VAN DEN BERG, Robert
Director
rvandenberg@thegef.org
+1 202 473 6078

Rob studied contemporary history at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Prior to assuming the Director post of GEF Evaluation Office in 2004, he worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 24 years in various positions within development cooperation and other policy domains. From 1999 until 2004 he was Director of the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In that position he actively promoted international joint evaluations and strengthening of evaluation capacity in partner countries. From 2002 to 2004 he was the chairman of the OECD/DAC Network on Development Evaluation. He chaired the Steering Committee of the joint international evaluation of external support to basic education, which published its final report in 2003.

Rob has also served as the Executive Secretary of the Netherlands' National Advisory Council for Development Co-operation, and as the Head of the special program for research of Dutch development cooperation. From 1995 to the end of 1997 he was responsible for development cooperation in the Dutch embassy in Suriname. In Brussels he advised the European Commission on setting up a policy for supporting research in partner countries.

Rob has co-edited three books on development cooperation and has published more than 20 articles on various aspects of policy formulation, evaluation, research and development cooperation, and the historical dimension of development, among other subjects. He has given numerous lectures and presentations and is a member of faculty of the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) since 2000.

CARUGI, Carlo
Senior Evaluation Officer
ccarugi@thegef.org
+1 202 473 8154

Carlo joined the GEF Evaluation Office in July 2009, after having worked for 2 years in the Evaluation Service of FAO in Rome. He is an Italian national with more than 21 years of experience in environment and development, 15 of which spent in developing countries, both on long term (Niger, Botswana, Vietnam and Cameroun) and short term assignments (Lebanon, Central African Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso and Libya).

Carlo has been involved in evaluations since 1991, when he collaborated with Italian universities in research for the integration of economic and environmental data to construct biodiversity indicators and to evaluate the environmental sustainability of NGO-implemented development projects. All along his professional career he conducted a number of project, programme, thematic and country evaluations for the European Commission, Italy, FAO and others. In 2002 Carlo was official trainer in project cycle management and logical framework approach at the EuropeAid Office of the European Commission in Brussels.

Carlo holds an MSc in Agricultural Science from the University of Bologna in Italy and in 2000 he completed a MSc on Environment and Development at the distance learning programme of the Imperial College at Wye, University of London, UK. He is also trained in Environmental Impact Assessment from the University of Milano in Italy.

CONRAD, Bjorn
Extended Term Consultant
bconrad@thegef.org
+1 202 473 4914

Bjorn Conrad joined the GEF Evaluation Office in 2011 to contribute to GEFEO’s work on evaluating climate change adaptation. Before joining GEF, he established and managed the “China and Global Governance” program of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), a policy think tank based in Berlin and Geneva. His focus and area of expertise at GPPi was China’s domestic climate change mitigation and adaptation policy and its implications for China's role in global climate governance. Bjorn authored several reports, studies and journal articles on climate change issues and is currently concluding his PhD thesis on China’s approach to climate change.

Bjorn’s prior work experience includes teaching fellowships at Harvard University and the University of Trier and internships with the German Foreign Office in Berlin and the UN Secretariat in New York. He was also a visiting associate with the Boston Consulting Group’s Munich office working on cases in the energy sector. Bjorn received a Master of Arts in Political Science, Economics and Chinese Studies from the University of Trier and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he studied from 2005-2007 as a Fulbright scholar. He spent the academic year 2002-2003 at the department of Chinese language and culture studies at Peking University and regularly lived and worked in China since then.
 

CHIHUGUYU, Evelyn
Program Assistant
echihuguyu@thegef.org
+1 202 473 0654

GARCIA, Jeneen
Extended Term Consultant
jgarcia2@thegef.org
+1 202 458 2719

Jeneen R. Garcia, from the Philippines, joined the GEF Evaluation Office as an ETC to work on the impact evaluation of GEF support in the South China Sea. Her previous work involved watershed governance at a CIDA-funded project, and community-based resource management at an environmental rights-based NGO. She also has extensive experience in freelance writing, editing and photography for various publications and organizations. Jeneen has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and a master's in Marine Biology. This year she completed a Joint European Master in Water and Coastal Management in four European countries through an Erasmus Mundus studentship. Her academic research has focused on factors influencing coral recruitment patterns in the Sulu Sea (with Conservation International - Philippines), and the scaling-up of the management of social-ecological systems, using community-based marine protected areas in the Philippines as case study.

