Experts

Jaafar is a legal and human rights professional with nearly a decade of experience working alongside civil society and humanitarian actors to advance protection and accountability in conflict-affected settings. He has supported grassroots, feminist, and community-based organizations across the Middle East through inclusive programming, strategic advocacy, and multi-stakeholder coordination. Jaafar’s work has focused on rights-based approaches that center marginalized voices and strengthen civil society’s role in transitional justice, protection, and humanitarian response. His background...

I am a seasoned education and evaluation specialist with over 13 years of experience in the humanitarian and development sectors. I have led and contributed to large-scale evaluations, needs assessments, and research studies across the MENA region, including for UNICEF and USAID. I bring expertise in education in emergencies, non-formal education, and capacity building, with a strong track record in mixed-methods research, MEL consultancy, and inter-agency coordination. I hold a Master's in Teaching English Language, a Bachelor's in Education and Training, and a diploma in Non-Profit...

My name is Kedareswar Chaudhury, male 58, a social worker leading a non profit organization in Bhubaneswar,India. Having post graduation in Social work, Commerce and Development Planning, handled number projects for underprivileged communities in livelihood, gender, climate action, conservation, inclusion of weaker sections, gender based violence, disaster management, safe migration, small holder farmers dev, women farmers, organic farming, handicraft and handloom weavers, forest dwellers, adolescent safety and youth employability, child protection, networking, training, community institution...

With over 25 years of experience in microfinance and capacity building, Lina Hammouda specializes in micro and SME lending, operations, customer care, needs assessment and product development. She is a certified trainer by Sanabel. In April 2024, Lina founded Mahara Consultancy, an independent consultancy firm that provides tailored advisory services to empower individuals especially Women and Youth, micro-entrepreneurs, and SMEs, MFIs in Lebanon and beyond. Under her leadership, Mahara fosters long-term strategic partnerships with MFIs, corporates, NGOs, international organizations, donors...

I am a humanitarian and human rights specialist with 19 years of field experience across Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia, and Zambia. Holding an MSc in Law with a focus on child protection and international humanitarian legal frameworks, I have built my career at UNHCR, UNOPS, IRC, and NRC, working across refugee, displacement, and mixed-movement contexts in both camp and urban settings.
My core expertise spans community-based protection, child protection, GBV, housing/land/property, legal documentation, and civil registration, with sustained engagement across the humanitarian-development nexus. I have...

I am a highly skilled Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) expert and training consultant with over 13 years of experience supporting international and local NGOs. I hold an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and a BA in Management from Southern New Hampshire University. My expertise includes designing MEAL systems, conducting evaluations, managing feedback and complaint mechanisms, and leading donor relations, proposal writing, and reporting. I have delivered extensive training on MEAL, project cycle management, fundraising, and child protection, strengthening the capacity...

I am an Economist and local development expert with 10 years of progressive experience in humanitarian and development assistance gained through working with several international organizations and UN agencies in Lebanon with a great focus on local economic development, livelihoods and social stability sectors.

Education program management expert with 15+ years of experience in educational projects for national TVET reforms, Competency based curriculum design & implementation (CBT), training operations, training partner management and strategic public-private partnerships. Led multi-million-euro projects with GIZ (German Development Agency), UNDP, and EU, delivering competency-based, blended learning programs in multiple sectors. Strong experience with LMS implementation, ToT rollouts, and learning impact evaluation. Familiarity with Saudi Vision 2030, understanding of labor market trends in the Gulf...

Nadim El Kak is a Researcher based at Lebanese Center for Policy Studies in Beirut. He is also a Research Associate at Lebanon Support. He is interested in the connections between social movements, sectarian politics, and neoliberalism, with a particular focus on labor rights.

With over 8 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, I have led the design and implementation of livelihoods and emergency response programs targeting vulnerable refugee and host communities across Lebanon. I’ve managed large-scale projects, budgets, and teams, ensuring quality delivery in line with donor requirements. My work has included cash assistance, skills development, and SME support, in addition to collaborating with donors such as EU, USAID, KfW, UK Aid, and others. I provided strategic and technical leadership for different organizations, while coordinating with local...

Omar Meksassi currently is the co-founder of The IRIS Company currently based in between Belgrade and Beirut, an enterprise dealing with development, data, design and consultancy, with a range of partners including Google.org and Facebook. His education revolved at the beginning around computer science and project management in the American University of Beirut, moving to a more advance/international scope with a master of Data Science from The Open university in London and another bachelor in Behavioral Psychology, combing both traits of technology and human behaviorism.
Omar previously...

