DAVID TADDELE DESSIE

Chair

David T. Dessie first joined the UNKLESA Board in July 2017 and since then has served on the Executive Board as Secretary, Chairman (2018-2019), and as a Special Adviser. Prior to arriving in Nairobi, David was the Corporate Escalation Manager for Charter Communication for south eastern division. David has over fifteen years of experience in corporate, non-profit, and research institutions. He received his Master’s in Sustainable Development focusing on Development Management & Policy Analyses & Advocacy. David has worked with FAO and IGAD to address regional institutional barriers for livestock development in East Africa and published a policy paper on Livestock Development.

As Chairman of the Executive Board for 2018-2019 and Secretary of the Executive Board for 2017-2018, David focused on UNKLESA’s 2018-2019 Sustainability Blueprint. David has been successful in developing and implementing UNKLESA’s fundraising drive effort to expand programming to UNKLESA members. He has successful implemented the Agency Membership model to UNICIF and UNEP in 2018-2019. He has also focused on expanding UNKLESA Orientation was successful in adding UNDP as client. David has introduced a Family induction program that is specifically tailored to the issue of relocation for the entire family. As part of this effort David was a key part in developing several pilot projects in 2018-2019 to engage UN family in supportive, socially-aware activities ensuring that UN families gain rich, valuable experience and have a safe, productive way to spend their time. As past Chairman, David had numerous successes on the path to fulfilling the goal of supporting and connecting UN families. As Chair for 2020, David will be working hard to accelerate the past momentum and build on our strengths. In summary, UNKLESA future is bright and we should feel optimistic while we are navigating changing UN policies it will require for all of us to be resilient and completely focused on the task at hand. Together we will accelerate the creation of the UNKLESA of the future.

SORAYA SOEMADIREDJA

Secretary

Soraya Soemadiredja is a third-culture kid turned adult. As such, she is familiar with the needs of UN and international development families.

Soraya is Indonesian and grew up in the Philippines. Prior to moving to Kenya, Soraya worked in Bonn, Germany with UNFCCC as an international UNV for event management and volunteer recruitment, training and deployment, liaising and coordinating with both UNV and UNFCCC. Back in her home country, Soraya worked in international climate policy, coordination and negotiations for the government of Indonesia with both the Office of the President’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and the National Council on Climate Change. She was an adjunct lecturer at the Management Development Institute of Singapore-Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she met her husband, a Czech national.

Soraya has a degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada, studied Russian in Uzbekistan and studied in Lund University in Sweden, Central European University in Budapest, Hungary and the University of the Aegean in Lesvos, Greece. She is passionate about environmental, sustainability and climate issues as well as community theatre and performing arts. Since 2013 she has worked and volunteered with The Climate Reality Project for climate advocacy and action, in Europe, Philippines, Indonesia and now, Kenya and East Africa.

In Germany, Soraya served on the UN Spouses Bonn Steering Committee for 2017-2018. After moving to Kenya, she became a UNKLESA office volunteer in mid-2018. She compiled the evaluation of the UNKLESA Kiswahili Culture Course and works on the Career Guide, assists with other communications as needed, presents at the weekly UN security briefings, and assists with organizing Career Coffee Mornings.

DIOUDLE KANE

Treasurer

Dioulde Kane is from Mauritania and joined UNKLESA since 2007. She’s a Mother of three which are all grown up in Kenya and married to a UN Officer for more than 14 years.

She is graduated from TUNISA with an MBA in Financial Engineering and a Bachelor in Finance and has more than 10 years of experience in the finance and Accounting Field.

Since 2003 she has occupied different positions as a Finance and budget officer both in Kenya and Mauritania which gave her the opportunity to be familiar with the financial reporting, reconciliations and budgeting.

Prior to her arriving in Kenya she has been working for three years as a Budget Officer in one of the biggest Bank in Mauritania (BMCI).

During her stay in Kenya she has occupied different position at Shelter Afrique and UNOPS, successively as Finance Associate in the UNOPS regional Finance office and the UNOPS Nile Basin Project.

