Climate Change and Chemicals

DIXON, Robert Team Leader rdixon1@thegef.org 202-473-2340	Robert recently joined the GEF as Team Leader of the Climate Change and Chemicals team. He will work with the GEF CEO and Secretariat officials to strengthen GEF effectiveness and efficiency. Prior to joining the GEF Dixon addressed climate change and energy security issues at the White House National Security Council and Council on Environmental Quality. Robert is co-recipient, with other members of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He served as Head, Energy Technology Policy Division, International Energy Agency, Paris, France 2005-2007. Robert was U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 1999-2002 and has served in variety of senior domestic and diplomatic posts since joining the U.S. government in 1989. He is a chemist by training and has worked climate change issues for over 20 years. Prior to government service he was a Professor at several leading universities and distinguished himself as an entrepreneur and CEO in the private sector. In 2004 the U.S. President recognized Robert's service to the nation with a gold medal.

BIAGINI, Bonizella Program Manager Lead Environmental Specialist bbiagini@thegef.org 202-458-7506	Bonizella (Boni) joined the GEF in 2001 and is responsible for the Adaptation program and portfolio of the GEF which includes the pilot program in the GEF trust fund (SPA), the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). A physicist by training, Boni has worked on climate change and other global environmental issues over the last 20 years in Europe and in the United States. She has extensive experience as a government and non-government representative in numerous international environmental meetings including the Earth Summit, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Before joining the GEF, Boni worked at the World Resources Institute in the Climate, Energy and Pollution Program as leader of several international projects on adaptation to climate change and directed the international office of Legambiente, a leading Italian environmental research organization. She is a contributor and reviewer of the IPCC Third and Fourth Assessments Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, and the author of numerous publications on climate change science and politics, including the report Confronting Climate Change, Economic Priorities and Climate Protection in Developing Nations.
BUCHINGER, Josef Jr. Professional Officer Energy and Energy Efficiency Expert jbuchinger@thegef.org 202-473-8802	Josef, an Austrian national joined the Climate and Chemicals team as a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Expert through the JPO program of the World Bank. Josef will support the work being carried out in the climate change mitigation cluster. Prior to joining the World Bank, Josef belonged to the arsenal research (OFPZ Arsenal) for over 3 years. He managed projects on development, testing, standardization and dissemination of solar thermal applications in various national and international (EU, IEA) activities in the department for renewable energy technologies. From 2004 to 2005, in Nairobi, Kenya, as a Program Assistant at the Kenya Water for Health Organization, Josef broadened his technical knowledge on rural and semi-urban water supply and sanitation. Josef holds a M.Eng. (Dipl.Ing.) in environmental engineering from the University of Leoben, Austria.
CHRISTIANSEN, Lars Jr. Professional Officer Adaptation & Climate Change Specialist lchristiansen@thegef.org 202-473-5196	Lars joined the Climate Change and Chemicals team, as JPO sponsored by Denmark, in the spring of 2007. He is supporting GEF’s work on the new adaptation funds (SCCF and LDCF). Lars is a recent graduate in Geography from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Previous work experience includes Masters fieldwork in Vietnam on sustainability and cost effectiveness of small-scale land use projects.
FERNANDES, Monica Program Assistant mfernandes@thegef.org 202-473-9647	Program Assistant
GRANIER, Laurent Program Manager/ Sr. Chemicals Specialist lgranier@thegef.org 202-473-9034	Laurent joined the GEF in 2002, and now serves as Coordinator of the Chemicals Cluster, where he leads both program and strategy development for the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Ozone Layer Depletion focal areas. From 1998-2001, Laurent worked in Nairobi with The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the Division of Global Environment Facility Coordination. At UNEP, Laurent was responsible for developing and managing a GEF-funded portfolio on persistent toxic substances (PTS). Laurent secured approval for a portfolio of projects on PTS, including the first POPs project funded by the GEF. Prior to serving at UNEP, Laurent held a number of research fellowships at Universities in the UK and Canada. Laurent earned a Ph.D. in Hydrology from University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, is author of numerous publications on the environmental behaviour and fate of persistent organic pollutants, and is a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
MARIANI, Alexis Senior Climate Change Specialist amariani@thegef.org 202-473-8718	Alexis, a French national, joined the Climate and Chemicals Team of the GEF as a Sr. Climate Change Specialist, through the Secondment Program of the World Bank. Alexis will work on climate change mitigation. Prior to joining the GEF, Alexis was part of the French administration. From 2001 to 2004, at the Ministry of Environment in the North of France, he worked as Manager of Sustainable Development and Environmental Impact Studies. At that time, Alexis was also one of the French representatives for the International Scheldt River Commission, in charge of water economics. From 2004 to 2008, at the metropolitan district of Rennes, a city of 400.000 inhabitants, he worked as Manager of Sustainable Development and Urban Planning. He was responsible for the development strategy of the city, specifically in the environmental and social fields. He also worked on energy and climate issues (definition of the energy and climate plan of the metropolitan area, energy-efficiency in public housing, clean urban transportation, and renewable energy). Alexis holds a M.S. from the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris and a M.S. in Environmental Economics from the National School of Agriculture, Environment, Water and Forestry in Paris.
