Our team
Groupe URD is made up of a multidisciplinary team of about ten researcher/evaluators who travel to crisis contexts and who have expertise in fields such as agronomy, urban issues, international law, the environment, and quality. A support team of 5 people is responsible for administrative and financial management, project coordination, partnerships, communication, training, etc.
Véronique de GEOFFROY – Executive Director
Véronique de Geoffroy is Groupe URD’s executive Director. She oversees the research, evaluation and training team (ten researchers and a broad network of external experts) in relation to the organisation’s strategic priorities. She also designs and carries out projects herself, particularly concerning the effectiveness of aid and the interaction between actors within the humanitarian system. Since 2012, she has coordinated the INSPIRE Consortium which provides DG ECHO with support in developing and disseminating its humanitarian policies. She has worked in the humanitarian sector for 25 years, having worked in the field in the 1990s, in Colombia, the Balkans and the Great Lakes region.
Contact: vdegeoffroy@urd.org
Aurore CHAUSSONNIÈRE – Directrice administrative et financière
With a background in business and a passion for organisational management, humanitarian work was an obvious choice for her after many years working for service providers. She wasted no time in taking up this unusual challenge. Aurore is responsible for the association’s administrative and financial management.
Contact : achaussonniere@urd.org
Holly BARSHAM – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer
Holly holds a master’s degree in conflict, security and development from King’s College London and joined Groupe URD in January 2025 as a researcher. As an independent consultant, Holly worked with the ODI’s Global Risks and Resilience team on projects related to climate finance and adaptation in fragile states. Before her research career, Holly worked as a social mediator and for the French Red Cross. Passionate about local development and climate change resilience, Holly has joined Groupe URD to work on the themes of climate and localisation.
Contact: hbarsham@urd.org
Johana BRETOU-KLEIN – Facilitator of REH and researcher
Johana holds a Master’s degree in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics. She joined Groupe URD in 2021. Through her research, she specialises in the links between international aid, environmental degradation and climate change. She works on adapting aid to global warming (ADAPT Initiative) as well as mitigation, through the reduction of the environmental footprint of aid (Réseau Environnement Humanitaire).
Contact : jbretouklein@urd.org
Camille BURLET – Project Management Officer
Camille holds a Master’s degree in Policies and Practices of International Organisations from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Grenoble and has worked for NGOs in Brussels and Paris in the fields of Justice, Business & Human Rights and Advocacy. After several years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Knowledge & Grant Manager on access to justice projects and then as Coordinator of an experimental project to reduce geographical inequalities in access to services for young people in rural areas for the National Education Department, she joined Groupe URD as Project Management Support Officer in March 2025.
Contact : cburlet@urd.org
Anna DOBAI – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer
Anna started with Groupe URD in September 2021, bringing 25 years’ experience within the humanitarian sector. Combining evaluation and consultancy expertise with programme management experience, Anna has worked in over 40 countries around the world (in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia), leading teams evaluating resilience, disaster risk reduction and organizational development programmes and regularly been deployed as a project manager in sudden-onset response programmes. With a masters degree in documentary practices, Anna has developed expertise in documentary filmmaking for the humanitarian sector; her work can be seen HERE.
Contact : adobai@urd.org
Jérôme FAUCET – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer, Climate Adaptation Referent
Jérôme joined Groupe URD in January 2024. He holds a DEA in Environmental Bioscience and Health from the University of Aix Marseille II and a Masters in Environment and Development from the University of Reading in the UK. He has 15 years’ experience in disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. For the last 5 years, as a specialist in anticipatory action, he has led the development of early action protocols against heat waves in urban contexts within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. His work has led him to collaborate closely with meteorological and scientific organisations, and to contribute to the work of the Global Heat and Health Information Network. Within Groupe URD, Jérôme is in charge of adaptation to climate change.
Contact : jfaucet@urd.org
Aline HUBERT – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer, ‘Environment’ Referent
Aline is an Ecole Centrale Engineering graduate, specialised in hydrogeology and has a master’s degree in Geography. From 2012 to 2020, she worked on water management issues in different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, DRC, and Senegal), working for a variety of different organisations (NGO, diplomatic, engineering and research). She has been involved as a volunteer in campaigns to reduce waste and raise awareness about climate change. She joined Groupe URD in 2021 to work on the relations between international aid, the environment and climate, and to contribute to improving the environmental footprint of aid.
