Our Team in Philippines

Mr. Regis Chapman has over 27 years of international development and humanitarian experience, having served with the United Nations World Food Programme in a variety of contexts since 2005.

He assumed his role as the Representative and Country Director of WFP Philippines on 27 June 2024 following his tenure at the helm of WFP’s Caribbean Multi-Country Office, which oversees the organization’s work throughout the English and Dutch-speaking Carribean. He strategically led the implementation and growth of an innovative portfolio of support designed to strengthen national social protection, disaster management, and food systems, covering regional entities and 22 countries and territories.

Mr. Chapman has extensive field experience in humanitarian and development programmes around the world in a variety of leadership roles, including in the Regional Bureau for Latin America & the Caribbean (2013-2018), Somalia (2010-2013), Afghanistan (2008-2010), Regional Bureau for East and Central Africa (2007-2008), Timor Leste (2006), Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific (2006) and Indonesia (2005).

Before joining WFP, he worked with the Red Cross Movement on food security programmes and emergency response, and with the United States Peace Corps on grassroots community development efforts in rural El Salvador.

Mr. Chapman is a national of the United States of America. He holds a graduate degree in Marketing from Arizona State University.

Ms. Sirpa Jarvenpaa brings more than 30 years of development finance experience. An Economist from the Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University, Ms. Sirpa Jarvenpaa has worked in Southeast Asia from 1990, initially with UNDP to implement the new economic management system in the Region’s transitional countries.

She has an extensive career with the Asian Development Bank of more than 20 years focused on infrastructure planning, implementation, policy and institutional strengthening, including in energy and other infrastructure sectors as well as in corporate roles, particularly in strategic planning, resource allocation and mobilization.

Ms. Jarvenpaa established and headed ADB’s South Pacific Subregional Office in Suva, Fiji. She served as the Director of the President’s Office at the International Fund for Agricultural Development and as a Strategy and Partnerships Director of the Global Green Growth Institute and prepared its global strategy for low-carbon investments.

Most recently, Ms. Jarvenpaa established the operations of the Southeast Asia Energy Transition in Southeast Asia as a premier partner to pursue SDGs and the Paris Climate Goals and is currently supporting UNOPS East Asia and Pacific Multicountry Office in the Philippines as the Officer in Charge and as a Senior Partnership Advisor.

Mr. Vugar Allahverdiyev assumed his post as Regional Programme Manager with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) in the Philippines in March 2023. Prior to this assignment, Vugar served as Programme Management Officer with the UNOCT coordinating Countering Terrorist Travel Programme based in Budapest, Hungary. In this role, he managed the global flagship ‘all-of-UN’ initiative aimed at building national capacities to detect and prevent the movement of terrorists and organized serious crime groups using passenger data, while upholding human rights and data privacy in the border Eastern Europe, Southern Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region. Between 2014-2021, Vugar helped set up the current United Nations Office of Youth at the UN Headquarters in New York, working in various capacities responsible for programme management, resource mobilization, member state and donor relations. He started his career at the United Nations Development Programme in his home country (Azerbaijan) in 2006. Vugar brings over 15 years of experience with the United Nations at national, regional, and international levels. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Central European University, currently based in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Alexander Hamilton assumed his post as Regional Coordinator for South East Asia in April 2020, continuing UNICRI’s long-term support to the implementation of the European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative. With UNICRI since 2012, he has worked extensively with partner countries in South East Asia and Africa, among other regions, to develop strategic actions plans and to deliver capacity-building actions that have helped strengthen national and regional capacity to prevent, detect and respond to CBRN emergencies. Dr. Hamilton holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) specializing in risk governance and biosecurity. He has published extensively on these subjects, and is a regular contributor to international efforts dedicated to combating biological weapons.

Ms. Atsuko Okuda is the Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Asia and the Pacific. She has considerable years of professional and leadership experience in the field of ICT and development working with different UN organizations. Prior to joining ITU, she was the Chief of the ICT and Development Section of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in Bangkok, Thailand where she promoted the development of regional broadband connectivity through the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS) initiative. Ms. Okuda has also worked with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut, UNHQ, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the UNDP Country Office in Bhutan. Ms. Okuda obtained a BA from Kyoto University (Japan), MA from Helsinki University (Finland) and a PhD from the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (Netherlands).

