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
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
Anna DOBAI – Researcher, evaluator, trainer
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 – Senior Research, Training and Evaluation 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 – Researcher, evaluator, and trainer – ‘Environment’ expert
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
Bi Achille Ange IRIE – Deputy Regional Representative for Quality and Accountability – RESILAC
A polytechnic engineer specialising in agro-industry, Achille has several certifications in monitoring and evaluation and project management. He has fifteen years’ experience with several INGOs (Save the Children International, IMC, Goal Ireland, IPAS), consultancies (MSI) and foundations (International Cocoa Initiative Foundation). He is familiar with development and emergency issues in West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Niger) and Central Africa (DRC, Cameroon). Achille joined Groupe URD in March 2024 as Deputy Regional Representative for Quality and Accountability on the RESILAC 2 project.
Contact: adjtqualiteredev@resilac.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. She represents Groupe URD within the Ritimo network.
Contact: clegrix@urd.org
Valérie LÉON – Researcher, evaluator, trainer
Valérie studied Economics and Politics, and worked for the ICRC in various crisis and post-crisis contexts (El Salvador, Kosovo, Colombia, Ethiopia, Georgia and Myanmar), specialising in Economic Security programmes. After a number of years supervising projects in Latin America for Médecins du Monde in Paris, she joined Groupe URD in 2012, where she focuses on cross-cutting themes, between relief and development.
Contact: vleon@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 – Junior Researcher, evaluator, trainer, 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 – Researcher, evaluator, trainer, Quality advisor
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 – Researcher, evaluator, trainer
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
Pauline SAVARY – Project Management officer
A generalist by training (history – political science), Pauline has managed development projects (sanitation and sexual and reproductive health) for over 15 years in France and abroad (Central Africa). She recently joined Groupe URD, where she provides project management support to researchers.
Contact: psavary@urd.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