Secretariat

Stephan Burger

Programme Manager – European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM)

Stephan joined NEF as a Programme Officer in October 2017. He has previously worked in the NGO sector in the areas of development cooperation, human rights and EU social policy. Before joining the EPIM team, he was a Policy and Membership Development Officer with Eurodiaconia, where he was co-responsible for the Roma inclusion and migration portfolio. Stephan studied history and philosophy in Germany and the UK. He speaks German, Dutch and English.

stephan.burger[at]epim.info

Fanny Georges

Programme Manager – European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM)

Fanny is working as Programme Officer for EPIM and joined NEF in June 2015. She holds a Master degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology with a specialisation in Migration, Minorities and Multiculturalism from the University of Leuven and a Bachelor degree in Arts & Culture from the University of Maastricht.

Throughout her studies and professional life, Fanny has developed a passionate interest for the fields of migration and integration. Before joining EPIM, she worked for the King Baudouin Foundation, for FEDASIL and was a cultural mediator on a voluntary basis with Romanian Roma migrants.

fanny.georges[at]epim.info

Giulia Barnhisel

Programme Manager – The Evaluation Fund/Transform

Giulia first joined NEF in 2015, and in 2018, she re-entered as a Program Officer for the Evaluation Fund: Reducing Violence Against Children.

With experience in political mobilisation and community organising, Giulia has worked as a Campaign Manager for a US Congressional candidate and as a Field Organizer focused on youth and minority voting rights in Denver, Colorado. She has also served a Gender Coordinator while at the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in Madagascar, and is passionate about inclusion, empowerment, and grassroots organising.

giulia.barnhisel[at]nef-europe.org

Peggy Saïller

NEF Executive Director

‘Cruise captain’, oversees the general direction of the boat

Before joining NEF as Executive Director in 2007, Peggy worked in the humanitarian sector for 7 years, in the fields of migration and post conflict, for the Red Cross, the Intergovernmental Organisation for Migration, in Afghanistan, the Caribbean and in Geneva. She started her professional path in the area of economic development with the Economic Mission of Chile in Paris and holds a Master in Foreign Trade.

peggy.sailler[at]nef-europe.org

Roy Virah-Sawmy

Programme Manager – Civitates

Roy joined NEF in March 2017 as a trainee.  Since January 2018, Roy is the Fund Assistant for Civitates. He holds a LLB, English and French Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury and a LLM in Human Rights Law and International Law from the Brussels School of International Studies(University of Kent).

Roy previously worked in the legal field in his home country, Mauritius and also has experience in journalism.  He had the opportunity to live in Mauritius, England and France.  His personal and professional life led him to Brussels.

roy.virahsawmy[at]nef-europe.org

Sarah Sommer

Programme Director – European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM)

Sarah worked as NEF Communication Officer before becoming Programme Director for EPIM. She holds a BA in International Political Management from the University of Applied Sciences Bremen and a Master of Arts (with Distinction) in International Relations from the Brussels School of International Studies (University of Kent).

Previously, Sarah has worked in Hannover, Berlin and Brussels for the German Bundestag, the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, the German trade union ver.di and the German Embassy at Brussels, concentrating on labour market, social and migration policy. She is a native German speaker with excellent English and a basic working knowledge of French and Spanish.

sarah.sommer[at]epim.info

Debora Guidetti

Senior European Programme Manager – Ariadne

Debora is the Brussels based European Programme Manager of Ariadne, the network of European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights. Before joining Ariadne, she worked as independent consultant for various private foundations, CSOs’ networks and NGOs. Previously, she managed the anti-discrimination work of the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE) focusing on Western Europe for five years. From 2008 to 2011, she managed the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM), a grant-making initiative of the Network of European Foundations.

Formerly, she worked for UNESCO in Cuba and Mexico and for Handicap International Belgium. She studied international relations, political sciences, culture and development studies, in Italy (Padua), France (Sciences-Po Paris), and Belgium (University of Leuven). She is fluent in Italian, English, French, and Spanish.

debora.guidetti[at]ariadne-network.eu

Sophie Ngo-Diep

Programme Manager – European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM)

Sophie joined EPIM as Programme Manager in September 2016. Previously, Sophie was the Regional Network Developer and Funding Coordinator of the Migration and Development Civil Society (MADE) programme at the International Catholic Migration Commission.