Mr. Behzad Noubary joined UNICEF Philippines as Deputy Representative, Programmes in November 2020. Previously, he served as UNICEF Deputy Representative in Morocco. Behzad joined UNICEF in 2008 with assignments in New York, Gabon, DR Congo, and Yemen.

Prior to joining UNICEF, Behzad worked as management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the US and served in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso where he was a secondary-school mathematics teacher.

Behzad holds degrees from Columbia University in the city of New York and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Christopher Rollo assumed his post as the Country Programme Manager of UN-Habitat in the Philippines in January 2012, after serving as UN-Habitat Knowledge Manager from 2007. Before joining UN-Habitat, he was the Chairman of the National Committee on Visual Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (2001-2007) and Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (2004-2006). Mr. Rollo, a Filipino national, holds a Master’s degree in Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. He has also had three years of law studies at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law.

Mr. Daniele Marchesi, an Italian national, is the Country Manager of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Programme Office in the Philippines. Prior to his appointment in the Philippines, Mr. Marchesi served in the Office of the Executive Director of UNODC and Director-General of UNOV, where he supported the ED/DG on policy coordination, inter-agency affairs, political analysis, management issues, and programme as well as strategy development in the areas of drugs, crime, terrorism, corruption and justice reform. In 2012, he joined the UN Secretariat and was first posted at United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago (2012-2015), where he was responsible for managing and fundraising for a variety of regional and country-level programmes. From 2007-2012, Mr. Marchesi served in the external relations and development cooperation of the European Commission, including in the cabinet of the External Relations Commissioner, in DG AIDCO in Brussels and in the EU delegation in Libya. Mr. Marchesi holds a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Cologne, a Master of Arts in European Public Administration from the College of Europe in Bruges, a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from LUISS in Rome and is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Mr. Joseph Addawe has been working as an Information Management Officer at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Philippines since 2010. He was deployed to numerous emergencies in the Philippines to provide assessments and information management support and services.

Prior to joining OCHA Philippines, Joseph worked as a Statistical Coordination Officer for the National Statistical Coordination Board (now Philippine Statistics Authority), as a data analyst consultant for the Asian Development Bank, and as a GIS Officer for Geodata Systems. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Statistics degree from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and his Master’s Degree in Geoinformatics (GIS) from The International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands.

Mr. Khalid Hassan is the Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines. Mr. Hassan has an extensive background on fundamental principles and rights at work, rural development and primary education. Prior to the Philippines, he served for 17 years in ILO Country Offices for Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and in Tanzania and Pakistan. In Africa, Mr. Hassan led teams in the fight against child labor, inequality and poverty as Chief Technical Adviser of ILO Projects on Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education (ARISE) in 2013-2016, and the Support to the National Action Plan on Child Labour (SNAP) in 2010-2013. The ARISE and SNAP Projects contributed to significantly reducing child labour while implementing national action plans in Africa.Mr. Hassan holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Peshwar.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Leila Joudane has led UNFPA country office teams in Tunisia and Iran, engaging partners and stakeholders to realize and promote ICPD PoA . Under her leadership, UNFPA COs intensified their operations and programs to end preventable maternal deaths and gender-based violence. Prior to working with UNFPA, Leila was the Deputy Director of the Strategic Planning Department of the National Family Institute and of the Population Department of the Tunisian Ministry of Health for over 10 years. She holds a doctorate in medicine and a master's degree in quality management of care.

Dr. Lionel Dabbadie assumed this post on 31 January 2023. Before this posting, Lionel served as Senior Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer of FAO based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. In this role, he was responsible for providing support to Gulf Cooperation Council States and Yemen. Prior to this, he has been working at FAO Headquarters in Rome where he was responsible for a programme aimed at developing guidelines for sustainable aquaculture.
A doctoral graduate of the University of Paris-Jussieu and an Agronomist Engineer of Montpellier SupAgro, Lionel served for over 25 years as a scientist for the French Agricultural Research Center (Cirad), working in partnership with local institutions in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Dr. Louie R. Ocampo assumed his post as Country Director of UNAIDS in the Philippines in January 2018. He is a public health professional with extensive experience in health systems strengthening. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Ocampo served as the Provincial Health Officer in Palawan from 2012 to 2015. He acquired his hospital management experience during his stints as Chief of Medical Professional Staff at the Department of Health’s Ospital ng Palawan from 2015 to 2017, and at the Northern Palawan Provincial Hospital from 2013 to 2014. As the Medical Coordinator for the STI, HIV, and AIDS Control Program, he was engaged in advocacy and awareness campaigns, and has also provided medical care and psychosocial support to People Living with HIV (PLHIV). He pioneered the establishment of Palawan and Puerto Princesa City’s Local AIDS Council. Dr. Ocampo, a Filipino national, holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippines, and a Master’s degrees in Public Health and Management in Hospital Administration from the University of the Philippines.

