In this section
In this sectionFind below the team members and their functions in the GPA Coordination Unit. If you need any support, feel free to send us an email at energy.gpa@unops.org. We will find the best person to help you.
Aimee Jenks
About
Aimee is the Strategy and Partnerships Lead for the Global Platform for Action on Humanitarian Energy (GPA) Secretariat. Her responsibilities include leading the collective work under the GPA Working Area on Technical Expertise, Training and Capacity Building and supporting wider GPA Knowledge Management for the partnership network. This includes project management of the Energy Delivery Models training programme, which equips humanitarian staff with the analysis and design skills to develop sustainable energy programmes; support to humanitarian partners and clusters on integrating sustainable energy into their institutional and operational work; webinar series development and delivery; support to the Humanitarian Energy Exchange Network and ad hoc technical support to partners on new project development. She is undertaking an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh and holds a Bachelor's in Energy Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Carine Buma
About
Carine Buma joined the GPA in September 2024 as a Clean Cooking Associate. She brings extensive experience in climate change, renewable energy, and clean cooking access. In her current role, Carine supports activities under the clean cooking workstream, conducting research and analysis on clean cooking transition pathways and developing tools to assist staff in implementing clean cooking projects. She also contributes to writing reports, policy briefs, and building advocacy on cross-cutting themes such as gender inclusion and "leave no one behind." In her previous role at ICLEI Africa, Carine gained valuable experience in leading the implementation of clean cooking, renewable energy initiatives and developing climate and energy action strategies across multiple countries in Africa. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Fort Hare and is passionate about promoting sustainable energy solutions in underserved communities.
Elif Gül Demir
About
Elif is the Technical Advisory And Planning Senior Officer at the GPA. Elif is leading the SAFE/Humanitarian Energy Exchange Network, which is the central platform for coordination and collaboration between humanitarian and development agencies working on sustainable energy projects in displacement settings. Before joining the GPA, Elif worked for Energy for Refugees to fund, design, and install a solar PV system for the Moria refugee camp in Greece.
Elif holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering at Bilkent University in Turkey and a master's degree in Complex Systems Engineering and Management at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Elif wrote her thesis on the potential of community-based approaches for governing solar mini-grids in refugee camps through a case study of the Kigeme refugee camp in Rwanda to examine how energy access is provided within the camp and how humanitarian organizations, local government, funders, and private sector actors interact with each other.
Iwona Bisaga
About
Dr Iwona Bisaga is the Global Clean Cooking Lead at the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA) and Norwegian Capacity (NORCAP). She has over 12 years of experience in the energy access sector. She has worked across academia, the private and non-profit sectors, with expertise spanning off-grid electrification, access to clean and modern cooking solutions, and integrated approaches to energy access planning. She was the Humanitarian Lead at the Modern Energy Cooking Services Programme (MECS) where she also managed research on access to clean cooking in Rwanda and in institutional settings. Previously, she was the Global Research Manager at Bbboxx- a provider of off-grid solar and clean cooking solutions in Africa and Asia. She completed her PhD in Energy at University College London (UCL), and she also holds an MSc in Development Administration and Planning from the same institution.
Joelle Hangi
About
Joelle Hangi joined the GPA team in September 2022. Her background is in research on displacement and communication. Her work focuses on supporting the Transforming Energy Access Project to emphasize the work of the GPA- INCLUDE Program. She also supports the Roadmaps for Energy Access in Displacement Settings (READS) program. Before joining the GPA, Joelle worked in different research capacities with UNHCR Africa Office, Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre, University of Geneva’s Human Rights Department, among other humanitarian organizations.
Mariana Soto
About
Mariana holds a bachelor's degree in International Business from Tecnlógico de Monterrey in Mexico, a master's degree in International Development with a major in Mobilities, Spaces & Cities from the Geneva Graduate Institute and exchange studies at the American University in Washington D.C., before joining the GPA, Mariana worked at the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN and WTO in Geneva.
Mariana Soto
Job Title
Communications and Administrative Operations Officer
Mark Gibson
About
Mark is the GPA Secretariat Lead hosted by UNOPS. Mark joined the GPA in August 2018 and has been in a leadership role for six years, prior to which he managed the GPA’s work on decarbonising the humanitarian response and innovative finance. Prior to joining the GPA, Mark spent 18 months with UNHCR Tanzania where, among other things, he developed the Energy and Environmental Strategy for the country's three refugee camps. Before which, Mark spent 20 years as an international consultant providing programme leadership, sustainable energy and environmental management support to a broad spectrum of projects in Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Mark holds a degree in Environmental Studies and master's degrees in Environmental Law and Marine Resource Management.
Paul Quiquley
About
Paul Quigley is a technical and strategy advisor/specialist consultant to the GPA, with over 13 years of experience designing and leading innovative energy access programmes in humanitarian and development settings across Africa and Asia. Paul specialises in sustainable energy strategies, programme design, investment planning, policy development and implementation in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Assessments of energy access challenges in more than 60 refugee settlements globally have provided him with the experience to lead the development of programmes supporting households, productive users and institutions through renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean cooking initiatives, including RBFs, national programmes and technical advisory briefs. His work focuses on bridging humanitarian and development approaches to accelerate clean, affordable and sustainable energy access for displaced populations and host communities, with a strong emphasis on evidence-based programming, stakeholder collaboration and long-term impact.
Philip Sandwell
About
Dr Philip Sandwell is the GPA Secretariat Research Lead, providing support on data analysis, research, and sustainable energy policymaking in situations of displacement. His responsibilities include assessing energy access for households, businesses and community facilities in displacement settings, and quantifying the cost and GHG emissions savings from decarbonising the humanitarian response via sustainable energy solutions.
Prior to joining the GPA, Philip was a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London. His work focused on techno-economic modelling and optimisation of community-scale electricity systems, typically solar minigrids, in rural areas of developing countries and refugee camps. He holds a PhD in Physics and an MSci in Theoretical Physics, both from Imperial College London.
Yanal ALMADANAT
About
Yanal is the Decarbonisation Lead for the GPA Secretariat and a NORCAP Energy Expert. His work focuses on advancing sustainable energy and decarbonisation across humanitarian operations through strategy, project development, partnerships and coordination. He supports collaboration among humanitarian and UN organisations, donors and technical partners, through his leadership of the UN Decarbonisation Task Team. Previously, Yanal worked with NRC on organisational decarbonisation and energy efficiency across the Middle East, and spent eight years with UNHCR working on energy access and electrification in refugee operations in Jordan, Bangladesh and Brazil. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Power and Machines Engineering from Yarmouk University, Jordan.