Before that, she worked for 3 years on refugee resettlement and integration. Sophie also worked for the EU Delegation to Cambodia, the European Association for the Defence of Human Rights and volunteered for the Belgian Red Cross. She holds a Master in European Policies and Public Affairs from Sciences Po Strasbourg, a Master in Political Science from Pantheon Sorbonne and a Degree in Economics and Management from Paris-Dauphine.

sophie.ngo-diep[at]epim.info

Laurent Grolleau

Programme Manager – JAFOWA

Laurent joined JAFOWA as Programme Manager in March 2019.

As an agronomist engineer, Laurent has spent almost 20 years in Africa, working with rural communities, NGOs and farmers organisations, where he focused on sustainable solutions for agricultural production, inclusive value chains, and WASH management. For the last ten years, he worked for the Centre International de Développement et de Recherche as Head of the « Agricultural Enterprises, Value Chains and Markets» department and for Eau Vive internationale as Director France. Laurent has also spent several years in the private sector in agrobusiness both in Africa and in France.

His strength lies especially in his collaboration with grassroots and non-state actors, as well as with international development institutions and private sector, in regards to development projects, partnerships and their monitoring and evaluation.

laurent.grolleau[at]nef-europe.org

Jimmy Halpern

Finance & Resources Manager

Jimmy Halpern joined NEF in March 2019 as Finance and Resources Officer.
He graduated with a Masters in Commercial Engineering (specialisation in Finance)  in Brussels.

Over the years, he has worked in sectors ranging from real estate to textiles. He was a marketing manager for a prestigious diamond company in Antwerp, and part of a project management team for the biggest housing project to date in Belgium’s Walloon Brabant province.
He was also responsible for finance and administration for EU-funded projects in a Communication agency.

Jimmy is also a humanitarian aid volunteer, building housing for marginalised communities in India.

jimmy.halpern[at]nef-europe.org

Ekaterina Mandova

Programme Officer – Civitates

Ekaterina Mandova joined NEF as a Programme Officer for Civitates in April 2020. She holds a master degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation and one of her passions is radio production.

Throughout the years, she has been involved in different journalistic projects and initiatives around Europe. As a journalist, she has worked for private and community media outlets in Bulgaria and Austria.

Before joining Civitates, Ekaterina worked for different organisations on topics related to social and environmental issues.
She speaks Bulgarian, English, and German fluently and is trying to improve her skills in French, Danish and Hindi.

ekaterina.mandova[at]nef-europe.org

Marie Laure Muchery

Fund Manager – Civitates

Marie Laure joined NEF in 2021. Based in Brussels, she is the Fund Manager for Civitates, coordinating and overseeing the fund activities, building and developing a field of partners committed to defending democratic space and values in Europe.

She has10 years’ professional and volunteer experience in philanthropy. Before joining CIVITATES, she was with Fondation de  France, advising hosted funds and managing grant-making activities with a thematic focus on international aid, fundamental rights, and freedoms, as well as youth and civil society empowerment especially in North Africa.

She has previously worked in the diplomatic and cultural sectors.

Marie Laure graduated from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Grenoble and Oxford Brookes University in Political Sciences and holds a postgraduate degree in International relations and cultural affairs from the University of Lyon.

marie-laure.muchery@nef-europe.org

Alexandra Toth

Programme Manager – European AI Fund

Alexandra joined NEF in April 2021. Her experience lies in business support and public relations. Previously she has worked for the British Council, Microsoft’s European Government Affairs team, UNESCO and the European Parliament.

Alexandra holds a Master degree in European Studies with a specialization on History and Culture of Europe from Université Libre de Bruxelles, and two Bachelor degrees in European Studies and Cultural Studies – both from Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris III. She speaks Hungarian, English, French, and she is working on improving her Dutch and German.

She is passionate about digital and culture.

alexandra.toth@nef-europe.org