Ma. Rosalyn Mesina or Lenlen Mesina is UN Women’s Country Programme Coordinator effective 1 July 2022 tasked to stir and lead its coordination and programming work in the Philippines.

Lenlen brings to this role her 25 years of experience of advancing women’s issues and causes in diverse settings in the Philippines and at the international level. Prior to joining UN Women, she has led and delivered national projects such as the Women in the C-Suite research that looked into the factors affecting women’s leadership in the Philippine corporate setting, and the development of a framework for the gender based violence observatory of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, as well as served as the Gender Justice Adviser for Oxfam Pilipinas. From 2012 - 2017, she was the Executive Director of Enrich, a Hong Kong-based NGO, and was instrumental to its growth as one of the most recognized charities in Hong Kong which provides economic empowerment through financial education and personal development programmes for migrant domestic workers and ethnic minorities. Before leaving for Hong Kong, she has engaged and worked with various women’s organizations, local government units and national government agencies to further women’s rights, empowerment and gender equality through capacity building, planning, programming and policy making too.

Ms. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa brings experience of nearly 30 years with UNESCO, UNICEF and JICA, at global, regional, and country levels. She assumed her role as the Director of UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Jakarta, and UNESCO Representative to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste in July 2023. Prior to her current assignment, she served as the Director of the Division for Education 2030 at UNESCO Headquarters overseeing UNESCO’s global programmes on Gender and Inclusive Education, Higher Education, Education in Emergencies and led the global SDG4 coordination mechanism. In addition, during 2022, she served as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Transforming Education Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General in September 2022. Ms. Katsuno-Hayashikawa holds Master’s degrees in Educational Planning from the Institute of Education, University College London, and in Early Childhood Education from the South Australia University; and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mr. Marco Toscano Rivalta is the current Chief of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). He has a wealth of expertise spanning more than 25 years, dedicating his career to international cooperation, collaborating with the UN and various international organizations. His extensive experience extends across both headquarters and fieldwork, focusing on critical areas such as sustainable development, disaster risk management, humanitarian relief, and the protection of refugees, IDPs, and human rights.

Ms. Maria Ermina “Iya” Valdeavilla-Gallardo is the Head of the Philippines Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She assumed the position in 2021 after over a decade working in and eventually leading the Protection Unit for refugees and stateless persons in Manila. Throughout her career in UNHCR, Iya has contributed to the operation’s efforts to enhance the protection space for persons of concern through policy and legal development advocacy, and also build the protection capacities of duty-bearers through the provision of technical and practical knowledge. While her expertise is focused on refugee and statelessness issues, she has also worked in the field of IDP protection, having assisted in the advocacy efforts for national IDP legislation. From 2018 to 2020, she has assumed officer-in-charge functions for the Philippines operations at the request of the Representative in the latter’s absence and had represented UNHCR in the Humanitarian Country Team, UN Country Team and Security Management Team.

Prior to joining UNHCR, Iya worked with the Department of Agriculture and a number of law firms in Manila. She has been a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines since 2010. She obtained a degree in Speech Communication from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and her Bachelor of Laws from the San Beda College of Law. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Laws degree from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Beyond the formal education setting, Iya has also completed several courses and trainings on refugee protection and statelessness from the Institute of International Humanitarian Law and in Tilburg University, among others.

Mr. Miklos Gaspar is the Director of the UN Information Centres (UNIC) for South East Asia, including UNIC Manila. He has more than 25 years of experience in public information, communications and international relations, both at the United Nations and externally. His UN experience includes being Chief of Digital Media and Public Information Materials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Chief of Communications and Events at the International Trade Centre (ITC). Before joining the UN in 2009, Mr. Gaspar had held several senior-level positions in the private sector, including as Editor-in-Chief of the Budapest Business Journal and Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President of Pressflex, LLC. Mr. Gaspar holds a Doctoral degree in Linguistics from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.

