik began his career in peace and conflict research in the early 1970s. He has since worked in the Swedish and EU foreign services, and has been EU ambassador to a number of international organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. He holds a PhD in political science and has wide-ranging expertise in strategic approaches to security policy in regional multilateral settings, nuclear and conventional arms control negotiations, and regional peace processes.
Lars-Erik joined Saferworld in 2015.
Teresa Hanley, trustee
Teresa has over twenty years of experience in the humanitarian and international development sectors. She brings expertise on migration, community-based resilience, conflict, gender, capacity-building, evaluation and communication.
Teresa has worked in over 40 countries, including in long-term roles in the Middle East, Central Asia and also as part of the European migration response. She has worked in a range of field-based, management and consultancy positions with the British and International Red Cross, international organisations, NGOs and governments.
Teresa joined the Saferworld board in 2016.
David Norman, trustee
David is the director of Global Insight Consulting. He brings a strong background in influencing, strategy and partnerships.
David has substantial experience working on strategies and partnerships for sustainable development between companies, governments and non-profit organisations. Before his current position, David worked on sustainable development policy at SABMiller and on campaigns and external affairs for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-UK). He has also worked at a number of international development charities including Oxfam and Save the Children.
David renewed his role on the board in 2010.
Mark Ross, trustee
Mark is a board director at Development Intelligence – a strategic communications consultancy. He provides expert advice in strategic communications and media relations.
Before this, Mark held a number of senior positions in the not-for-profit sector, working on advocacy campaigns, public policy initiatives and fundraising in the UK and internationally.
Mark became a trustee of Saferworld in 2016.
Georg Frerks, trustee
Georg is professor of conflict prevention and conflict management at the Centre for Conflict Studies at Utrecht University. He brings long-term experience in diplomacy and policy, and his areas of expertise are community economic development, criminal justice system reform and organisational governance.
Georg is also chair of international security studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy. Trained as a sociologist, he specialises in contemporary conflict and emergencies. He has a distinguished record in the evaluation and monitoring of development, conflict and disaster programmes and has published widely on the subject.
Georg became a Saferworld trustee in 2015.
Paul Murphy, executive director
Paul Murphy is the executive director at Saferworld, where he oversees the organisation's development and growth as well as operations and programmes. After joining as head of Europe and Central Asia in 2008, he became director of programmes and then executive director in 2011. For 20 years, Paul worked across Africa for a range of organisations, including for the United Nations. Most recently, he was director of Pact’s country programme in Sudan.
Paul’s specialty is in conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery, with a focus on the Sudans and the Horn of Africa region.
Read articles and publications from Paul
Susana Klien, director of international programmes
Susana joined Saferworld in 2015 as director of international programmes, where she oversees Saferworld’s country programmes across Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia and the Middle East. She brings a wide range of programmatic experience, having worked at a number of women’s rights organisations and on programmes that provide services for refugee and migrant women.
Before moving to the UK, Susana worked in Peru where she conducted research on human rights and provided recommendations to the government, in addition to lecturing on international human rights law.
Robert Parker, director of policy and communications
Rob leads the policy and communications teams based in London, where he manages Saferworld’s global policy and advocacy programmes including our research, analysis, technical support and communications.
With over 20 years’ experience in human rights and peacebuilding and more than a decade at Saferworld in a number of senior management roles he has led the development of key policy areas including community security and police reform, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Arms Trade Treaty. He leads our advocacy teams in London, Brussels and Washington DC and is responsible for our work on China and for overseeing Saferworld’s external helpdesk facilities. Before joining Saferworld in 2006 Rob led successful national and international arms campaigns for Amnesty International UK and worked as a consultant for a range of organisations including Oxfam, Landmine Action and the Cluster Munitions Coalition. Rob holds a master’s degree in area studies (Latin America) from the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London and a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish.
Read articles and publications from Rob
Gbenga Coker, director of finance
Gbenga leads the finance team in London and oversees the financial operations of Saferworld’s country offices in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He has a private sector background, having trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He previously worked with Air France before joining Oxfam GB in 2002, and has since remained in the non-profit sector. A fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he received his PhD in accounting from King’s College, London, focusing on accountability in the non-governmental sector.