GEORGE, Elizabeth
Senior Program Assistant
ebgeorge@thegef.org
+1 202 458 2548

NEGI, Neeraj Kumar
Evaluation Officer
nnegi1@thegef.org
+1 202 473 2259

Neeraj is a natural resource economist by training and has operational experience of working on natural resource management and rural livelihood issues. He is skilled in research methods, program and policy evaluation, and economic analysis. He has been working with the Evaluation Office since August 2005.

He holds a Master’s Program in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, with specialization in Economics. Prior to his studies he worked with Seva Mandir, an NGO working on rural livelihood concerns of the tribal population in Western India. During this engagement he planned and implemented projects on community forestry, watershed development, pastureland development and agriculture extension. Neeraj also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (PGDFM) from the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM).

NIELSEN, Sara Trab
Extended Term Consultant
snielsen@thegef.org
+1 202 473 4840

Sara Trab Nielsen, a Danish national, joined the GEF Evaluation Unit in December 2010 to assist with evaluations and preparation of evaluation frameworks for the Adaptation Fund, LDCF and SCCF. Prior to the GEF, Sara worked as a consultant at the World Bank for three years first in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Social Development unit on adaptation to climate change and later at the World Bank Institute Climate Change (WBICC). In LAC, Sara was part of the team that released the first major regional study on the social implications of climate change entitled Reducing Poverty, Protecting Livelihoods, and Building Assets in a Changing Climate. As a co-author of the World Bank book, she undertook a study on the implications of climate change on coastal livelihoods and potential adaptation responses using DFID’s Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. At WBICC Sara worked for the Carbon Finance Capacity Building (CFCB) Program for Megacities of the South, in particular with capacity development for CDM and development of pilot projects in Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Quezon City and Dar Es Salaam. Sara holds an undergraduate degree in International Services and a Masters of Global Environmental Politics from American University in Washington DC. 

PORTILLO, Juan
Senior Operations Evaluation Officer
jportillo@thegef.org
+1 202 473 6056

Juan joined the GEF in 2002. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from Universidad Del Zulia in Venezuela and a Masters in Public Policy from American University in the United States.

Prior to joining the GEF, Juan worked at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Resource Management Advisory Services and at the Organization of American States in the Inter American Committee on Ports.

ROMBOLI, Sandra
Evaluation Officer
sromboli@thegef.org
+1 202 458 4972

Sandra joined the GEF Evaluation Office in August 2007. She has 12 years of international hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation and implementation of development projects, as well as private sector experience from Sweden.

Sandra has previously worked for the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and on World Bank projects. In IFAD she was working in one of the operational divisions managing the grant portfolio, the Results Based Management Plan (RBMP) for the division and the implementation of the Results and Impact Management System (RIMS) for the Near East and North Africa portfolio. She was previously employed in the Office of Evaluation of both FAO and IFAD where she participated in corporate, thematic and country evaluations.

She holds a Masters in Development Economics and a Masters in Business Administration.

TEMNENKO, Kseniya
Knowledge Management Officer
ktemnenko@thegef.org
 +1 202 458 4908

 Kseniya Temnenko, a Ukrainian national, joined the GEF Evaluation Office in November 2010 as the Knowledge Management Officer. Previously, she was an Evaluation Specialist in the UNICEF Evaluation Office where she was responsible for knowledge management of the evaluation function and the evaluation capacity strengthening. Among other tasks, she led the establishment of the internal M&E community of practice that united over 300 professionals from across the globe. She guided development of the UNICEF’s approach to advocacy monitoring and evaluation, contributed to creation of the institutional knowledge management framework, and championed development of e-learning activities at the United Nations Evaluation Group Training Task Force.

Kseniya has 11 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, as well as in program management. She worked and consulted for the Eurasia Foundation, Institute for Sustainable Communities, UNDP, the Step by Step Association, and Charities Aid Foundation. Kseniya is passionate about social research methods and learning, especially in a complex multi-stakeholder environment.

Ms. Temnenko holds Masters Degree in Sociology, Specialist Degrees in the Russian and English languages and a Certificate from the International Programme Evaluation Development Training. She also attended training in knowledge management.
 

 VIGGH, Anna
Senior Evaluation Officer
aviggh@thegef.org
+1 202 473 8896

Anna has been a consultant to the GEF Evaluation Office since late 2003. She studied Environmental Management at Yale University and International Affairs at George Washington University. Anna has more than 15 years of development and environment experience with GEF, UNDP, the World Bank and several NGO's.