Ms. Rakhi Sinha assumed her role as Security Advisor in the Philippines on 31 October 2024 after an impactful tenure of eleven months in UN Cambodia.

Prior to joining the UNSMS Cambodia, Rakhi worked for five and half years with the UN Department of Safety and Security in Libya as DSA and CSA a.i. Her career as a security professional with UNDSS began in 2009 in Darfur, Sudan. Thereafter, she led the UNDSS team in managing diverse and complex security situations in high-risk duty stations and multi-country UN Security Management System teams, including Sudan, Zambia, Malaysia-Singapore and Brunei, Libya and Cambodia. With over 15 years of experience with UNDSS, she has demonstrated her expertise in managing security operations across diverse and often high risk and challenging environments.

Prior to joining UNDSS, Rakhi had 22 years of professional experience as a commissioned officer in Indian (federal) Police services in various commanding capacities across India. She has the distinction of joining the Indian federal Police as part of the first batch of women Commissioned Officers.

Her pioneering leadership extended to international peacekeeping, where she led the first all-female Indian Formed Police Unit (FPU) in UN (UNMIL, Liberia), an initiative and rare distinction that gained global recognition for empowering women in conflict zones. Her longstanding commitment to women empowerment, both in security and beyond, earned her the honor of addressing the launching event of UN Women in UN General Assembly Hall. Rakhi’s blend of operational acumen and advocacy for gender equality continues to define her legacy as a transformative leader in global security.

Dr. Rui Paulo de Jesus joined the WHO Country Office for the Philippines on 15 April 2023. Prior to his appointment, he was the WHO Representative to Bhutan from 2017 to 2023. He also worked at the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) in New Delhi, India as the Coordinator for Country Support and Coordination from 2015 to 2017. Dr Rui also held other senior positions at WHO SEARO, including serving as the Regional Advisor for Leprosy Elimination Programme (2012-2014), Regional Advisor for Communicable Diseases Control (2010-2012), Technical Officer for Country Cooperation Strategy and Governing Bodies (2009), and Technical Officer for Sustainable Health Policy (2006-2009). Prior to joining WHO, Dr Rui worked at the World Bank Office in Timor-Leste as a Senior Health Specialist (2004-2005). He also held various senior positions in the government of Timor-Leste during the UN East Timor Transitional Administration.

Dr. Selva Ramachandran, a Malaysian national, is a seasoned development practitioner. Prior to his appointment as Resident Representative of UNDP Philippines, he served as the UNDP Resident Representative and Country Director of UNDP Sudan from July 2015 to September 2020. Dr. Ramachandran also served as the UNDP Country Director in Libya (2014-2015); Chief of North East Asia and Mekong Division, Regional Bureau of Asia & Pacific, New York (2010-2014); and UNDP Country Director in Yemen (2007 -2010). He was the Chief of Regional Programme (2004-2007) and Deputy Chief of Southeast Asia and Pacific Division, Regional Bureau for Asia Pacific, New York (2003-2004); and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan (2000-2003). He started his career as a National Programme Officer with UNDP Malaysia (1995-2000). Before joining UNDP, he worked as the Manager of the Australian Aid Programme, Australian High Commission, Malaysia (1993-1995) and as a Lecturer of Population Studies in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciencesat the University of Malaya (1984-1988). With global experience spanning from South and East Asia, the Pacific, and Central Asia to the Arab states and North America, Dr. Ramachandran brings expertise in the areas of poverty alleviation and sustainable development; governance and rule of law; social inclusion; gender equality; community security, stabilization and peace building; disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; climate change and renewable energy; disaster management; partnering against violent extremism; and innovation for development and New Ways of Working in the context of humanitarian-development peace nexus. He holds a PhD in Asian and International Studies from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He also holds a Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Population Studies from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ms. Signe Poulsen has served as the Senior Human Rights Adviser to the United Nations in the Philippines since July 2020. Prior to that, she served as the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul from 2015 to 2020. She has held various positions with the UN including in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan and Liberia. She holds an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ms. Sylvie Bétemps Cochin is the Senior Trade Promotion Officer, Office for Asia and The Pacific, at the International Trade Centre (ITC). Sylvie Bétemps Cochin has more than 17 years of experience in international trade, project management and trade-related technical assistance in Asia and Africa.