MIZUNO, Osamu Sr. Environmental Specialist omizuno@thegef.org 202-458-2789	Sr. Environmental Specialist
MOORE, Rawleston Program Manager/Adaptation & Country Relations Officer rmoore1@thegef.org 202-473-8231	Rawleston has joined the GEF as focal point for the SIDS as well as addressing issues related to adaptation, and doing outreach regarding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Rawleston is a former representative of the Government of Barbados to the UNFCCC. Rawleston worked with the GEF-funded Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change Project (CPACC) and assisted in the preparation of the GEF-funded Mainstreaming to Adaptation to Climate Change in the Caribbean. In addition, Rawleston is a former lecturer at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies University of West Indies-Cave Hill Campus Barbados, with a number of publications on climate change. He has worked as a consultant for governments and international organizations on the issue of climate change.
ONYSKO, Gana Jr. Professional Associate gonysko@worldbank.org 202-473-1544	Ganna, a Ukrainian national, joined the GEF as a JPA. She will support the Climate and Chemicals team’s efforts on strengthening GEF effectiveness and efficiency. Prior to joining the GEF, Ganna worked in the World Bank’s ECSPF unit on issues of technology transfer, innovation, and knowledge economy. Her previous experiences also involve working with ACCION International, World Relief, and Sierra Club. Ganna holds a M.A. degree in International Relations and Economics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she specialized in International Development and Finance. At SAIS Ganna was a co-recipient of funding from the Henry Luce Foundation grant to conduct research on sectoral approach as a policy mechanism for integrating developing countries into post-Kyoto negotiations. Previously Ganna completed her B.A. degree at Macalester College, where she specialized in Economics and Environmental Studies.
SOW, Ibrahima Program Manager/ Senior Chemicals Specialist isow@thegef.org 202-458-2716	Ibrahima has joined the GEF Secretariat as an environmental specialist in the Climate Change and Chemicals Team, to strengthen the work on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Ibrahima, a chemical engineer, is the former director of the Basel Regional Center for francophone Africa, and comes to the GEF Secretariat with 20 years of experience gained in the Senegalese Ministry of Environment, as well as the Secretariat of the Basel Convention in Geneva and as a Senior Special Fellow for UNITAR. He has been an active participant in the international negotiations leading to the adoption and implementation of the chemicals and waste conventions and agreements, including the Stockholm and Basel conventions.
TIRFE, Tigest Program Assistant ttirfe@thegef.org 202-458-9297	Tigest, a dual Ethiopian/Swedish national joined the GEF as a Program Assistant for the Climate and Chemicals team. Tigest has more than 15 years experience providing administrative, operational and information support to a diverse ranges of sectors and teams. Before joining the GEF, she was working at the World Bank for the last 10 years. Over the course of these years, she provided support to various units, such as the Africa Energy unit, the Africa Private and Finance sector, the Country Director's office for Angola, Malawi and Mozambique (CD2), the External Affairs (EXT) and Human Development Network (HDN), the Education team (Secondary Education and Adult Outreach). Tigest comes to us with personal computer and networking programs from George Washington University. She has great Business Management, Language, Litterature and culture skills.
ZEVGOLIS, Dimitrios Program Manager Climate Change Specialist dzevgolis@thegef.org 202-458-7734	Dimitrios joined the GEF Secretariat as Climate Change Specialist, working mainly on renewable energy and energy efficiency issues. Prior to joining the GEF and since 1999 he worked for the Greek public administration on the planning, management, evaluation and monitoring of programs and projects, in the fields of energy, environment, transport, and infrastructure, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. In the same period he also worked as consultant, manager, and evaluator for several projects on energy and climate change with the European Commission, national governments, private enterprises, and academic institutions. Dimitrios holds a M.Eng. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a MBA in the Management of Engineering-Economic Systems. He is also a Ph.D. candidate and Research Associate of the National Technical University of Athens in the field of Energy Policy.
ZHANG, Zhihong Cluster Coordinator for Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and ChemicalsSr. Climate Change Specialist zzhang2@thegef.org 202-473-9852	Zhihong joined the GEF Secretariat in 2004 as Senior Climate Change Specialist. His current responsibilities include development and implementation of GEF strategies and management of the GEF portfolio in climate change mitigation. Prior to joining the GEF Secretariat, Zhihong served as Chief Technical Advisor on behalf of UNIDO to oversee the implementation of GEF-funded energy efficiency projects in China. Before that, he had worked on energy, environment, and climate change projects with the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, the European Commission, as well as national governments, non-governmental organizations, and academia. His country experience in advising governments and developing and implementing projects includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Zhihong started his professional career in the energy sector at the World Bank in the early 1990s. He had participated in various sector and policy work as well as operations in household energy, rural electrification, energy efficiency, energy demand analysis, and power sector reforms. He was a key member of the Bank teams to develop the first Bank rural energy policy and to conduct the first comprehensive study on issues and options on greenhouse gas emissions control in China. He holds a Ph.D. in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.