Bart-Jan Bekker, head of people and culture
Bart-Jan is the head of people and culture at Saferworld, providing leadership to human resources within the organisation and working with the executive team to create a supporting working culture for staff. Having worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres for nearly 20 years, Bart-Jan brings broad experience, including stints in finance and programme management, both overseas (in countries such as Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Liberia and Myanmar) and at headquarters. For the last 10 years he has worked in a variety of roles in human resources. Most recently, he was the head of human resources at Medecins Sans Frontieres UK.
Janna Smith, international operations manager
Janna Smith is the international operations manager at Saferworld, overseeing operations for Saferworld’s country offices. Janna was most recently the project manager for a large project on girls' education in Kenya with the UK Department for International Development. She has worked in international development for the last 10 years, mainly in public health. Before moving to the UK, Janna worked in Washington DC and Mozambique for the American International Health Alliance, and established a field office in Ethiopia as country director for Yale University. Janna holds a masters degree in international relations and a post-graduate degree in global health from the University of Denver.
Madeline Church, head of organisational development unit
Madeline joined Saferworld in 2011 as the head of the organisational development unit (ODU) which focuses on the monitoring and evaluation of programmes. She brings many years of experience working on conflict resolution, human rights and programme evaluation. She also ran the UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development for three years.
Madeline specialises in programme evaluation, strategic planning and governance systems.
Leila Fazal, head of funding
Leila Fazal joined Saferworld in July 2016 as the head of funding. Before joining us, she worked as head of grants (trust and statutory funding) at Global Witness. Her funding achievements include the successful tendering for a contract with the Department of Health for two years to administer grants of £60 million to the hospice sector.
Leila has extensive experience in developing funding strategies, raising funds for campaigning, and fundraising in environmental, youth and anti-corruption work.
George Were, head of East Africa programmes
George joined Saferworld in June 2016 as head of East Africa programmes based in Kampala, where he oversees country programmes across Kenya, Somalia/Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. He has substantial work experience in the humanitarian and development sector across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Previous employers include government ministries, the UN, and several international NGOs. George holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) from the University of Nairobi and an MA from Tufts University in Massachusetts, US.
George’s specialities are in community-based initiatives, emergency intervention work, and humanitarian programme managing.
Christopher Wakube, Kenya programme manager
Chris leads Saferworld's Kenya programme, with oversight of operations and the work on preventing election violence. He has over 15 years’ experience in community development, including project management and consultancy. He has trained and facilitated research for local and international NGOs in Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda and Kenya.
Chris was previously senior programme officer with Pact Incorporated supporting a civil society strengthening programme, which built capacity of local peacebuilding organisations in Kenya. Chris has a BPhil from Pontifical Urbaniana University and a diploma in philosophy and religious studies from Consolata Institute of Philosophy.
Ali Ahmed Hersi, Somalia and Somaliland country director
Ali Hersi joined Saferworld in June 2018 as country director for Somalia and Somaliland. He has close to 20 years’ experience in leadership, programme design and implementation in various civil society organisations. He has managed diverse programmes in emergency relief and rehabilitation, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, food security and livelihoods, as well as general development in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Ali holds a master’s degree in peace and justice, which he completed on Fulbright and Rotary international ambassadorial scholarships, and another master’s in international relations from Warsaw University, Poland.
Abdijalil Dahir, participatory governance and peacebuilding programme manager, Somaliland
Abdijalil joined Saferworld in August 2015 as interim head of the Hargeisa office to manage the Somaliland elections programme, which seeks to make Somaliland's governance more participatory, inclusive and accountable. Before joining Saferworld he spent four years working for the International Republican Institute where he managed a political parties programme. He has worked in different capacities with several international and local NGOs including Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Somaliland National Youth Organisation and Horn of Africa Aid. Abdijalil has a masters degree in development studies from Kampala University in Uganda and bachelors degree in business administration from Hargeisa University in Somaliland.
Mauro Tadiwe, South Sudan country director
Mauro Tadiwe joined Saferworld as South Sudan country director in April 2018. Before, he was Concordis International’s country director in South Sudan from 2014 to 2017 and from 2009 to 2014 he held three positions at Pact, including country director.
Mauro trained as a priest and held several pastoral and ecclesiastical management positions. After moving to the the UK, Mauro worked at two inner-London urban regeneration schemes and for nearly three years with Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT). Mauro was also a member and chair of Migrants Resource Centre’s management board in London as well as a board member and chair of Skills for South Sudan Board of Trustees in the UK from 2004 to 2011. Mauro holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Urbaniana University in Rome, and a Master’s Degree in Management Practice from Middlesex University in London.
