fbpx

Team

Management Comittee

Martin Causin

Director General

Martin Causin holds a Master's degree in law from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. As a volunteer member of the association Défi Belgique Afrique from 1996 to 2002, he obtained his first professional position as general manager of this association. He was in charge of the transition to NGO status and coordinated the implementation of development education projects.

Wishing to experience a country in the South, he spent seven years in Burkina Faso as country representative for ADJAO. It was at this time that his commitment to children's rights took root, as he worked to facilitate access to sport and leisure activities for the most disadvantaged young people. In 2013, he joined Avocats Sans Frontières Belgium, first as base manager in Bunia in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, then as head of mission in Tunisia, and then in the Central African Republic. On each occasion, he led programmes aimed at improving access to justice for the most vulnerable people, particularly women and minors, as well as projects to defend victims in international criminal justice.

He joined the IBCR at the beginning of 2017, with the desire to contribute more directly to the development of adequate child protection systems that respect their rights. His first position at the IBCR was as Project Manager in Burkina Faso, which allowed him to further specialise in capacity building of actors in the child protection system. After four years on this project, he became IBCR's regional representative in Africa. This last function, focused on the development of the IBCR in Africa and the coordination of our actions on this continent, was a springboard towards the general management of the IBCR, a position held by Martin Causin since January 2022.

Julie Dénommée

Director of Programmes and Learning

For several years, Julie Dénommée has been forging an expertise that combines practices to promote children's rights with scientific research. Holder of a doctorate in anthropology and a DEA in philosophy for children, she initially worked on the development of research tools and collaborative methodologies with children in West Africa. In this context, she coordinated various regional child participation projects. These projects have led her to focus on communication for development and the use of culture as a tool for social change and the dissemination of knowledge.

At the same time, she carried out a wide range of consultations in Latin America and Africa, where she implemented participatory evaluation and experience capitalization processes. She remains convinced of the importance of monitoring and learning throughout our actions in order to always remain attentive to the needs of the populations and local actors. After two years as an audiovisual consultant for the IBCR, she decided to join the team as a Expertise and ATS Coordinator, Child Participation Focal Point. 

Mélissa David

Director of Finance

Mélissa holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from HEC Montréal. She has several years of experience as a manager in large and small Quebec companies. She specializes in strategic alignment and the implementation of new management systems. 

After a two-year stay in Haiti, her parents' native country, she redirected her career towards charitable organizations in order to share her knowledge and work in NPOs to defend the underprivileged.

Beyond her involvement with IBCR, Melissa is actively involved in community work, particularly in services related to educational success in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.    

Melissa is fluent in English, French and Creole.

Morgane Faber

Human Resources, Administration and Security Director

Morgane holds a Master's degree in International Studies. She began her professional career in development aid at the IBCR as a project assistant trainee where she later served as Logistics and Administration Assistant for two years. She left the Office in 2017 to start a humanitarian career in the field.

Morgane spent two years in Central Africa with Première Urgence International, first as Logistics and Administration Manager in the Central African Republic and then in Cameroon where she also held the position of Field Coordinator. She recently returned from Yemen after more than a year as Emergency Response Field Coordinator, supervising a flying team active in several governorates of the country.

Capitalizing on her experience in remote areas with varied and volatile security contexts, Morgane is passionate about emergency humanitarian aid and global, multi-sectoral, rights-based response in dignity for all.

 Morgane is fluent in French and English. 

OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS

Montréal office

Nicolas Robe

Senior Operations, Development and Partnership Advisor

Nicolas holds a master’s degree in International Security and Defense from the University of Grenoble. After that, he acquired over ten years of experience in the humanitarian and development sector.

Nicolas entered the humanitarian and development sector first at the French Red Cross and then at Médecins du Monde as an intern on the theme of security. He moved to Kalemie in the DRC as a logistician for Médecins du Monde France and for Solidarités Internationale as a base manager in Bentiu, South Sudan.

He started working for ACTED in 2010 as Logistics Manager in DRC. He became Deputy Country Director, then Country Director in CAR, Mali and Niger.

In 2015, he joined ACTED's headquarters and became Director of Security & Safety where he supervised 35 to 40 countries on security and humanitarian access issues. He has traveled to many countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and has participated in numerous humanitarian responses in CAR, DRC, South Sudan, Sahel, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, the Philippines and Nigeria.

Nicolas moved to Quebec with his family during the summer of 2018.

