PPI's experts (selection)
Dr. Albrecht A. Beck
Managing director
Albrecht Beck is a Disaster Management and Preparedness Expert who has been working hands-on in the field for the last 13 years as a UNDAC team member.
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The organisations and institutions that have benefited from Albrecht's expertise are, inter alia, IOM, UN-DPKO and the Competence Center for Disaster Risk Diplomacy.
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In response to the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Albrecht identified the need to strengthen the preparedness of states and territories, cities, corporations and communities to prevent or mitigate the impact of calamities and thus, founded Prepared International.
Marc Arnold
Senior Analyst and Expert for SIDS
Marc Arnold is a Climate Change Adaptation Expert with a long-standing experience in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
He gained hands-on experience in disaster response and international relief coordination in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and during EU funded regional programs in the field of coastal protection and Disaster Risk Reduction Initiatives beyond the Caribbean Region.
For more than 20 years, Marc worked in the public sector as both manager and senior advisor on ministerial level for the governments of the Netherlands and Sint Maarten.
Antonia Vignolo
Project Officer
Antonia Vignolo is an expert in migration management in the European and MENA regions, from a climate change perspective.
She holds a M.Sc. in International Migration and Public Policy.
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Previously, Antonia supported the Emergency Response Section and the Donor Relation Section at the UN OCHA.
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Gudrun Van Pottelbergh
Analyst of Emergency Preparedness & Crisis Management
Gudrun Van Pottelberg has wide expertise on Crisis Management, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
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For the last fifteen years, she has been providing both research, training and evaluation to a broad range of crisis management actors, such as the UN or OSCE, governmental agencies, civil societies and academic institutions.
Dr. Robert Spiegel
Specialist for Emergency Health & Disaster Management
Robert Spiegel is an expert in Disaster Management and Emergency Health.
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For the last 14 years, Robert has been working with UNDAC teams around the world and is the medicine man of SARUV-International Search and Rescue Vorarlberg.
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Robert has enormous expertise in emergency medicine and his hardwork in ensuring access to basic medical care to rural areas in, inter alia, Southeastern Africa.
Richard Lines
Senior Expert for Emergency Sheltering
Richard is a senior expert on shelter and emergency evacuation with hands-on experience gained in field missions in the Dominican Republic, Tanzania, Dominica, Lombok, Bangladesh, The Bahamas and Burkina Faso.
His experience also covers partner assessment, training-the-trainer, beneficiary needs assessment, logistics, planning and managing complex distributions and conducting detailed monitoring and evaluation research.
Richard is a fully qualified accountant, with experience in a variety of senior commercial roles in the private sector, and is able to utilise these skills in his work in the humanitarian field.
Jakob (Sjaak) Seen
Specialist for Disaster Coordination & Urban Response
Jacob Seen was one of the disaster managers in charge of the COVID-19 response in the Rotterdam- Rijnmond region, as well as within the National Operational Coordination Center in Zeist, the Netherlands.
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In addition, "Sjaak" has more than 40 years of experience as Emergency Manager in Disaster and Crisis and he has designed Emergency Operations Centers of the latest technology.
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"Sjaak" is a team member of UNDAC and has long-time experience in facilitating and training at UN/UNDAC/OCHA Environmental Emergency courses.
Verena Lahousen
Expert for Mediation &
Conflict Prevention
Verena Lahousen has a background in law and international relations, and she is both consulting, and teaching conflict management at university level.
She is a passionate mediator, trainer and coach, who believes in attitudinal change through experiential learning.
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Verena has served with the UN in-country missions in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, The South Caucasus, and the Middle East.
Gert Teder
Specialist for Fire Rescue &
Disaster Preparedness
Gerd Teder is an expert in Search and Rescue (SAR), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), as well as newest technology for first response and Fire Rescue Systems.
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Gerd is the Team Leader of the Estonian Search and Rescue Team and a renowned member of UNDAC and EU Civil Protection Teams.
Dr. Odeda Benin-Goren
Specialist for Emergency Preparedness & Emergency Medical Systems
Odeda Benin-Goren is our Senior Consultant for Emergency Preparedness, Assessment and Coordination in Disasters (Emergency Medical Systems).
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Odeda is the Academic Coordinator at the Center for Emergency Response Research (PREPARED) at the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel.
Louis Boshoff
Expert for Emergency Operations & Logistics
Louis Boshoff has worked for the WFP in the Global Logistics Cluster in various conflict-affected and fragile states, developing and implementing large and high-profile emergency logistics and supply chain programs.
Louis is an Emergency Response and Operations manager who works with emergency actors to get supply chain, inter-agency coordination and service delivery projects done.
Franklin Babila Doh
Senior Adviser for Humanitarian Relief in Africa
Franklin Babila Doh has a broad experience on human security topics, with a focus on disaster risk management and humanitarian assistance.