Maryam Abdi, programme manager for ARC
Maryam Abdi joined Saferworld in March 2017 as programme manager for the ARC (addressing root causes) project in Somalia. With vast community engagement experience, Maryam has previously worked at IOM, Oxfam GB, the Lutheran World Foundation, and Norwegian Church aid. She also has on the ground experience in Somalia, Somaliland and Kenya at Dadaab refugee camp.
Maryam brings a wealth of knowledge to the team on the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning systems, as well as capacity building and research.
Joanne Crouch, research lead - peacebuilding and conflict transformation project
Joanne joined Saferworld in March 2014 as project manager, focusing on non-state actors in Somalia. She then became the peacebuilding and conflict transformation research team leader, where she researches the feasibility of alternative approaches to conflict transformation with an emphasis on dialogue and negotiation in Somalia.
Joanne has a decade of experience working across gender and conflict, human rights, democratisation, good governance and civil society non-violent movements – spanning East Africa as well as Colombia, Palestine and Guatemala. She has a master's degree in violence, conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies and a bachelor's degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Manchester.
Bettie Atyam Amaso, programme manager - conflict and land
Bettie joined Saferworld as project coordinator in August 2011, where she later became programme manager, focusing on conflict and land in Uganda. She previously worked at Care International in Uganda where she specialised in gender.
Bettie holds a masters degree in development studies from Leeds University and a BA in social sciences from Makerere University.
Tamara Duffey-Janser, interim head of Central Asia
Tamara began her role as interim head of Central Asia in May 2017, overseeing the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan programmes. She had previously worked for Saferworld in Africa as the head of the Great Lakes/Sudan region, where she had been managing programmes since 2014.
She brings a breadth of experience in a range of contexts, having worked for the US Department of State as a community policing adviser in Tajikistan. Her work on community policing helped inform the national police reform strategy in the country. Prior to her work in Central Asia, Tamara worked for the OSCE Mission and the US Department of Justice in Kosovo for eight years.
Anara Ismailova, Kyrgyzstan country manager
Bringing over ten years of experience in senior management positions within the development and humanitarian sectors, Anara leads the Saferworld Kyrgyzstan programme, having joined in 2017 as country manager. She focuses on strategic planning and programme development, management and implementation, partnerships, and represents the organisation at advocacy meetings in the country.
Before joining Saferworld’s Kyrgyzstan team, Anara led United Nations Population Fund’s peacebuilding projects and worked at ICCO Central Asia on managing conflict transformation and democratisation programmes. She was also a humanitarian programmes coordinator at DanChurchAid and Kyrgyzstan country director at EveryChild.
Ferdinand Nikolla, Tajikistan country manager
Ferdinand joined Saferworld in 2011 as programme coordinator for the West Balkans programme. In 2015, he moved to Kyrgyzstan to take up a role as Central Asia programme development manager, and in 2017 joined the Tajikistan team as Tajikistan country manager where he leads the day-to-day operations of the office and oversees work on community-based policing. Before Saferworld, he worked at the Forum for Civic Initiatives in Kosovo, where he coordinated arms control efforts and pushed for civil society engagement on security sector reform.
Ferdinand brings diverse experience to the organisation, including on security sector and government reform, community security, partnerships, management and civil society engagement.
Kloe Tricot O'Farrell, conflict and security adviser (Bishkek)
Kloe joined Saferworld in 2013 as a policy and advocacy assistant for the small arms and transfer controls and rising powers team. In January 2014, she joined Saferworld’s Brussels-based EU advocacy team where she led and coordinated policy and advocacy on conflict prevention and peacebuilding approaches at the EU level. In 2018, Kloe began her role as conflict and security adviser in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
She holds a masters degree in international relations from Université Libre de Bruxelles and a masters degree in war studies from Kings College London.
Twitter: @KloeOfarrell
Chris Underwood, head of Asia programmes
Chris joined Saferworld as head of Asia programmes in May 2015, where he leads Saferworld's field programmes in South and South East Asia.