Lise Goin

Operations coordinator

Lise is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds a Master’s in international relations. After working in the financial sector, she engaged in humanitarian project management, notably within the contexts of the Iraq and Syrian humanitarian crisis. Lise has field experience in project implementation, particularly in child protection, health, food security and livelihoods with local and international NGOs. She cooperated with OCHA for the third-party monitoring of projects funded within the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund. She also worked for the UNEP to mobilize key stakeholders for the implementation of the Convention of Biological Diversity.

While on mission, Lise noticed the harmful impacts of environmental pollution and disasters on the most vulnerable people, in particular infants and children. She came back to university in 2020 to study environmental health and disaster management to contribute to increased mainstreaming of environment in humanitarian projects.

She speaks fluently French, English and Spanish.

Emmanuelle Parent

Coordinator of the Volunteer Cooperation Programme

With an MBA in Business Management and a Bachelor's degree in International Studies specialising in project management, Emmanuelle Parent has many strings to her bow. She has several years of experience in international cooperation in project management, organisational development and monitoring and evaluation roles in Cameroon and Burkina Faso as well as strong experience in entrepreneurship and business development in the private sector. Moreover, in 2018 she co-founded a mineral analysis, environmental and quality control laboratory headquartered in Montreal and operating a first subsidiary in Burkina Faso.

Through her professional experience, Emmanuelle has developed an expertise in strategic planning, business development and results-based management.

After a few years in the private sector, Emmanuelle returned to international development in 2020, the sector where she feels her skills have the most impact.

Marc-André Talbot

Volunteer Cooperation Program Officer

Graduate in Applied Political Science with a specialization in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Project Management in International Development and Humanitarian Action. Marc-André has several years of project management experience in Canada and internationally.

Over the past two years, he has worked in cooperation in Latin America to strengthen a cooperative of women farmers in Nicaragua and has worked with young people with disabilities in Honduras in micro-entrepreneurship, but he also worked on organizational development and project management.

Passionate and humanist, Marc-André has a strong interest in the rights of children and women, as well as the economic development of marginalized populations. He is also fluent in French, English and Spanish.

 

Cindy Amaya

Innovation and events project manager

With a degree in Law, a certificate in Project Management and PMP® certification, Cindy has over five years of experience in managing projects and programmes for victims of gender-based violence, migrants, women's organisations and LGBTI organisations. 

Her professional and personal background is rooted in gender equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as access to justice for people in vulnerable situations. 

The commitment to the respect, defence and promotion of human rights is particularly close to her heart as it echoes her beliefs. 

Cindy believes that the work of international organisations, such as the IBCR, provides invaluable assistance in strengthening judicial, educational, social and economic systems in developing countries, which is why she has decided to put her knowledge and skills to good use in international cooperation.    

Geneviève Trépanier

Project Manager

Holder of a Master's degree in International Studies and a Bachelor's degree in social work, Geneviève has worked in the world of international solidarity and project management for the past ten years. Passionate about human rights issues and cross-cultural perspectives, her career commenced with a mandate geared towards assessing human rights issues in Guatemala in 2011. Motivated to bring together people of different ethnic origins, she subsequently worked for six years as a coordinator, trainer and guide, helping to initiate teenagers to international cooperation, mainly in Latin America. Sensitive to inequalities and human rights issues, she collaborated with the IBCR in 2018 regarding the Voluntary Cooperation Program monitoring in Peru. More recently, Geneviève also worked as an event planner consultant for the City of Montreal administration as well as for the "Comité régional d'éducation pour le développement international de Lanaudière (CRÉDIL)", where she organized, among others things, the "Journées québécoises de la solidarité internationale" in 2018.

As a proactive multi-tasker, Geneviève joins the IBCR team because she strongly believes that every child, locally or abroad, deserves a fair chance to develop and flourish to its fullest potential. Therefore, she hopes that her work will contribute to a more egalitarian world.

Geneviève is fluent in French, Spanish and English. 

Cécile Bettega

Communications and Engagement Coordinator

With a master’s degree in communications, and having studied marketing and sociology, Cecile have chosen to focus her career on non-profit organisations. She worked for several years in cultural and university fields in France, where she implemented and managed communications strategies, with a specialisation in event organisation and image management from the web presence to the media.

French of Spanish and Italian origin, Cécile has always had a strong attraction for the international and multicultural contexts, as evidenced by her academic and professional background. She studied in the United States, and worked in Spain and France, before moving to Canada in 2018, and speaks French, English and Spanish.

Very aware of issues related to gender equality and social justice and driven by a desire to act in favour of human rights, Cécile joins the IBCR team inj 2019 with the desire to put her skills at the service of a cause that benefits our societies.