Contact : ahubert@urd.org
Anna LEAR – Training Coordinator
Anna graduated with a Masters in Humanitarian Aid Management and then worked as a Research Assistant on various projects, such as the Global Study on Consultation and Participation of Affected Populations in Humanitarian Action (Guinea case study). She is now coordinating the Training Division and is support translator for Groupe URD publications in English.
Contact: alear@urd.org
Cécile LE GRIX – Archivist
After a Master’s degree in English, Cécile became interested in the international aid sector when she studied at the Institut des Droits de l’Homme. She runs the Groupe URD Resource Centre and helps the researchers with documentary searches. She monitors new publications in the humanitarian sector, conducts thematic analyses and is responsible for disseminating and promoting Groupe URD’s publications. Cécile also provides support in identifying opportunities and putting together financing packages. She represents Groupe URD within the Ritimo network.
Contact: clegrix@urd.org
Christophe MARFAING – Financial and administrative assistant
Holder, among other things, of a DUT in Business and Administration Management, he has consolidated this training through the various experiences of his professional and volunteer career. Under the direct responsibility of the Administrative and Financial Director, he ensures the accounting and administrative follow-up of the structure. Its general mission is to ensure the transparent and efficient management of Groupe URD’s resources.
Contact: cmarfaing@urd.org
Erika MESA – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer, Quality and accountability advisor
A Colombian anthropologist with a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Erika has worked with organisations such as Handicap International, UNICEF, UNESCO and the ICRC. She has worked on a wide range of subjects including the prevention of violent extremism, ethical issues in humanitarian aid and accountability to those affected. Passionate about migration issues, she also participates in civil society initiatives for the inclusion of migrant voices in migration governance. She joined Groupe URD in June 2024 to work on issues of aid quality and accountability.
Contact : emesa@urd.org
Charly PIERLUIGI – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer, Quality and accountability advisor referent
After gaining a Masters in Crisis Analysis and Humanitarian Action from Savoy University, Charly began working in the WASH sector in emergency relief contexts, and then was involved in operational coordination in multi-sector projects in the Middle East. After 7 years working for international organisations both in the field and at headquarters, he took up a position specialising in project management, monitoring and evaluation at the Handicap International Federation where he was in charge, among other things, of internal training in project management. He joined Groupe URD in September 2022 where he contributes to our analysis of aid practices and accompanies organisations in relation to aid quality.
Contact : cpierluigi@urd.org
Laurent SAILLARD – Research, Evaluation and Training Officer
Laurent Saillard is both a project / programme manager and an evaluator with a solid experience of complex evaluations involving multiple projects and actors on matters related to the humanitarian-development-peace Nexus. Laurent has nearly 22 years’ field experience working with NGOs, International Organisations, donor agencies, State and non-State actors, the private sector, in fragile areas, notably in Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Central African Republic, Niger, Mali, Chad, Burundi, Rwanda) and the Middle East (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey).
Contact : lsaillard@urd.org
Marcel SENI – Deputy Regional Representative for Quality and Accountability, RESILAC project
A graduate statistician with a master’s degree in project and programme monitoring and evaluation, Marcel worked for 8 years in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning on development and humanitarian projects in West Africa (Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Niger) and Central Africa (Chad) with organisations such as DEDRAS ONG, Handicap International, Solidarité International and Première Urgence International, holding the positions of MEAL officer, MEAL manager and then MEAL country coordinator. He has extensive experience of working with consortia and alliances of NGOs on Nexus projects, coordinating the MEAL component. He joined Groupe URD as Deputy Head of the RESILAC Regional Office – Quality and Accountability Officer in January 2025.
Contact: adjtqualiteredev@resilac.org
Jeanne TAISSON – Communication officer
Jeanne Taisson is responsible for Groupe URD’s external communication. She supervises everyday communication activities, the development of new materials and the organisation of events. She also contributes to specific communication for certain projects and coordinates the different service providers and partners involved in these. She is trilingual, has training in journalism and a Master’s degree in Humanitarian Management.
Contact: jtaisson@urd.org