For the last three years she has become an active member of UNKLESA, playing a role in the UNKLESA training Group which was focusing in finding appropriate trainings for UNKLESA members and Volunteering in the day to day running Office.

She is honored and motivated to serve as UNKLESA Treasurer, to use her experience to work with the UNKLESA board, to produce clear and efficient Financial Reports and analysis and help into looking for new funding opportunities.

GOHAR AYOUB
Family & Peer Support

Gohar joined UNKLESA in July 2017 since then has served as coordinator of the Family and Peer support Working Group. Prior to arriving in Nairobi with his wife and two kids he was engaged in his family business. By profession, Gohar is a businessman and he deal with gemstones, jewelries, rugs, antiques and all kind of handicrafts. Besides business, Gohar also takes part in community services and voluntary work and he possess excellent networking skills.

Over the past year, Gohar has focused on family focused activities, and supporting families that need assistance in dealing with difficulties in the transition. In addition, Family and Peer support Working Group will continue to play a pivotal role in UNKLESA becoming the leading family support organization within the UN.

MARYANN NWANKWO
Networking & Advocacy

Maryann became a member of UNKLESA in 2018 when she moved from the United Kingdom to join her husband in Nairobi. She is a Water Specialist (Hydrogeologist)/Environmentalist and has a chartership status with the Chartered Institution of Water and Environment Management (CIWEM) and Society of Environment. She also has a Prince 2 Project Management Certification. She completed an MSc degree in Hydroegology at the University of Leeds in 2006. She worked as a WASH expert in Africa, a consultant hydrogeologist at Atkins and as a hydrogeologist in a mining/engineering company (Wardell Armstrong) both in the UK. Maryann is a highly skilled professional with 10+ years of experience. She has completed several water and environmental-related projects which include preparing reports, plans and specifications for all types of infrastructure projects. Maryann has excellent knowledge of international and national regulations gained from managing and implementing several water/environmental projects both in the western and developing countries. On her job, she planned, led and managed several ground investigations for mining and engineering construction works; desk studies, water resources management; hydrogeological testing; borehole design and drilling supervision; water features survey; surface and groundwater quality monitoring; contaminant transport and modelling; hydrological and hydrogeological impact assessment and flood studies. She is a strong advocate for the provision of safe water and improved sanitary conditions in developing countries.

MORGAN BANEA
Communications & Outreach

Morgan joined the UNKLESA Board in November 2017 and since then has served as coordinator of the Communications & Outreach Working Group and, for a period, co-coordinator of the Family & Peer Support Working Group. Prior to arriving in Nairobi in 2017 with her husband and son, Morgan was an Executive Assistant with over ten years of experience in the academic and non-profit arena, most recently at the American Educational Research Association. She received her Master’s in International Affairs from American University in Washington, DC focusing on comparative and regional studies as well as cross-cultural communication.

Over the past year, Morgan has focused on reviving UNKLESA’s social media communication with members as well as maintenance of the UNKLESA website. She revived the UNKLESA Facebook group which allows members to post questions, events, and other relevant information amongst themselves. Morgan also served as co-coordinator of the Family & Peer Support group during the 2017-2018 year, organizing several coffee mornings.

As the Coordinator Board Member: Communications & Outreach, Morgan plans to continue supporting UNKLESA’s dialogue with members through an active Facebook presence, the migration and update of the UNKLESA website, as well as exploring new ideas for outreach. She believes that an active social media presence and effective communications are key to creating a vibrant, thriving community for UNKLESA members.

MYRTHEL G. GUILLAUME
Training & Development

I joined UNKLESA in October 2019, less than a week after arriving in Nairobi. During these few months, it was easy for me to verify the importance of being able to count on a network of people who are facing the same challenges as me.

One of my first acts of volunteering within UNKLESA was the collection of data for the 2018-2019 survey. I have directly heard many of you express your frustrations with your new status as a jobless professional; frustrations that, I, also, know, all too well.

My interest in coordinating the Training and Development working group is to create a space where together we will navigate the many assets that our new status of “professional with more free time than we wish to offers, assets that we do not always see: learning new things, improving our capacities and skills (also acquiring new knowledges), exploring new professional opportunities. ... Let's do it together.