Previously he was director of country programmes for the governance initiative Making All Voices Count. Based in South Africa, he was responsible for programming for a $49 million initiative across 12 countries, funded by a donor consortium including the UK’s Department for International Development, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, USAID, Open Society Foundations and Omidyar. Before joining the programme he was senior policy adviser for International Alert, leading their work on shaping the post-2015 global development agenda.
Twitter: @chris_underwood
Blog: www.chrisunderwoodsblog.com
Read articles and publications from Chris.
Bibhash Chakraborty, Bangladesh programme manager
Bibhash joined Saferworld in 2012. He is based in the office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he manages the country programme. Before joining Saferworld, Bibhash had worked in a number of roles for CARE, Oxfam, Save the Children, BRAC and PROSHIKA, with a focus on research, humanitarian response and development. He has worked especially closely with marginalised groups, including working children, indigenous people, members of lower castes, religious minorities and women – all of whom face unique challenges in the country.
Twitter: @bibhash_jchakpi
Read articles and publications from Bibhash.
Ashim Pandey, country manager, Nepal
Ashim joined Saferworld in January 2015 as Nepal country manager. In this role, he manages the Nepal programme, supports project implementation, and plans and monitors the country strategy. Before joining Saferworld, Ashim worked for the German development agency GIZ on a project that sought to strengthen the peace process in Nepal, focusing on reintegration of Maoist army combatants and other vulnerable groups. He also worked for GIZ in Indonesia following the tsunami there.
Ashim specialises in programme management, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, and reconciliation and reintegration.
Read articles and publications from Ashim.
John Bainbridge, country manager, Myanmar
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John joined Saferworld in June 2015 and is based in Yangon. He manages all staff in-country, while overseeing the design, planning and implementation of the country strategy which is focused on security, justice, conflict sensitivity and gender equality.
He has worked in Myanmar since 2012, firstly with DCA supporting civil society partners to design and manage peacebuilding, gender equality, and natural resource management projects. Later he worked as an independent researcher and adviser with UN agencies and various NGOs on issues pertaining to conflict sensitivity, displacement and governance. Previously, John was based in London and worked for Peace Direct, supporting peacebuilding programmes across East Africa and Pakistan. He holds an MSc in violence, conflict and development from SOAS, University of London.
Twitter: @johnabainbridge
Saw Lin Chel, programme manager Myanmar
Saw Lin Chel joined Saferworld’s Myanmar programme in 2015, where he helps manage Saferworld’s work on community security in the country.
With previous experience in Mon, Kayin and Ayeyarwady, he has a strong understanding of conflict dynamics and the relationships of communities and governance structures. His experience working for donors, non-governmental organisations and in partnership with local organisations has contributed to his understanding of community relations, social cohesion, and the impact of programming on conflict dynamics.
Dr Theo Hollander, justice and security adviser, Myanmar
Theo joined Saferworld in 2017. He leads on security, justice and gender research and supports the organisation’s community security work in Myanmar.
Previously, Theo was a peacebuilding adviser for DFID Burma, responsible for leading work on conflict sensitivity and intercommunal conflict. Theo also played a key role in the design and implementation of the peacebuilding programme. Before this, Theo was the research coordinator of the National Memory and Peace Documentation Centre, a collaborative initiative of the Ugandan Refugee Law Project. Theo led the centre’s work on human rights documentation, the legacies of violence research programme, and the centre’s work on memorialisation, community outreach and conflict mediation.
Theo holds a PhD in gender, conflict and transitional justice, a masters degree in conflict studies and human rights.
Philippe Mougin, interim head of Middle East and North Africa
Philippe joined Saferworld in June 2018 as interim Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA), overseeing the Yemen programme and the development of Saferworld’s programmes in the region.
Philippe has been country director for Action Against Hunger in Ethiopia, Burundi, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe, and worked with CAFOD as regional humanitarian manager and interim head of West Africa and Great Lakes. He was also an interim country manager in South Sudan and Sudan.
Philippe has experience working in conflict-affected countries, in scaling up programmes, security management, developing strategies and mentoring and working with country managers and implementing partners. He also has extensive experience of developing policy and advocacy positions that are grounded in robust evidence.
Awfa Al-Naami, Yemen country manager
Awfa joined Saferworld in 2016 as a project manager in Yemen, with a focus on gender work in the country, and then moved on to become country manager where she oversees the programme and manages the day-to-day activities of the team.
