This is a key selection of staff participating in the design and implementation of thie Global Platform. In addition to staff listed below, ICTSD’s information and communications team—including the editors of its periodical publications—is significantly involved, particularly in dissemination strategies.
RICARDO MELÉNDEZ-ORTIZ, Chief Executive; his previous experience, includes: co-founder and General Director of Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano (Quito); negotiator and delegate for Colombia in the Uruguay Round, the UN Rio 1992 Summit process, UNCTAD VIII, the Climate Change Convention, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Montreal Protocol and bilateral trade and investment-related negotiation processes. He also acted as Spokesperson for the G-77 in several fora and served as Chair of the UN Standing Committees on Commodities and on Trade Preferences; was Principal Advisor to the Colombian Minister of Economic Development; and Chief of Administration at the Office of the President of Colombia. Mr Meléndez-Ortiz is since 1996 the publisher of the specialized journal BRIDGES, its series of periodicals and their Russian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese editions. Has been part of several international commissions and task forces on global economic governance and has authored, co-edited or published a number of published articles and books. Educated at Harvard University and the Universidad de los Andes (Bogota), he holds both Belgian and Colombian nationalities.
MOUSTAPHA KAMAL GUEYE, Senior Associate – Global Platform. Dr. Moustapha Kamal GUEYE is Senior Associate at ICTSD. Initially he joined ICTSD as Environment Cluster Senior Programme Manager. Dr Gueye worked and researched for twelve years across Asia and managed policy research projects on energy, environment and sustainable development in China and India at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan. Previously, he worked for the Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on fisheries policy and legislation in Africa. He was consultant to the Fair Trade Commission of Japan and advised the Toyota Motor Corporation World Convention on corporate environment and social initiatives in Africa. He is a visiting lecturer at the University of Tokyo. Dr. Kamal holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in International Cooperation Studies from the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Japan; a Diplôme D’Etudes Approfondies (DEA) in Public International Law and LL.M. in International Economic Law from the University of Dakar, Senegal. He is author of numerous reports and articles on trade and sustainable development. Most recently, he was the co-editor of Linking Trade, Climate Change and Energy: Selected Issue Briefs (ICTSD 2006). Dr. Kamal is a citizen of Senegal.
CHRISTOPHE BELLMANN, Programmes Director, joined the Centre in 1998, first as Programme Officer for Outreach and Partnership, then as Director of Policy Dialogues and is since 2002, responsible for implementation of ICTSD’s substantive programme. Mr. Bellmann has authored and/or co-edited most technical studies published by ICTSD as well as anthologies and other specialized work published by commercial houses in English and French. Before ICTSD, Mr. Bellmann leads activities on multilateral trade and sustainable development issues at the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations. Mr. Bellmann also worked as a Research Associate at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile. He holds an MA in International Relations from the Graduate Institute for International Studies in Geneva. Mr. Bellmann is a citizen of Switzerland.
DEBORAH VORHIES, Managing Director. She holds a MBA and degrees in law and finance. Prior to joining ICTSD Mrs. Vorhies spent six years with the IFC (World Bank Group), developing and managing its Biodiversity portfolio. She also worked as Coordinator of the Trade and Environment Programme of UNEP and Development Director of MANGO, Management Accountancy for Non Governmental Organization (London). Mrs. Vorhies is a citizen of South Africa.
ANDREW CROSBY, Managing Director for Operations and Strategy. He earned a Master in Public Administration from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a BA in Political Science and Art History from New York University. Previously, Mr Crosby was ICTSD’s Programmes Director, for more than 5 years, developing a multi-program strategy and business operation to mediate between NGOs, policymakers, and business on global trade and sustainability issues. Also, he worked as Managing Editor for the Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ), Boston. Mr Crosby was the founding employee of the American Political Network which produced the first daily national review on US electoral politics and he has published numerous strategic reports and periodicals aimed empowering audiences in political processes. He is citizen of the United States of America.
MARIE CHAMAY PEYRAMAYOU, Manager, Global Platform. Her responsibilities include the full managerial overview of the Global Platform. She is also responsible for ICTSD’s project on sustainable bioenergy production and trade and a joint ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade. Mrs. Chamay Peyramayou first joined ICTSD as Intellectual Property Programme Associate in 2002, and after her masters studies became Trade and Natural Resources Programme Officer. She holds a BSc in Geography (Minor in Environmental Sciences) from the University of Geneva and an MSc in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics (LSE). Ms. Chamay is lead author of ICTSD’s report “Promoting Sustainable Land Management through Trade: Examining the Linkages between Trade, Livelihoods and Sustainable Land Management in Degraded Areas”, for the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD. She holds Swiss and French nationalities.
ANA MARIA KLEYMEYER, Senior Adviser on Climate Change Negotiations. She earned a Juris Doctor (magna cum laude) from the American University Washington College of Law, a Diplome from the lnstitut Universitaire d’Etudes du Developpement in Geneva, a Bachelor of Arts (University Honors) from the Wesleyan University, and participated in a year exchange program at the Universite de Paris VII. Ms. Kleymeyer is member of the New York State Bar Association, a Certified Mediator, American University Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services and has an International Negotiation Certification from the Center for Advanced Studies in International Negotiation.
In 1996, she worked for ICTSD as Dialogues Fellow, and most recently, she provided Independent consultancy for governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations in the areas of environmental policy development and implementation. She was Chief International Advisor to the Secretary and Head of the Office of international Affairs of the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina, Senior Advisor and Counsellor to the Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina, Legal Consultant at the World Bank Institute for the Water and Environmental Governance Programs, Legal Fellow at the International Network for Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), Dean’s Fellow Legal Research Assistant, Washington College of Law, Legal Research Assistant for the NKL Law Group, and Program Officer at the Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano (FFLA) in Ecuador.