 

Patricia Hajjali

Communications Advisor

Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, a Minor in Arabic language ​​and culture and a Certificate in Socio-digital Communication of Organisations.

Throughout her career, she has worked with several non-profit organisations, such as Juripop, as a researcher social media manager for the programme Droit de Cité and Artist Without Borders Canada (ASF Canada) as a public relations trainee.

More recently, she has been actively involved in developing an online presence audit for the Institute of Packaging Technology and Food Engineering (ITEGA).

By joining the IBCR team, Patricia aspires today to be able to combine her passion for social justice and international development and her expertise in communications.

Solal Holtz

Communication Support Officer

Biography to come

Regional offices

Ndeye Astou Fall

Project manager - Burkina Faso

After obtaining a Diploma in Community Social Work in 2004 in Senegal, Ndeye Astou FALL began her professional activities by conducting field surveys and carrying out consultancy contracts. These experiences led her to work in 12 regions of Senegal.

Ndeye Astou joined the world of non-governmental organisations in 2007, initially in the nutrition sector. She then continued her career by entering the field of child protection in 2013. She has worked with the NGOs Child Fund, Secours Islamique France, SOS Villages d'Enfants Sénégal and Plan International Sénégal. She later became involved with the Danish Refugee Council, an experience that strengthened her capacity for community-based work, particularly regarding interventions in emergency areas. This work led her to work in the field of child protection in emergencies, gender-based violence case management and community protection.  

In the course of her professional activities, she has worked in many countries in West Africa (Mali, Senegal, Niger, Guinea Conakry and Benin) and in Central Africa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since May 2021, Ndeye Astou FALL has been project manager in Burkina Faso for the IBCR.

Ousmane Sawadogo

Deputy Director of Operations - Burkina Faso

Ousmane Sawadogo holds a master's degree in macroeconomics and development management from the University of Ouagadougou. He began his professional career as a teacher in secondary schools. It was during this teaching period that his passion for the promotion and protection of children was born.   In 2013, he was admitted to the gender adviser competition. At the end of a two-year training course, he obtained a diploma in gender promotion and joined the Ministry of Women, National Solidarity, Family and Humanitarian Action in 2015. Ousmane  also holds a master's degree in Gender, Population and Development from the Pan African Institute for Development/West Africa and the Sahel. 

 Since 2016, he has been working in a Directorate General in charge of studies and policy formulation for gender and child promotion.  He collaborates with IBCR in the framework of the implementation of the project "Strengthening the capacities of security forces, magistrates and social workers in child protection 2015-2020 in Burkina Faso". 

It is in this logical continuation that he decides to join the IBCR team in Burkina Faso as a Child Protection Expert - Gender and Child Participation Focal Point on 23 June 2021. 

Valentin Ouedraogo

Expert in child protection - Burkina Faso

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Project Management from the International Management Institute of Burkina Faso and has been a social worker and child protection specialist since 2007. He is also a Specialised Education Inspector from the National Institute of Training in Social Work (INFTS).

He has been a humanitarian actor since 2019, which has allowed him to acquire a wealth of experience in accompaniment and community development.

Saratou Kaboré

Finance Officer - Burkina Faso

Saratou Kaboré holds a Bachelor's degree (BAC+3) in Accounting and Financial Techniques and a Master's degree (BAC+4) in Accounting, Control and Audit. She then joined an Association for the Promotion of Human Health for the European Union's water and sanitation project and Plan International Burkina's child survival project.

She then worked in an accounting firm as an auditor and in NGOs such as GTENF as an Administration and Finance Officer and Plan International Burkina as an Administrative and Financial Coordinator and later as an Accounting and Financial Manager for several projects.

During her professional career, Saratou has participated in capacity building in accounting and financial management for financial managers and partners in project implementation in the field and in offices. She has also provided training and refresher courses in financial management to NGO financial managers.

Saratou is fluent in French and English.

 She joined the IBCR in June 2021.

Harouna Savadogo

Expert en protection de l’enfant - Burkina Faso

A lawyer by training, Harouna obtained his Master's degree in Judicial Law in 2008 at the University of Ouaga II, now Thomas SANKARA University, in Burkina Faso. He continued his studies during his professional career and obtained several diplomas, including a Master 2 in International and European Fundamental Rights Law at the University of Nantes, a Master 2 in Training and Employment Systems Engineering at the University of Toulouse and a Master 2 in Human Resources Management at the International Management Institute of Ouagadougou.