Ounsi El Daif is a former academic who became an environmental civil society actor. He recently founded eedama, an environmental social enterprise based in Masdar City, UAE, that focuses on sustainable development education and training. He is originally a physicist who studied in France and Switzerland, earning his PhD in 2007 from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland). Until 2015, he was a researcher in the field of solar photovoltaic energy in world-class scientific labs (EPFL, Lyon Nanotechnology Institute in France, IMEC in Belgium, QEERI in Qatar) as well as a...

Patil Tchilinguirian is a Lebanese-Armenian multidisciplinary designer and artist based in Montréal working in print, pixels and fibers. Her diversified artistic practice lends to social engagement towards diasporic, socio-cultural and political narratives. Patil strives to engage in the design and development of cultural content whether in a physical or digital medium, ultimately to transform abstract concepts into memorable situations enabling critical knowledge and social impact. She has presented her work in various exhibitions in Beirut, Barcelona, Istanbul, Venice and Berlin.
With over a...

Programme and Partnerships Expert with over 10 years of experience in UNHCR and INGOs, specializing in project cycle management, donor compliance, and multi-sector humanitarian and development programmes. Skilled in managing USD 30M+ portfolios, leading strategic partnerships, and advancing SDG-aligned strategies in Lebanon and the region.

Raja S. Abinader
After heading the Judicial Commission for Early Release for almost five years, Judge Raja Abinader is currently, and since 2012, in charge of the Prison’s Directorate within the Lebanese Ministry of Justice, focusing on prison reform in Lebanon.
Holder of a Masters in Criminal Law, Raja has been a dedicated and driven professional with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry for the past 15 years.
He is highly experienced in Criminal Justice, Prisons inspection and monitoring, Detention Management, Alternatives to detention, International Human Rights...

I am an experienced high-profile healthcare consultant, executive, professional trainer, and educator. I am based in Beirut, Lebanon, and work on projects worldwide. I am a PhD holder from the University of Texas, USA, with a research focus on healthcare leadership and management and long-standing experience in acute care practice, executive leadership, and consulting.
I am highly credentialed and hold four highly regarded certifications: Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP) with distinction, an American Board certification as nurse executive advanced level (NEA-BC), the...

I am a gender and social inclusion expert with more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of policy, research, and community development in Palestine. My work focuses on women’s political and economic empowerment, inclusive governance, and capacity building for civil society and local institutions.

I design and lead programs that strengthen women’s participation in decision-making, promote gender-responsive policies, and foster inclusive and accountable governance. Drawing on my background in feminist research, conflict resolution, and strategic planning, I collaborate with...

Dr. Rosabelle B. Chedid is a Lebanese researcher, consultant, and academic specializing in health systems research, assessment design, and evidence-based program development. She holds a Ph.D. in Life & Earth Sciences (Immuno-Oncology) and has over 18 years of experience across humanitarian, healthcare, and higher education sectors.

She serves as Research Lead within the Lebanese Red Cross Medico-Social Sector and is the Co-Founder and Managing Director for Research & Development at ProMind Group S.A.R.L. Her work focuses on health needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation (MEAL), digital...

As a legal expert in Lebanese and International affairs, with over eighteen years of experience, I’ve operated as a researcher, lawyer, legal consultant, and journalist under governmental, nonprofit, as well as international organizations. Projects include collaborations with the EU as well as the Lebanese Economic and Social Council. My work ranges from legal analysis to socio-economic reviews in my current employment at NSSF ,I have extensive experience in the field of social protection.
IOCC, Beirut, Lebanon 2024-present
Consultant
Monitored the enactment of humanitarian relief...

 PhD in Economic Anthropology.

 Ex - Board member at MEPI – LAA.

 Member of the Governing Body of the Steering Committee for the Global Partnership for Social Accountability in the World Bank.

 Specialist in Sociology, Economic Anthropology and Urbanism.

• Certificate of International Trainer on Good Governance from Network of International Diplomacy of International Law and Human Rights (NDLH) – Norway.

• Acknowledgements from USAID - Lebanon to participate in a training workshop on institutionalizing monitoring and evaluation.

• Acknowledgements from USAID - Lebanon to participate...