JOHANNES BERNABE, Senior Associate. He initially joined the ICTSD as Trade in Services Programme Coordinator. He studied economics and law at the University of the Philippines and the University of London. He was legislative officer in the Philippine legislature, on key trade and investment laws; and corporate lawyer, working with Bautista Picazo and Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose law offices in Manila. He was Philippines’ lead WTO negotiator for services, goods trade, TRIPs and DSU. Mr Bernabe is citizen of Philippines.
INGRID JEGOU, Research Fellow, Global Platform. She earned a Master of Economics from the Lund University in Sweden and attended as Erasmus scholar at the Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV in France. Ms Jegou has specialised in international trade, EU trade policy, WTO, special and differential treatment, sustainable development, economic development, trade in agriculture, trade and climate change issues. She worked as Senior Adviser and Senior Economist for the Swedish National Board of Trade in Stockholm and as Analyst for the Swedish Institute for Food and Agricultural Economics. She is citizen of Sweden.
JOACHIM MONKELBAAN, Programme Officer, Global Platform. He earned a Master of International Law and Economics at the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, and a Master of European Law and Languages from Maastricht University in Maastricht. In the past, Mr. Monkelbaan worked as Programme Officer for multilateral cooperation on renewable energy for the International Center on Small Hydro Power (IC-SHP) based in Hangzhou, China, as Policy Officer, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Policy Unit in Gland, as Legal and Economic Officer for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, as Associate Lawyer for Nauta Dutilh and Greenberg Traurig LLP in Amsterdam. Also, he interned at the Directorate-General for Multilateral Economic Affairs (WTO/OECD) of the Secretariat of the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium and at the International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO). He is member of professional associations of the European Baha’i Business Forum, the Open World Initiative and the Evian Group. Mr. Monkelbaan is a citizen of the Netherlands.
PEDRO ROFFE, Senior Fellow. He oversees the work of the Programme on Intellectual Property and Development. Mr. Roffe joined ICTSD with 30 years of experience with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) where his work focused on international aspects of transfer of technology, intellectual property and foreign direct investment. He is the author of a significant number of articles and books and responsible for a several United Nations and ICTSD publications. Recent published work includes the acclaimed “Resource Book on TRIPs and Development” (Cambridge University Press, 2005). Mr. Roffe graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Chile with postgraduate studies at New York University, Europa Institute (University of Amsterdam) and the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva). He is Chilean.
AHMED ABDEL LATIF, Programme Manager for Intellectual Property, Innovation and Technology. Prior to joining ICTSD, he served at the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva where he was a delegate to the TRIPS Council of the World Trade Organization and to the World Intellectual Property Organization. As a career diplomat, he also served at the departments of International Organizations, United Nations Affairs and International Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His work has focused on intellectual property, development and access to knowledge He earned an LLM. In Public International Law (Merit), University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a Specialization in United Nations Law and Treaty Law; a B.A. in Political Science - International Relations (Cum Laude), American University in Cairo; and a Diploma in International Relations, Institute of Political Studies - Paris. He is a citizen of Egypt.
GLORIA CARRIÓN, Programme Officer for Trade-supported Strategies for Development at ICTSD. She earned a MSc in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics, a BA in International Development Studies and Biology (Double-major) at the Trent University in Canada. Previously, Ms Carrión worked as Analyst and negotiator for the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua to the WTO, as researcher for the United nations Research Institute for Social Development - the University of Geneva, and, as Analyst and Technical Assistant at the International Trade Office of Commerce and Industry. She is a citizen of Nicaragua.
MALENA SELL, Programme Officer, Environment and Natural Resources. Since joining ICTSD in 2002, she has focused on initiatives in the areas of agriculture and environment, including developing ICTSD’s programme on trade, energy and climate change. She also served as editor of BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest for two years. Prior to joining ICTSD, Ms. Sell worked as team leader and writer at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin, specialising in climate change and sustainable energy. She also worked as an environmental consultant at Jaakko Pöyry Group in Helsinki, as a lecturer in international environmental policy at the University of Helsinki, and at the Environment Department at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Her published worked includes articles, discussion papers and book chapters on topics including energy, climate change, biofuels, agricultural policy and Russia’s WTO accession. A Finnish national, Ms. Sell holds an MA in Environmental Studies and a BA in International Relations (international commerce), both from Brown University.
MAHESH SUGATHAN, Programme Coordinator, Economics and Trade Policy Analysis, has focused at ICTSD on diverse issues such as trade and environment, agriculture and special and differential treatment. Since the launch of WTO’s Doha negotiations and currently, his work has focused on promoting analysis and deep understanding of sustainability and developmental aspects of liberalization of environmental goods and services and of policy linkages of trade and energy. Mr. Sugathan joined ICTSD in 2002 after interning at the ICTSD, UNCTAD and the WTO. Mr. Sugathan has a Masters degree in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Bern. Also, undergraduate and graduate studies in Economics and International Relations from the University of Kerala and the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, as well as a M.Phil in European Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University where he researched implications of EU environmental standards on Indian exports. Mr. Sugathan is a citizen of India.
Please click on our names in order to find out more about our backgrounds:
Marie Chamay Peyramayou Global Platform Manager
Malena Sell Environment & Agriculture Senior Programme Officer
Ana Maria Kleymeyer Senior Advisor on Climate Change Negotiations
Mahesh Sugathan Economics & Trade Policy Analysis Coordinator
Ingrid Jegou Global Platform Research Fellow
Joachim Monkelbaan Global Platform Programme Officer
Johannes Bernabe Senior Associate
Gloria Carrión Development Programme Officer
Ahmed Abdel Latif IP & Technology Programme Manager
Samantha Derksen Research Assistant
Damien Brulhart Special Assistant