Before starting a professional career in the Burkinabe public administration, Harouna was a volunteer for the Burkinabe Red Cross and an intern in a law firm in 2009. In 2012, he joined the Penitentiary Administration, after two (2) years of training at the National Police School where he obtained the diploma of Penitentiary Security Inspector.

During his career, he has held several positions of responsibility in the administration, namely: head of the instruction (training) department at the penitentiary administration's personnel directorate; deputy director of the high-security prison; director of human resources at the national school of the penitentiary security guard; study officer at the directorate of institutional development and innovation of the Ministry of Justice; study officer at the general directorate of the penitentiary administration; and director of the Ziniaré remand prison.

It is in this last position that his commitment to the protection of children's rights was consolidated with the daily management of children in conflict with the law. He is also passionate about coaching and personal development.

He joined IBCR Burkina Faso team in June 2022 as a Child Protection Expert in charge of the justice and defence and security forces sectors.

Laurence Gongnimbou

Administration and Logistics Assistant - Burkina Faso

Laurence holds a Master's degree in Management and Business Administration from the Free University of Burkina Faso, a Bachelor's degree in Project Management and a University Diploma in Technology, option Executive Secretary. She then acquired about ten years of professional experience in the humanitarian and development sector.

Laurence entered the humanitarian and development sector first with International Development Enterprises (iDE) and then with UNDP through the ITC project as a consultant. She then worked for a microfinance organisation, Union Régionale des Coopératives d'épargne et de crédit du Nazinon, and as a Human Resources Assistant for Chemonics International, working for the Burkina Faso Regional Program resilience project.

Laurence joined the IBCR team on 09 May 2022.

Daniel Karama

Driver Logistician - Burkina Faso

After a long experience in the driving field at SATGURU TRAVEL in Burkina Faso, Daniel joins the team as a Driver-Courier in order to contribute to the IBCR's mission.

Highly motivated by any humanitarian approach, the choice to apply specifically within the NGO IBCR is a real conviction.

Felipe Juárez

Project Office Manager - Senegal

Biography to come

Yayra Dabla

Finance Manager – Senegal

Yayra holds a Master's degree in Accounting and Financial Management from CESAG (Centre d'Etudes Supérieures en Gestion). She started her professional career at Habitat for Humanity International and then at Ecobank Senegal. But her passion for working in development organisations caught up with her and she joined a British international non-governmental organisation, Oneworld UK in 2012. Her responsibilities quickly evolved from administrative and financial manager to programme officer.  Through her involvement in the use of ICTs for development, she has been involved in raising awareness of sexual and reproductive health in Senegal and governance through election monitoring in several African countries.

She speaks French and is fluent in English.

Seynabou Seck

Gender expert - Senegal

Seynabou Seck holds a Master's degree in Business Administration as well as a Master's degree in Project Management. She has also obtained a diploma in social work and has already worked with national and international organisations in Senegal.

With more than 17 years of experience in her field, she has dedicated her career to working on gender equality and the promotion of human rights. In the course of her career, she has carried out support and coordination missions for the promotion of gender equality with several international organisations. She has also conducted about ten studies on gender analysis and facilitated about thirty training workshops on gender equality. Her experience includes monitoring, support and evaluation in the development sector.

Seynabou Seck speaks French, English, Wolof and Bambara.

Mané Mbaye

Justice Expert

Lawyer with a Master 2 (DEA) in Health and Environmental Law and a certificate in project management and creation. These degrees have enabled her to work with several non-governmental organizations. She began her career at Family Health International, FHI 360 Senegal as a project assistant. Mané then held the same position at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights/Regional Office for West Africa (OHCHR/WARO). An active member of the Association des Juristes Sénégalaises (AJS) since 2013, working for the promotion and protection of human rights, particularly those of women and children, Mané has performed various tasks within the association, from legal advisor in one of its reception and listening centers, to managing three major projects within the organization in the areas of advocacy, lobbying, and the reduction of gender-based violence involving adolescents and youth, especially girls.

For two years, she also chaired a platform called Right Here Right Now (RHRN) Senegal, an advocacy and capacity building program for the respect and guarantee of the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents and young people that brought together ten (10) Senegalese civil society organizations.

Cheikh Oumar Ba

Social Work Expert - Senegal

Cheikh Oumar BA has a degree in legal and political sciences from the University Cheikh Anta DIOP in Dakar and the National School for Specialised Social Workers (ENTSS) in Senegal. Cheikh Oumar BA works as a social worker in the field of the protection of children's rights.