Frank has been working for the Pan African Institute for Development in the last 5 years and is currently employed within the West Africa Division as Deputy Center Coordinator.
Marc Devalckeneer
Expert for Emergency Logistics & CCCM
Marc Devalckeneer spent his life with the famous B-Fast Team and the Belgium military.
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In missions around the whole world, Marc was a key element in the response to both natural and man-made disasters and was therefore selected to support the NATO Emergency Response Missions.
Marc is a certified Logistic Instructor who has been working for, inter alia, the International Humanitarian Partnership, the Global Logistic Cluster, EU, CP Mechanism and in the Camp Coordination structures of the United Nations.
Michael Halwachs
Specialist for Critical Infrastructure & Urban Planning
Michael Halwachs is an expert on critical infrastructure management and communication technologies.
Michael has long standing expertise in local and community level capacity building for disaster resilience. He is also an experienced HSSE Manager.
Harshita Bisht
Analyst for Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change
Harshita Bisht is an Environment and Public Policy professional with expertise in project management, research and knowledge development in DRR, climate adaptation and resilience sector
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Harshita is an expert in institutional reforms, capacity building, knowledge sharing, peer to peer learning & evaluation as well as learning across developing countries.
Suresh Raj Pandit
Senior Expert for Nepal & Mountainous Areas
Suresh Raj Pandit is an expert in Emergency Management and Coordination.
Suresh is specialised in Emergency program planning, including preparedness, multi-sector response, recovery, coordination and capacity building of humanitarian partners and government agencies
Marla Nykyri
Expert for Pandemic & Emergency Medicine
Marla Nykyri is an expert in Emergency Medicine with long-standing hands-on field experience with infectious diseases.
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She is also a renowned trainer with years of experience in conducting courses, exercises and activities for, inter alia, European Civil Protection Mechanism, Red Cross, WHO and ICP.
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Marla has been working also with the COVID-19 Emergency Response as Human Resources Coordinator in Kuala Lumpur.
Ólafur Loftsson
Senior USAR trainer &
expert for Mediation
Olafur Loftson is an expert in USAR and a renowned trainer in search and rescue. He is specialised in International Mountain Rescue and Ice Climbing.
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Olafur is also a Harvard-certified Negotiation and Mediation Expert.
Andrew Bradley
Expert for Technical Disasters & Critical Infrastructure
Our expert in, inter alia, Crisis Planning and Humanitarian Emergency Response, Andrew is also a Certified Emergency Manager within the International Association of Emergency Managers.
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Andrew has long-standing expertise in emergency response across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, within the private sector (operational and corporate), national governments and international non-governmental humanitarian response entities.
Andrew is also part in capacity teams for international organisations as both an Emergency Specialist and Humanitarian Affairs Officer. In addition, he is on duty-call for the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the Canadian International Civilian Response Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and ShelterBox International.
James Ritchie
Senior Expert for Emergency Evaluation & Private Sector
James Ritchie has diverse senior leadership experience from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. He worked with, inter alia, international development, environment, water, Australian State Government Public Service, community mental health and mining sectors.
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James has held various Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management responsibilities throughout his career, in particular executive accountability for fire and flood response, counter terrorism planning and emergency evacuation.
Esther Barbara Kanini Njiru
Expert for Urban Reslience &
Risk Reduction
Esther Barbara Kanini Njiru is an expert in Urban Development Research and Data Analysis with key skills in, inter alia, Spatial and Land Use planning, GIS and Remote Sensing Data Collection, integration of Climate Information into National Adaptation Plans, etc.
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Esther has a long-lasting experience in Database Support for UN-Habitat and is specialized in using a range of image interpretation software such as ArcGis, TerrSet, Erdas Imagine for geospatial data analysis and modelling.
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Esther is a highly experienced expert on urban planning for disaster risk reduction, with a focus on data management, capacity building and urban development.
Raman Madan
Senior Expert for Emergency Medicine &
Disaster Technology
Raman Madan is an expert in Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management since 2001.
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Raman is also a trainer and has conducted over 300 courses, exercises and table-tops at all levels: operational, tactical and strategic.
Raman has international expertise, gained through his work as a coordination and assessment expert for the European Civil Protection Mechanism, and as project manager of the European Modular Field Hospital.
Raman has developed the Emergency Management App & Platform, aimed at supporting organisations with a software tool for their operational staff.
Martin Fisher
Expert for Fragile Contexts & Humanitarian Affairs
Martin has a wide range of experience within humanitarian affairs, working with the United Nations and the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in different countries around the world.
Martin has been working in leading positions in fragile context, preparing local structures for emergencies as well as responding to immediate needs in a strategic way. His expertise extends from developing key partnerships with donors and ensuring information exchange for a coordinated implementation of humanitarian action as well as the possibility of establishment of structures in fragile context.