Prior to joining the GEF, she was a consultant to the UNDP/GEF Regional Coordination Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico and designed an innovative monitoring tool for oversight of projects in the region. She has held different positions at UNDP, where she developed resource management and planning policies playing an integral role in the landmark legislation on a results based resource allocation system.

She was also stationed in Sierra Leone managing the development and implementation of the UNDP Country Program. Earlier, Anna was a member of the core 1990 World Development Report team on Poverty.

 WADHWA, Baljit
Senior Evaluation Officer
bwadhwa@thegef.org
+1 202 473-0266
 

Ms. Baljit Wadhwa is a Senior Evaluation Officer leading the Performance Evaluation team in the GEF Evaluation Office. She is an expert on sustainability assessment and sustainability indicators for both public and private sector entities.

Previously as the Monitoring & Evaluation Lead with International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Sustainable Business Advisory Services Department, Baljit advised the Department Director and Program Leaders on results measurement strategies and impact realization for projects in the broad areas of climate change, biodiversity markets, labor & social standards, corporate governance and SME development. Ms. Wadhwa has also managed and undertaken undertaken several evaluations of projects/programs for international agencies (e.g. CIDA, World Food Programme, IFC) national government departments and community development agencies.

Prior to IFC, Baljit worked as a Senior Sustainability Analyst with Calvert Investments, a leading US sustainable investment firm, reviewing publicly listed domestic and emerging market companies for environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics in their policies, programs and performance as well as dialoguing with companies on the same. Her responsibilities also focused on financial responses to climate change and resulted in the launch of Calvert's Global Alternative Energy Fund.

In addition to her experience as an evaluator, Baljit has also worked alongside the infrastructure, oil, gas and mining industries carrying out stakeholder engagements for proposed energy, mining & transportation projects. Her specialization is community consultations and facilitating use of traditional knowledge in impact studies. Baljit holds a Master of Environment Studies from University of Waterloo and Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from University of Calgary in Canada. She is also a LEED Accredited Professional with the US Green Building Council.

When not working, Baljit likes to practice outdoor pursuits including kayaking, hiking and camping. She also enjoys making up new recipes and photographing local and foreign places/people.
  

ZAZUETA, Aaron
Chief Evaluation Officer
azazueta@thegef.org
+1 202 473 6406

Aaron Zazueta, a social anthropologist, is the Chief Evaluation Officer and the team leader on impact evaluation for the GEF since January 2010.  Previously he was the lead person in the production of the GEF Annual Performance Report.  Since he joined the GEF in 2002, Aaron has carried out several thematic evaluations, has been the lead evaluator on issues pertaining GEF International Waters and has lead evaluations in East and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Prior to joining the GEF, Aaron was a member of teams that evaluated the World Bank's 1991 Forest Policy and the application of the Bank's Indigenous People's Safeguard and conducted project evaluations for the World Bank.  He was also the lead advisor for the Inter-American Development Bank Strategy for Citizen Participation.  Between 1990 and 1996, Aaron was Regional Director for Latin America at the World Resources Institute, where he led a team of professionals working with Governments, NGOs and community groups in the formulation of environmental policies in Latin America. He served as a strategic and policy advisor to several governments in Latin America and to regional processes such as the Central American Commission for Environment and Development, the Tropical Forest Action Program in Mexico.  He co-chaired the technical commission that drafted the Hemispheric Agenda for Sustainable Development, ultimately adopted by 32 heads of state of the Americas in December 1996. 

Aaron has more than 20 publications on issues related to environmental policy, citizen participation and sustainable development.   He holds a Ph. D in Anthropology from the University of California.  

Zubiri, Andrew

 Junior Professional Associate

azubiri@thegef.org

+1 202 458-9733
 

Andrew Zubiri, a Filipino national, joined the GEF Evaluation Office on April 2011 as the moderator of the Climate-Eval community of practice.

Andrew has worked in the Philippines at the National Economic and Development Authority where he evaluated national projects, programs and policies in the environment sector, and for a sustainable agriculture project at the Asian NGO Coalition, an NGO working on agrarian reform and rural development. He also has experience in social media and online journalism including blogging, photography and online social networks.

He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Governance degree from the University of Freiburg in Germany, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology degree with a specialization in human settlements planning from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He spends his spare time honing his interest in urbanism, technology and the internet, and listening to jazz and classical music.