Throughout his professional career, he has been heavily involved in the Employment and Disability Project of the NGO Handicap International. Through personalised social support, he has been heavily involved in the socio-professional inclusion of people with disabilities. Cheikh Oumar BA worked as a child protection officer at SOS Children's Villages Senegal through the Programme d'Accompagnement des Communautés pour la Protection de l'Enfant in the region of Kolda, an area facing multiple security problems. He has had the opportunity to accompany families in their training process on parenting education. It has also provided support to community child protection structures (children's clubs, neighbourhood child protection committees), the development of advocacy, the mobilisation of resources, and the implementation of awareness-raising activities related to child protection.

Antoine Gomis

Police expert – Sénégal

Antoine Gomis holds a certificate in social emergency in Paris (2005), a D.I.U. "Street children and young people" from the universities of Paris 6 and Paris 12 (2008) as well as a certificate on the care of child victims of trafficking. He also has a training as a trainer (2012) that he carried out with Humani Centre, before joining the Bioforce Afrique centre as a project coordinator in the field of international solidarity (2018-2019). During his career, he has set up several capacity building trainings on issues related to the care of children and young people at risk in the street and/or in conflict with the law.

Antoine worked for Samu social Sénégal as a social worker specialised in intervention with street youth from 2004 to 2007, and then as social coordinator of an emergency shelter providing nursing and psychological care to youth from 2007 to 2022. He therefore has extensive experience in dealing with street children and young people.

As a family mediation specialist with Samu Social International, Antoine has worked with the Forces Démocratiques du Sénégal (FDS) in the field of family re-bonding and family reintegration of trafficked street children.

Since March 2022, Antoine Gomis is Police Expert for Senegal at the International Bureau for Children's Rights.

Babakar Diene

Finance Officer - Sénégal

Biography to come

Carmen Lokossa

Administrative and Logistics Assistant - Sénégal

Biography to come

Papa Ousmane Diankha

Driver - Senegal

Biography to come

Mahamadi Oubda

Project manager - Democratic Republic of Congo

After obtaining a master's degree in biological sciences with a major in biology and plant physiology in 2004, Mahamadi OUBDA joined the National Police School to obtain a diploma as a prison security inspector after two years of study.

Holder of the diploma of Inspectors and integrated into the civil service, he occupied for about ten years within the penitentiary administration several positions of responsibility; director of penitentiary establishment, director of detention and security, director of personnel, secretary general of the training school, administrator within the board of directors of the penitentiary training school and member of the scientific council of the center of re-education and social reintegration of minors in conflict with the law of Koumi. During this professional experience, he conducted interventions with children in conflict with the law as well as with other children at risk including children living with their incarcerated mothers.

In 2015-2016, he began studying child rights protection at Thomas Sankara University, from which he obtained a Master's degree in child rights protection in 2016. He took part in the two editions of the scientific days on childhood in Burkina Faso organized by the Higher Institute of Population Sciences (ISSP) of the University Joseph KI-Zerbo, an article of which was published in a collective work at Harmattan Burkina Faso.


In October 2018, he joined IBCR in the implementation of the project to build the capacity of police officers, gendarmes, magistrates and social workers in child law in Burkina Faso. At the end of the project, he joined WAO-Afrique Togo as a volunteer. And since September 2021, he has been participating in the implementation of the project: "Preventing and protecting sexual and gender-based violence against children in Burkina Faso."

André Bokama Bakajika

Administration and Logistics Manager - Democratic Republic of Congo

André Bokama Bakajika holds a degree in Administration and Management of Health Institutions from the University of Kananga and has experience in Administrative Management, Financial Management, Operations Management, Project Management, Administration and Office Management. He is well versed in Project Management, General Administration, Grants, Service Organisation, Procurement, Financial Audits, Pharmaceutical Management and International & Humanitarian Logistics. 

André joined IBCR in August 2022 as Administrative and Logistics Officer and is fluent in French, Lingala and Tshiluba. 

 

Charles Mushagaluza

Child Protection Specialist - Democratic Republic of Congo

Born in South Kivu, Charles graduated as a sociologist from the Faculty of Social, Political and Administrative Sciences at the Official University of Bukavu. He is an expert in project management and experienced in advocacy and in rights-based, gender and development approaches.

Charles started his humanitarian career as a Protection Coordinator of the Educating Children Together 3 (ECT3) a project implemented in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituria, based in Bukavu, DR Congo from 2012 to 2014, for the International Governance Institute.