He has been working in Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, not only as Humanitarian Affairs Officer, but also as Operations Manager, Trainer and Course Facilitator.
Andra I. Covaciu
Expert for Human Rights
Andra Covaciu is an expert in Human Rights, with a specific focus on vulnerable groups and international peace and security aspects.
Andra has strong expertise in the use of vulnerability research methods and offers a regional expertise in the Pacific.
She holds a MSc in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaption.
Aurelio Escobar
Smart City Expert
Aurelio is a technical architect who focuses on urban regeneration and sustainable territorial development, merging new technologies with integral and holistic project management.
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He has expertise in the Latin American area, where he supported public institutions in disaster risk management and worked on a wide range of projects aimed at reducing the impact of disasters in urban areas.
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Aurelio is a member of various working groups for sustainable urban regeneration, as well as in the group of specialist technicians for damage assessment after disastrous events in Spain.
Arina Bešlagić
Protection and Rescue Expert
Arina has a wide experience in Coordinating humanitarian assistance during major crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the neighboring countries.
She is also an expert in the execution of international obligations and cooperation in civil protection. She worked as coordinator of activities of Civil Protection Administrations of Entities and Department for Public Safety of Brcko District in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Arina is a highly experienced expert in preparing simulations and trainings, organizaton of table top exercises, field exercises, conferences, workshops both with national institutions and international organizations.
Anders Laukvik
Senior Capacity Development Advisor & Expert in Emergency Operations Coordination and ICT
Anders Laukvik is an expert in on-site disaster coordination and especially the technical side of operations management.
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For 20 years, Anders was key in developing the IM and ICT support of the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) for UNDAC. In his daily work, Anders has, for over 20 years, been working with the Fire Department in Norway in Response including Incident Command, Dispatch and Coordination, and Fire Prevention.
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As a highly experienced trainer, Anders has worked with organizations around the world. He has a specific personality as a «Peoples person», one who sees those around him, utilizes their strengths and brings calm.
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Tarek Tawil
Expert for Displacement and Conflict settings
Tarek Tawil is a humanitarian practitioner specialising in the protection and support of refugees and internally displaced persons in conflict settings. He worked with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the UNHCR during the conflict in Syria between 2014 and 2019 assuming various responsibilities.
Tarek also worked in Humanitarian Affairs at the Headquarters of OCHA, and at the Global Level of Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster. He is an expert in child protection response and humanitarian negotiations with non-state armed groups.
Jorge Terrones
Business Continuity Expert
Jorge Terrones is a Systems Engineer with a Master's Degree in Risk, Disasters and Resilience from University College London, specializing in disaster risk reduction and operational continuity.
Jorge has 15 years of experience in the private sector and in the UN system leading projects, risk management strategies, and emergency/disaster preparedness and response policies.
In the last 7 years, Jorge has focused on the Continuity of Operations/Governance and Disaster Preparedness in Conflict Zones.
Overall, he has worked in Latin America and Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.
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Claudia Pereira
Environmental Expert
(GIS & Data)
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Claudia Pereira is a landscape architect holding a masters in geographic information systems (GIS), with ten years of international work experience in the field of data and information management, GIS, humanitarian emergency responses, environment and climate change, in countries such as East-Timor, Iraq, Nigeria, Mozambique and Egypt.
After spending four years in East-Timor working closely with local communities in several climate-related and local development projects as an environmental consultant, she joined the UN Migration Agency (IOM) for the last seven years as a field data collection expert and project manager on internal displacement in natural disaster and conflict settings.
Julius Kaut
Food Security Expert
Julius is specialized in food and nutrition security in protracted crises and food system resilience, with a special focus on Somalia and South Sudan, and the wider Horn of Africa. He comes from a background in disaster risk management and conflict management.
Julius has previously studied and worked in Israel, Myanmar, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Julius is currently researching at the Zero Hunger Lab of Tilburg University on the impact of humanitarian aid on conflict dynamics in protracted crisis settings.
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Do you want to join our team?
Prepared International (PPI) is a growing organization – our quality and performance is based on the excellent expertise of our members. Our international recognition as a reliable partner is incorporated in a set of values which focuses on excellence, innovation, responsibility, integrity, and special focus on the ones most in need. We are setting high standards for our in-house staff, as well as for our external experts. PPI seeks to attract and retain people whose education, talents and commitment are among the best world-wide. We provide our staff with best opportunities for personal and professional enhancement within a supportive and stimulating company culture.
We are constantly looking for strong experts and committed personnel in the fields of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaption and humanitarian aid for different projects.
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If you would like to become part of our pool of experts for projects and studies, please send your up-to-date CV in English, using the standard EU CV formats, to office@prepared-international.org.