She is responsible for a portfolio of 14 Asian countries, including least developed countries (LDCs), for which she leads country coordination and client relationships. She has managed and developed multi-disciplinary traderelated technical assistance projects in Asia, including in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. She is currently managing the Arise Plus Philippines project funded by the European Union, among other projects in the region.

Previously, she was the Adviser for a large regional trade and economic integration programme in Africa. She was also responsible for managing regional projects, supporting south-south trade promotion, institutional strengthening and the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Africa.

As National Program Officer for UNIDO Country Office Philippines (UCO-PHI) since early 2018, Mr. Teddy Monroy assists in and contributes to portfolio development and management, as well as in attending to UN Country Team activities, particularly in the development of the updated Socioeconomic and Peacebuilding Framework, 2020-2023, between the United Nations and the Government of the Philippines. He actively develops new technical cooperation projects in line with UNIDO’s Country Programming Framework on Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development 2018-2023, a framework he also helped develop.
In recent years, his work has focused on SME development; facilitating the strengthening of quality infrastructure for market access; fostering the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies; promoting circularity, resource efficiency, cleaner production, and bankable business models; and building partnerships with the private sector and development partners within the Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) framework. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, he assisted the Country Office in implementing UNIDO’s COVID-19 agenda in support of the country’s healthcare sector, food agro-industries, and other industry sectors including SMEs, mobilizing public and private sector resources toward green recovery and resilience. Mr. Monroy is a Chemical Engineer with an MSc. in Chemical Engineering from the Dela Salle University, Manila, Philippines, where he also served as Assistant Professor and Researcher for more than 5 years.

Ms. Tristan Burnett works for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and is the newly appointed Chief of Mission in the Philippines. Prior to this post, she was the Deputy Director of the Department of Operations and Emergencies at IOM Headquarters which coordinates IOM’s humanitarian response to conflict and natural disasters, and its movement and resettlement operations.

Her role included overseeing a multi-year initiative to strengthen IOM’s crisis response capacity and role in the humanitarian system, including systems, platforms, training, and guidance. She was the co-chair of the Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework’s Steering Committee and the institutional focal point to the Interagency Standing Committee, engaging in its subsidiary structures and contributing to special initiatives including the IASC Protection Policy
Review; Review of the Humanitarian System; UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, and on the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus.

Previously, Tristan served as the head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division (PRD) responsible for sudden onset and protracted crises, overseeing the institutional units on shelter; camp coordination and camp management (CCCM); displacement tracking (DTM); protection; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); and preparedness for natural hazards and conflict-derived and complex emergencies. She has also managed programmes to prevent and
address human trafficking, including capacity building for law enforcement and consular officials and reintegration assistance for survivors, and has led a system-wide initiative on joint complaint handling mechanisms for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) incidents.
Tristan has been posted in Washington, DC; Afghanistan; Indonesia; and Switzerland. She graduated from Willamette University College of Law with a Juris Doctor and from Boston University with a BA in International Relations.

Mr. Umit Mansiz, has been responsible for the management of the IFAD programmes in Palestine and Yemen since 2019 at IFAD Near East, North Africa and Europe Division (NEN).

He has more than 15 years’ experience in managing projects and leading teams in International Organizations. He has substantial experience working in both rural development and humanitarian sectors mainly in conflict affected areas and fragile states. He served in various senior management positions in both the private sector and United Nations Organizations. He has also published books and papers in the field of Economics and Foreign Investments.

Mr. Mansiz holds Master’s Degree in Economics (MA) and Business Administration (MBA).

Ms. Yujeong Kim is the Senior Programme Management Officer for the United Nations Environment Programme’s Asia Pacific Office based in Bangkok. Her current work focuses on enhancing environmental science-policy interface in the region. Before joining UNEP, she worked for the Office for Sustainable Development of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, where she led capacity building and policy advisory activities aimed at accelerating the achievement of the SDGs for Member States. Her dedication to sustainable development extends to her previous roles in the Korean Government, where she led policy design and implementation on crucial environmental issues, including air quality, chemicals, water, climate change, and green growth. Ms. Kim holds a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Earth System Sciences from Seoul National University.