From 2014 to 2016 and based in Kinshasa, Charles served as a Project Manager of the Educational Centres for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Groups (EAFGA) project implemented in the provinces of North and South Kivu, Ituri, Maniema, Tanganyika (Kalemie), in what is now Haut-Katanga, in the DRC for the INGO Family Heath International. He then assumed the responsibilities of coordinator of the "Food For Education" project in Eastern DRC, for the FAO DIMITRA programme, from 2016 to 2017.

Before joining IBCR, he was safeguarding coordinator for the Girls' Education Challenge program (GEC-T) for 5 years from 2017 with World Vision RD Congo, a program implemented by World Vision and Save the Children in the Greater Kasai and Greater Katanga regions of DRC.

With a wealth of experience in different international organisations, he has also followed numerous certified training courses and acquired many skills in management, monitoring and evaluation of child protection projects, enabling him to design tools for this purpose.

Fabrice Kazadi

Child Participation Specialist - Democratic Republic of Congo

Biography to come

Gina Senga

Finance Officer - Democratic Republic of Congo

Biography to come 

EXPERTISE AND LEARNING

Daredjane Assathiany

Senior Children's Rights Advisor

Daredjane Assathiany is a lawyer, with diplomas in International Development and Latin-American Studies. She also holds a Master’s Degree in International Law, during which she focused on penal, migrant and refugee issues.

For the last 15 years, she has dedicated herself to ensuring proper accessibility to the justice system, while defending the vulnerable and the marginalised. While working for various NGO’s in Guatemala and Burundi, she acquired expertise in subjects such as impunity in the aftermath of an armed conflict, by intervening among victims, women and children. She has also gained valuable experience regarding education and the implementation of human rights, for migrants and victims of racial profiling, in rural areas, such as Burkina Faso and Quebec.

Before joining the IBCR in 2016 as a Quality Control and Documentation Officer, Daredjane worked in the Netherlands (2009-2014), as a lawyer at the International Criminal Court (ICC). She was part of the team having judged Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo, both from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Daredjane later integrated the ICC’s Outreach Unit, where she facilitated the comprehension of legal developments by the population.

After a period of consultancy works, Daredjane chose to rejoin the IBCR as a Child Rights Outreach Coordinator, Child Justice Focal Point.

 

Sandrine Lerenard

Senior child protection advisor

Sandrine is a child protection expert, specialised in armed conflicts, migration, advocacy and humanitarian crisis. She holds a degree in crisis analysis and humanitarian aid and has completed various courses with CERAH (Humanitarian Aid Training and Research Centre) and ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross).

She has more than 10 years’ experience working in different contexts, mainly in the Near East, Europe and Western Africa. She brings in vast working experience with community based organisations and international organisations such as UNICEF and Save The Children, where she elaborated protection strategies, led projects, conducted research, managed and trained teams.

In 2022 she joined the IBCR as senior child protection advisor.

Rebeca Alamo Hernandez

Training and skills development advisor

As Human Rights & Inclusive Development specialist, Rebeca Alamo Hernandez has gained more than 20 years of work experience in the field of international cooperation with a strong focus on capacity development.

Her professional and academic background has enabled her to support several advocacy, awareness-raising and training initiatives involving different stakeholders in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Addressing inequalities at local and international level, especially towards women, children, migrants and people with disabilities, has led her to live in several developing countries. She brings in vast working experience with international organizations such as Handicap International (Humanity & Inclusion) and Plan International, and with several national community-based NGOs.

After more than seven years with Handicap International as a technical advisor in inclusive development and capacity building for disabled people's organisations in Africa and Asia, she joined the IBCR team as a training and capacity development advisor. Born in Mexico, she has a Belgian university degree in Political Science, International Relations, and a Masters in Adult Education. Rebeca is fluent in French, English and Spanish and has a good knowledge in German and Dutch.

Elizabeth España Gonzales

Child protection advisor

Elizabeth España Gonzales is a lawyer, graduate of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, with many years of experience in the field of human rights. She is a member of the Barreau du Québec with a Juris Doctor from the University of Montreal as well as an Interdisciplinary master's degree in children's rights from the University of Geneva. She is particularly interested in access to justice and the protection and promotion of children's rights.

In 2016, Elizabeth worked as a volunteer legal advisor in Colombia and Mali in different projects, implemented by IBCR and Lawyers Without Borders Canada, aimed at protecting and defending the rights of children, women and other communities in vulnerable situations. Until 2018, she carried out several mandates in capacity building and supported different local human rights organisations. In 2019, she worked as a research assistant, for a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which allowed her to learn about current issues in this area.