She brings with her a wide range of experience working in Yemen, including as Food, Security and Livelihoods Coordinator at the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response, and then as the gender focal point in the food security and agriculture cluster in Yemen.
Léonie Northedge, Middle East and North Africa programme adviser
Léonie Northedge joined Saferworld in 2014, and has worked on Saferworld’s programmes and research, policy and advocacy on Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia. Before Saferworld, Léonie worked at the think tank Chatham House, where she was a research associate on the Middle East and North Africa.
Twitter: @leonieleonie
Larry Attree, head of global policy and advocacy
Larry Attree is head of policy at Saferworld. With over 13 years’ experience, he is a globally recognised expert on conflict issues. He input extensively into global negotiations on peace and development issues including the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, the Busan Partnership and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
His experience includes project management, advocacy, policy development, advisory and capacity building support, evaluation and extensive research. His expertise covers aid and conflict, stabilisation, counter-terrorism, governance and statebuilding, arms control and armed violence reduction, reintegration, community security, security and justice sector development and conflict sensitivity (including conflict analysis, programme design, monitoring and evaluation). Larry has worked for a variety of UN and international agencies, NGOs and the corporate sector with several years’ field experience in conflict-affected parts of Eastern Europe, the Pacific, Asia and Africa.
Twitter: @LarryAttree
Read articles and publications from Larry
Hesta Groenewald, head of research and programme support
Hesta Groenewald is head of research and programme support at Saferworld, with more than 16 years' experience in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, security and justice and gender. She has worked in programme design and management, research and policy advocacy roles, and twice served on Saferworld's organisational management team. She also has previous experience in the UN and private sector. Her areas of expertise include conflict and gender analysis, conflict sensitivity, aid and conflict, community-based policing and safety, and peacebuilding responses to counter-terrorism. Her experience spans a number of geographical regions, including East Africa, Southeastern Europe and South Caucasus. Hesta is also an experienced trainer and facilitator for government, civil society and international donors.
Read articles and publications from Hesta
Elizabeth Bourne, communications manager
Elizabeth is communications manager, overseeing Saferworld’s communications and external profile. Having joined in 2012 as communications coordinator, she brings a range of experience working at non-governmental organisations, including at Oxfam as brand and communications officer where she supported on media, communications strategy and the organisation’s first global rebrand. Elizabeth also worked in a range of non-communications roles, including in funding and programmes for Oxfam and the Australian government.
Twitter: @bourneshort
Read articles and publications from Elizabeth
Lucia Montanaro, head of EU office and EU advocacy manager
Lucia is head of the EU office at Saferworld. She has over 25 years’ experience working on peace, security and conflict issues, including peacebuilding, mediation and reconciliation, governance, security, armed groups, organised crime, early warning, risk assessment, resilience and recovery. She has worked for the UN, EU and other organisations in numerous fragile and conflict-affected contexts across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
Her previous positions include working as a peace and development adviser for the United Nations in Mauritania; team leader for the UNDP on peacebuilding and stabilisation in Jonglei, South Sudan; senior adviser on early warning in Mali for SHAPE; coordinator of the National Plan for Peacebuilding and Recovery for the Central African Republic; expert for European Resources of Mediation Support (ERMES) for the European Union; team leader for International Alert, managing the ‘Initiative for Peacebuilding’ (IfP); and as a policy analyst at the European Policy Centre.
Shelagh Daley, Africa regional advocacy manager, Kampala
Shelagh Daley joined Saferworld in 2012. She now manages Saferworld’s engagement with the African Union and other regional bodies, providing advocacy support for Saferworld’s East Africa programmes. She previously managed the global advocacy team and led on organisational engagement with the UK and other government decision-makers and development practitioners. Before joining the team, she worked at Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) on the inclusion of women in peace processes. She also has several years of experience in international marketing and campaigning.
Shelagh brings a range of expertise on issues surrounding the arms trade, aid and conflict, gender, and conflict prevention.
Twitter: @shedales
Read articles and publications from Shelagh
Tim Midgley, senior conflict and security adviser
Tim joined Saferworld in September 2013 as senior conflict and security adviser with a focus on aid and conflict, conflict sensitivity, and security and justice. Before joining the team, Tim was the fragile states adviser for World Vision UK, as well as having worked for DfiD’s South Asia Department focusing on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and engaging in consultancy projects with donors such as GTZ and UNDP.
