Highlights

Giulia Marchesini, Senior Partnership Specialist, Center for Mediterranean Integration

Giulia joined the CMI in 2014 as Senior Partnership Specialist, where she is in charge of the CMI Refugees and Host Communities Program, the work around the “Empowering the Population” dimension and the Energy component of the program “Creating Economic Opportunities”. In addition, Giulia maintains and explores liaison between the Center’s founding members and partners, while managing new partnerships. Before that, Giulia worked for the French Development Agency (AFD) in the Partnerships and Mediterranean departments, was advisor to the French Ministry for Development where she was in charge of dialogue with the MENA region, coordinated MENA economic and commercial issues for the French Ministry of Economy and Finances.

Nadine Burbar, Head of Local Economic Development, Ramallah Municipality, Palestine

Nadine is the Deputy Chief Resilience Officer for the Municipality of Ramallah. She supported the city in developing its first comprehensive Urban Resilience Strategy in 2017; which endured adaptation of rigorous global urban resilience frameworks, and in analyzing and diagnosing city challenges and translating them into strategic interventions. Nadine continues to pursue resilience building and sustainable development by supporting the city in setting and implementing its development plans. She is also leading the Local Economic Development Unit, to institutionalize and operationalize an inclusive local development.

Mohammad Abu Gaoud, Local Development Unit Director, Greater Madaba Municipality, Jordan

Mohammad is the Director of the Local Development Unit at Greater Madaba Municipality, Jordan, where he woirks for the development of the local community in terms of local economic development and investments, social cohesion and cultural and social interdependence to mitigate the internal and external shocks such as this Corona virus pandemic. Mohammad is also a core member of the Host Municipalities Learning Network.

Mauro Testaverde, Senior Economist, World Bank

Mauro is a Senior Economist in the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice of the World Bank. Mauro’s work focuses on labor mobility, human capital development, and the interaction of education, human resource management, and labor market policies. Mauro’s research on these topics has been published in economic journals including the Scandinavian Journal of Economics and the World Bank Economic Review. Since 2012 Mauro has been part of World Bank teams providing technical and analytical assistance in the areas of labor policy and social protection systems. Before joining the World Bank, Mauro was part of the migration research team at the University of Southampton (U.K.) where he earned a PhD in Economics and an MA in Econometrics.

Meriem Ait Ali Slimane, Senior Private Sector Specialist, World Bank

Meriem Ait Ali Slimane is a private sector specialist working on trade and competitiveness issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Prior to the World Bank, Meriem has worked in the private sector and at the United Nations. She holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and an engineering background

Selen Uçak, Program Director, Middle East, Building Markets

Selen is Program Director, Middle East with Building Markets, where she leads the Organization's programming in Turkey and Jordan. Prior to this, she was a Consultant to the Organization, where she led a market assessment in Turkey on Syrian-led small and medium-sized enterprises. She is a social impact professional focused on global development, social innovation, and entrepreneurship, in particular in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa. Selen also served as Executive Director of The American Turkish Society, a preeminent nonprofit dedicated to enhancing economic and cultural relations between Turkey and the United States, she was a founding consultant for Turkish Philanthropy Funds, the first diaspora community foundation for Turkey, and was also the co-author of a pioneering study on social entrepreneurship, program officer at Tiger Foundation, and assistant director/research fellow at Jerome Levy Forecasting Center.

Fuat Ozharat, Foreign affairs officer, Gaziantep Municipality, Turkey

Fuat has been working for the Foreign Affairs Department at Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality for three years, and is responsible for the coordination with UCLG and other international networks. Fuat is also a core member of the Host Municipalities Learning Network and a country coordinator and focal point for the Network in Turkey. After 30 years of experience in the private sector, Fuat decided to start working in his home town to contribute to solve issues risen with the high influx of refugees and to have a positive impact on people’s lives.