Beginning in June 2020, she supported the development of training modules for different actors of the child protection system and provided technical advice as a child justice consultant for IBCR.

Elizabeth is fluent in French, English and Spanish.

She joined the IBCR team in May 2021 as a child protection advisor.

Juliette Denizart

Educational Engineering and Knowledge Management Advisor

An engineer by training, Juliette started a software company after her studies to make teaching with students more collaborative. After 2 years, she joined a collaborative innovation company, where she worked for 3 years. There, she developed a project-based learning programme for adults and also did some marketing tasks.

Juliette has always been involved in social innovation, starting with a social innovation education programme at her university. Later, she launched a challenge to promote the Sustainable Development Goals and social innovation for universities around the world in partnership with the UN and AUF.

Juliette joins the IBCR in 2021 as an Educational Engineering and Knowledge Management Advisor to put this commitment at the heart of her professional contribution.

Francisco Javier Montoro

Child Participation Advisor

Biography to come.

Romeo Baluge

Child Protection Specialist

Biography to come

Goro Palenfo

Regional Technical Advisor

After his studies in Sociology at the University of Ouagadougou, Goro Palenfo has followed a vocational training at the National Training Institute in Social Work (INFTS), which has enabled him to start his professional career in the public administration where he has worked as a state agent within the Ministry of Women, the National Solidarity and the Family, in Burkina Faso. During these years, he has served in various services at the regional and the central level of this specific Ministry. He has collaborated with the INFTS as a lecturer, coach of students trainees and director of Master’s thesis for students in Administration and Social Affairs.

The protection of the Child in Burkina Faso is a domain that Goro therefore knows particularly well, which has allowed him to accompany and strengthen the capabilities of several national organizations and associations working in this field. He is also a founding member of the "Social Impact Service," a local association which aims to contribute to the implementation of the socio-educational policy of the Government of Burkina Faso, by proposing innovative services offers adapted to the social needs of populations.

He joined the project team of the IBCR in Burkina Faso in August 2017.

Georges Kambale Sikulikyolo

Child Protection Advisor

Georges holds a state diploma (BAC) in Social Technique and a bachelor's degree (BAC+5) in Private and Judicial Law from the Official University of Semuliki in DRC. He has more than 8 years of experience in humanitarian emergencies and transitional contexts in the DRC. Georges has worked in international and national NGOs such as International Medical Corps, Concern World Wide, Danish Refugee Council, etc. where he held different positions in the areas of child protection in emergencies, prevention and response to gender-based violence, co-facilitation of the Protection Cluster and the Gender-based Violence Sub-Cluster. 

He has also participated in numerous practical trainings on child safeguarding, protection against exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment and transversal protection organised by UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF, ICRC; etc. In 2022, he graduated from the Professional Development Programme in Child protection in emergency situation in West and Central Africa, Cycle 1 (CPiE PDP Cycle 1) provided by Save the Children.

He has participated in numerous humanitarian responses in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo; notably in the context of internal displacement due to armed conflict, the response to the 10th, 11th and 12th Ebola outbreaks and the Nyiragongo volcano eruption crisis of 22 May 2021.

He is also a lawyer at the Bar of the Court of Appeal of Ituri since October 2020 after having been a judicial defender at the High Courts of Beni and Butembo in North Kivu since 2015. As a court officer, he has expertise in providing legal assistance to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and children in conflict with the law before civil and military courts. 

Georges joined the IBCR in August 2022 as a Child Protection and Safeguarding Advisor.

Theodore Sery

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor

Biography to come

Isabel Boucher

Monitoring-Evaluation-Learning Support Officer

After teaching for two years in a school in Quebec, Isabel is now pursuing her studies in the field of international development and humanitarian action. This change was greatly influenced by her participation in an agroecology internship in Togo and an internship as a pedagogical agent in Madagascar.

In April 2022, she completed her Master of Science in Administration in International Development and Humanitarian Action Management with a 4-month internship in the Office's expertise team as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Intern.

After an enjoyable and rewarding experience, Isabel joins the IBCR team as a M&E Support Officer in May 2022.

Isabel is fluent in French and English.

Administration

Marianne Goulet

Assistant to the Director General

Marianne is a Master's candidate in Fundamental Rights at Université Laval and holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and International Law from UQÀM. During her studies, she had the opportunity to do several internships in the field of human rights, with the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, the Committee for Human Rights in Latin America, the Clinique internationale de défense des droits humains at UQÀM, and with the Clinique de droit international pénal et humanitaire at Université Laval.

