Core Team

Tom Hockley, Director

Tom Hockley has over twenty-five years of experience in international development, with much of that time living and working in Africa and Asia. He has held long terms posts with the United Nations in Sri Lanka, Sudan and Switzerland, and with the UK Department for International Development in Ethiopia. He has expertise in post crisis recovery and planning, peacebuilding and stabilization, and food security. He has worked for both the public and private sector, and provides seminars at the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia.

Alice Jenner, Khartoum

Alice Jenner is the focal point for Trias in the Horn of Africa. Prior to this, Alice was Country Director in Sudan for the Danish Refugee Council, working with IDPs, migrants and refugees, and undertaking projects for ECHO, DFID and the UNHCR. Latterly her focus lay in positioning work across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, and a strategic emphasis on solutions for populations in protracted displacement. Alice has long experience in media and communication for development, in particular with BBC Media Action’s Africa programme. As Country Director for BBC Media Action in Ethiopia, Alice led the design and implementation of communication strategies that reached audiences of over 21 million with critical health information.

Wilbur Perlot, The Hague 

Wilbur Perlot is the focal point for Trias across the EU. Wilbur is also director of Peace Academy, before which he spent eight years as deputy director of the Clingendael Academy. He is a specialist in negotiation and mediation and has established capacity building programs on both peace as well as humanitarian negotiations. He has worked in more than 45 countries and teaches at Leiden University in International Mediation and Private Diplomacy.

Ghinwa Chlouk, Beirut

Ghinwa Chlouk is based in Beirut and is the focal point for Trias programming in the region. Ghinwa has 15 years experience in data collection methods, research and project management. She has extensive experience conducting project evaluations, including the Mid Term Review of the Lebanese Crisis Response Plan. Ghinwa has designed, drafted and analysed reports that assess implementation and sustainability, and conducted comprehensive mapping analysis of economic and employment data in Lebanon. Ghinwa has a PhD in Economics, and is an Associate Professor at the Lebanese University.

Felicity Goldsmith, Admin & Finance Officer

Felicity Goldsmith has an extensive background in travel and management, and brings her administrative skills to Trias to support the core team in the management of their projects.

Jess Baker, Project Officer

Jess Baker is a recent graduate from the University of Leeds having completed her Degree in Politics and Philosophy. She was the project delivery intern at DAI Global UK during her placement year and has volunteered in Calais, supporting refugee communities in Northern France.

Senior Experts

Vanda Santos

Vanda Santos has two decades of academic and professional experience in crisis prevention, disaster risk reduction and the humanitarian, development and peace nexus. She has extensive knowledge of the UN system having worked in senior positions in UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programming, supporting the Assistant Secretary General to the UN Working Group on Transitions in the humanitarian development nexus. Vanda has led UNDP engagements at a technical level in World Humanitarian Summits, provided policy direction, and managed complex relationships between multi-lateral donors.  

Michele Ferenz

Michele Ferenz has two decades of experience working at the intersection of international development and crisis management as technical expert, strategic planner, and facilitator. She has particular expertise in peacebuilding and sustainable development, with a focus on natural resource management and essential service provision. From 2007 to 2013, Michele was a Senior Adviser at UNICEF covering Sub-Saharan Africa and climate change, and was posted as acting Country Director in Libya. Michele also works as a Senior Mediator at the US-Based Consensus Building Institute.

Donata Garassi

Donata Garrasi has twenty years experience leading high profile governance and development initiatives in crisis affected environments. She has held senior positions at DFID, UNCIEF, OECD and the UN. Donata has contributed to the UK’s Joint Country Governance Assessments in crisis environments, and supported the design and implementation of UNICEF and UNHCR protection programmes in Afghanistan, Rwanda, West and Central Africa. She has advised governments, multilateral organisations and the private sector on methods of addressing development challenges in Africa, the Mediterranean, the Americas and Asia.

Ian Quick

Ian Quick has 15 years experience in strengthening global capacities for multilateral and non-governmental institutions. This includes coordination of both major initiatives at country level, and global change projects. Particular areas of focus include integration of UN system activities and its partnerships with other institutions; the humanitarian-development-peace nexus; and people-centered approaches to stabilisation and peacebuilding. 

Associates

Alessandro Totoro

Alessandro Totoro has 15 years experience as a peacebuilding practitioner and researcher in conflict affected countries. Alessandro specializes in governance, conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity, with extensive experience in Eastern and Western Africa. Recent assignments include analysis of gender dynamics and human rights in the Sahel, and context analysis for prevention of violent conflict in Burkina Faso.

Chris Ward

Chris Ward has worked across relief, recovery and reconstruction programming in both post-disaster and post-crisis contexts. In Haiti, he oversaw USAID’s housing and settlements reconstruction portfolio totaling over $50 million, and was also a liaison to the multilateral Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission. More recently, he served as Interim Emergency and Stabilisation Coordinator for IOM in Burkina Faso. He has also completed missions in Sudan, Iraq, Nepal, Micronesia, Senegal and Ukraine, and has key institutional experience with USAID, EU, WB, IOM and UNOPS. 

Summer Brown

Summer Brown has over twenty years experience working in fragile and conflict affected contexts primarily focusing on issues of conflict and peace locally, nationally and internationally. Much of this time has been working in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Her most recent post was as Director of the Peacebuilding Advisory Unit at International Alert where she led a team of technical experts in areas of research, programme implementation and advisory services to governments, private sector actors, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups.

James Ivory

James Ivory is a political economy researcher, M&E analyst and project manager with experience in Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar and Syria. He has led conflict analysis and advisory outputs for DFID and the FCO and managed project monitoring, and evaluation projects in Iraq and Syria. James speaks Arabic and through his time working in post-conflict contexts has developed a ground-up understanding of the challenges and opportunities for governments in fragile states. He has experience delivering programming in governance and institutional development, peacebuilding, post-conflict recovery, and security and justice, predominantly for the UK Government.