Governance

Who we are

Governance

The Global Network has a steering group that advises and supports the work of the Network. The Steering Group is member-led and self-managed, supported by a full time Chair / Head of Secretariat, Mr. Marcus Oxley. The secretariat is currently hosted by the NGO Tearfund based in London.

Purpose of the Steering Group

to oversee the development and running of the Global Network in accordance with the Network’s goal and objectives
to use their collective expertise and experience to provide guidance on the overall work of the Network.
to be open, accessible and accountable to the Network membership
to serve in an advocacy capacity within representative agencies and spheres of influence, advocating on behalf of the Global Network’s mission and aims

We currently have 6 men and 5 women on the Steering group from 7 countries in the continents of Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Europe

	John Abuya, International Project Manager, ActionAid John, a Water Engineer by profession, is the International Project Manager for ActionAid’s multi-country project on “Disaster Risk Reduction through Schools” since July 2006. The project is being implemented in 9 countries namely Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Malawi, Ghana, Kenya, DRC, Zambia and Haiti. Prior to that, John managed long-term development and emergency programmes for Action Aid. John is based in Nairobi, Kenya
	Melisa Bodenhamer-Lindros, Senior Advisor, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Community Resilience, World Vision International Melisa brings 17 years senior management and consulting experience in public and non-profit sectors with focus on participatory poverty reduction mechanisms and building community resilience in the context of sustainable development and emergencies. Prior to World Vision Melisa worked with the World Bank and the UNDP and was Tearfund’s Regional Advisor for the Former Soviet Union.
	Roshni Chand, Regional Disaster Programme Manager, FSPI, Fiji Roshni has over 6 years experience working in international development and has a background in project management and capacity building in disaster prone areas, particularly in the Pacific region. She has a Masters in Community and International Development.
	Pedro Mariano Ferradas Mannucci, Program Manager, Practical Action, Peru Pedro has worked over 20 years in research, education and advocacy in disaster prevention and emergency. He worked as Emergency Coordinator for Save the Children in Central America and the Caribbean and at the Head office for Disaster Studies and Prevention in the Peruvian NGO PREDES. He published seven books about popular education and disaster risk management in Latin America. He holds a Masters in Environmental Education from Madrid Complutense University, Spain.
	Dr. Manu Gupta, Director SEEDS, India; Chair of the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network Manu has over 15 years’ experience working with a wide spectrum of communities in South Asia. He has a strong commitment towards strengthening resilience of communities vulnerable to natural disasters and effects of climate change. He is the co-founder and member of the core group of the National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction in India. Besides, he serves on various national committees of the Government of India. Manu holds a doctorate degree in community based disaster management.
	Suranjana Gupta, Coordinator: Global Campaign on Community Resilience of GROOTS International and the Huairou Commission Suranjana represents GROOTS and the Huairou Commission on the board of the National Alliance on Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in India. Her responsibilities focus on promoting grassroots women’s leadership in community resilience building. She holds an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Mumbai.
	Dr. Bruno Haghebaert, Adviser on Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction, Netherlands Red Cross Bruno has been working for the Red Cross for the last 15 years and has a strong interest in community risk assessment, the integration of climate change adaptation in DRR work and the use of video at the community level. Before that, he worked with the ProVention Consortium at IFRC in Geneva. In 2002 he obtained a PhD on DRR at Ghent University in Belgium.
	Dr. Vishaka Hidellage, Regional Director Practical Action, South Asia Vishaka has been associated with Practical Action (formerly Intermediate Technology Development Group ITDG) from 1989 and has been serving as Regional Director for the past eight years. She played a key role in organizing the South Asia Policy Dialogue with the SAARC Disaster Management Centre and National Institute Disaster Management based in New Delhi in 2006. Vishaka is the editor South Asia Disaster Report 2008 which is the first regional publication on disaster management, published by Duryog Nivaran- a network for South Asian Disaster Management organisations and individuals.
	Maria Luisa Interiano, CERDM Project Regional Manager, Latin American and Caribbean Regional Office, Costa Rica, World Vision International
	Marcus C. Oxley, Chair, Global Network for Disaster Reducation Marcus has over twenty years disaster management experience gained within the NGO sector where he was responsible for managing and implementing a range of disaster response and recovery, preparedness and mitigation programmes across Africa, Asia and Europe. Prior to that Marcus was the Disaster Management Director for Tearfund where he had overall responsibilities for their disasters-related interventions around the world. .
	Rod Snider, Senior Disaster Preparedness Technical Advisor, American Red Cross Rod Snider has over 19 years international experience working primarily in post-conflict and disaster settings including 15 years living and working overseas. Most of his career has been managing programs in complex emergencies and natural disasters including two 8-month deployments for both the Asian Tsunami in Banda Aceh and the Pakistan Earthquake, where he led large-scale multi-sector emergency responses from the onset of each disaster through initial recovery periods. He holds a Master’s degree in Non-Profit Management from New York University, and a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Washington State University.