Tim’s expertise lies in integrating conflict-sensitive approaches into programming and disaster risk management across South/South East Asia and East Africa.
Twitter: @TimSaferworld
Read articles and publications from Tim
Ivan Campbell, senior conflict and security adviser
Ivan Campbell joined Saferworld in 2005 as the head of Africa programme, following over a decade of working in conflict-affected states including Burundi and Rwanda, and managing International Alert’s Great Lakes programme. In 2009, he took up his current role of senior conflict and security adviser, in which he provides technical support on peacebuilding, engaging civil society and international debates on peace and security.
Ivan leads Saferworld’s policy engagement with emerging global actors, with a focus on their role in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Peace.
Read articles and publications from Ivan
Diana Trimiño Mora, senior gender, peace and security adviser
Diana Trimiño Mora joined Saferworld in 2017 as the senior gender, peace and security adviser. She has over 15 years of experience working on issues around women’s and human rights, international law and displacement. Before joining the team, Diana led the International Rescue Committee’s policy work on women’s protection and empowerment in Europe.
She also has substantial experience of refugee protection and displacement issues, having previously worked for the University of London’s Refugee Law Initiative, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and as a refugee resettlement coordinator and migrants' rights adviser at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Her gender work has brought her to different regions such as Latin America, with organisations such as the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
Diana holds an LLM in international human rights law from Lund University, Sweden.
Bénédicte Goderiaux, senior policy and advocacy adviser
Bénédicte joined Saferworld in February 2018 as the senior policy and advocacy adviser, looking at how responses to migration, violent extremism and terrorism affect conflict dynamics. Previously, she was a researcher at Amnesty International with a focus on different conflict-affected African contexts including Sudan and Somalia.
Bénédicte brings an expertise in human rights, especially in the context of armed conflicts and in responses to terrorism and refugees in East and North Africa as well as globally. She also has a strong background in evidence-based research.
Roy Isbister, team leader – arms unit
Roy leads Saferworld's work on conventional arms. He has over 15 years’ experience in developing and implementing strategies to promote the adoption of responsible arms transfer control strategies nationally, regionally and internationally. He has edited and authored research papers, reports, policy briefings and articles on arms transfer control policies. Roy regularly contributes to international media on arms issues. He is currently co-chair of the global Control Arms Coalition and the coordinator of the UK NGO Working Group on Arms. Roy holds a masters in international relations from the University of Kent.
Read articles and publications from Roy
Elizabeth Kirkham, arms unit adviser
Elizabeth has worked on arms and security issues at Saferworld since 1993. Elizabeth's areas of interest include national, regional and international arms transfer control policies and practices and global and regional efforts to stem the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons. Elizabeth has produced numerous publications for Saferworld on a wide range of related issues such as: how an international Arms Trade Treaty could be monitored and verified; and priorities for strengthened controls on small arms transfers in order to prevent their diversion.
Read articles and publications from Elizabeth
Charlotte Watson, conflict and security adviser
Charlotte joined Saferworld as a conflict and security adviser in January 2016. She has over 15 years’ experience working on conflict and peacebuilding with a specific focus on security and justice and conflict-sensitive development. She was a co-author of Saferworld’s gender analysis of conflict toolkit.
Prior to joining Saferworld, Charlotte spent five years as an independent consultant based in Uganda and South Africa. She worked for USAID, Danish Demining Group, Department for International Development, PwC and the Institute for Security Studies and led research and field work in Karamoja, Uganda and Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan. She also worked as a technical conflict adviser for the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister. Charlotte spent eight years at International Alert, leading their security and peacebuilding work and developing their community security work in Nepal.
Charlotte holds an MA in politics from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in violence, conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Rob Morris, conflict and security adviser
Rob joined Saferworld in 2018 as conflict and security adviser. He has over five years of experience delivering applied research and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) to support development, humanitarian and peacebuilding assistance in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. His main areas of interest include integrating political economy, conflict analysis and adaptive programming methods to strengthen aid effectiveness and conflict-sensitive practices.
Prior to joining Saferworld, Rob was a consultant for Oxford Policy Management’s conflict, security and violence team where he delivered research and technical assistance to DFID, the government of New Zealand, UNICEF, the World Bank and the private sector in places such as Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Somalia and Thailand. Rob has a BA (Hons) in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford and MSc in violence, conflict and development from SOAS, University of London.