She has been working in the field of administration for more than six years, where she has experienced different work sectors. In particular, she was in charge of communications and then assistant to the coordination for the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic from 2019 to 2022.

She joined the IBCR in March 2022, where she combines her experiences in administration and human rights.

Maureen Boutier

Procurement and Logistics Advisor

Graduating in 2020 with a Master's degree in International Law from the University of Montreal and in 2021 with a Certificate in Women's Studies from Concordia University, Maureen has consolidated her skills in human rights and gender equality. Maureen has a keen intersectional perspective on gender inequalities of girls in Quebec and elsewhere.

She has joined associations such as Women's in international security UDEM where she is the general secretary. Through her actions, she promotes the professional development and leadership of women in international security. In addition, she is a volunteer in the association Mother with Power where she supports single mothers in order to empower them.

In 2021, she completed a 6-month internship at the IBCR, where her role was to support the expertise team on strengthening human rights from a gender perspective. Stimulated by the values and work of the Office, she enthusiastically joined the IBCR's team in 2022. Maureen is fluent in French and English, and has a basic knowledge of Spanish.

Descartes Kitumua Kapata

Financial Analyst

With a bachelor's degree in business and computer science and a diploma (BAC+5) in economics and management from Kongo University, Descartes first worked as a coach-trainer and then as an accounting and administrative manager at I&F entrepreneurship. He has also worked in several non-profit associations as an accounting and financial consultant, including the Association of Women Physicians Working at Kongo Central, the Support Team Project for the Development of Family Initiatives and the Regional Support and Training Centre for Development.

He is proficient in a number of integrated management software packages and has also worked as a consultant for many private companies in the implementation of management software packages. Descartes has also been a researcher at the Center for Studies and Research on Economic Analysis and Policy in Brazzaville, where he gained expertise in statistical data analysis.

In August 2019, he joined the team as the Administrative and Financial Manager.

Alexander Gonzalez

Financial analyst

With a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Accounting Science and a postgraduate degree in Finance, Alexander started his career in a non-profit organisation for several years, after which he worked in large companies in the production and service sector.

Alexander speaks Spanish and French.

 

Léopold Sibo

financial analyst

He holds a Master's degree in Economics and Management, with a major in finance, from the University of Félix Houphouët Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He has several years of experience in administrative and financial management for international NGOs. 

Very early on, he began working for NGOs as an administrative and financial coordinator in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Chad, Niger, Mali; Coordinator of support services for Handicap International in Afghanistan, then in the DRC. 

Immigrated to Canada in 2018, it is in April 2019 that he came to settle in Quebec, precisely in Trois-Rivières, after a last mission in Mali for Médecins du Monde Belgium (MDM). 

Two years of professional immersion, as an administrative officer for the CIUSSS Mauricie et du Centre du Québec, allowed him to understand the North American context. Thus, at the end of February 2022, he joined the IBCR team, thus rediscovering the humanitarian world where the fight for the defence of the most basic rights of vulnerable populations is a priesthood, a credo. 

He is fluent in French and English. 

Laura Marcela Bolivar

Conseillère en ressources humaines

Laura has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross for over 16 years, including in Colombia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Libya and Haiti. During her years in the humanitarian world and moving from country to country, Laura specialised in administration and human resources and gained valuable experience in terms of cultural differences and adapting to different working environments under difficult circumstances.

In 2018, she moved with her family to Canada and completed a Human Resources program with the University of Montreal, always with the idea of being able to apply her experience in the field of volunteering, community work or international cooperation.

Laura speaks Spanish, English and French.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Danique Nguini

Human Resources Officer

Biography to come

Sokhna Diarra Dieng

Human Resources Officer

Biography to come

Eric Jean

International Security Advisor

Eric Jean graduated from ENAP in International Administration and started his humanitarian career in 2003 in Afghanistan with Médecins du Monde Canada. He then carried out 9 other humanitarian missions in emergency and post-emergency contexts with international medical organisations such as Médecins sans Frontières France and the WHO. He has held positions as emergency logistician, operations coordinator and head of mission in Central and West Africa, South East Asia and Haiti.

Between 2015 and 2020, Mr. Jean was Director of the Risk and Security Management Programme at OCCAH ESG-UQAM. He has provided consultancy and training to Quebec government ministries, NGOs and universities in their implementation of the Duty of Care.

In recent years, Mr. Jean has diversified his expertise in the fields of humanitarian negotiation and intercultural communication, notably writing an article entitled "Intercultural Communication: a foundation to acceptance" under the aegis of the GISF.

 

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Subscribe now!