Staff

QUNO has fully-staffed offices in Geneva and New York.

Geneva

Jonathan Woolley

Director

Jonathan Woolley holds an MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Applied Biology from the University of Cambridge, UK. He joined QUNO in 2011, bringing more than thirty years’ professional experience of agricultural research, development and capacity building in some fifty countries. Starting as a volunteer teacher in Kenya, he then worked directly with poor farmers in Nigeria, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico. From 1999 to 2009, he led two research networks directed at institutional reform, building cohesive small teams and strengthening innovative partnerships: a ground-breaking agricultural research fund in Ecuador, and the first phase of the "CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food" based in Sri Lanka and active in nine river basins around the world.  He originally joined Friends in the UK some forty years ago, and is a member of Mexico City Monthly Quaker Meeting.

Lindsey Fielder Cook

Representative for Climate Change

Lindsey holds a BA in Politics from the Durham University, an MA in Literature of Conflict from York University, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from DeMontfort University. She joined QUNO in 2013, following a career in conflict areas, initially as a volunteer in reconciliation youth work in Northern Ireland and as a teacher in the Israeli Occupied West Bank.  She has worked with UNRWA on refugee protection in the West Bank, with OHCHR (formerly UNCHR) during the war in the Former Yugoslavia, with UNOSOM in Somalia to help coordinate humanitarian efforts, with UNSCO in Gaza on donor coordination to implement of the Oslo Peace Accords, and in Bonn with UNV on communication of development efforts. Lindsey’s work at QUNO focuses on climate change and environmental degradation as a peace and justice concern, engaging at a international level with the climate change negotiations, climate science, human rights efforts, while seeking to connect international progress with grassroots efforts.  Lindsey is a Member of German Yearly Meeting and lives with her family in Bonn, where QUNO has an office space.

Florence Foster

Representative for Peace and Disarmament

Florence holds an MA in International Relations from Bristol University, UK, and has since specialized in displacement and conflict analysis, with an increasing emphasis on disarmament, mediation and conflict transformation. She began her career as an intern at the Global Protection Cluster and the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva, before moving on to focus on West African conflict dynamics at the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, with work in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Through her latest roles as Programme Manager at the Fondation Suisse de Déminage and Finn Church Aid, Florence led mediation and armed violence reduction initiatives in the Central African Republic.

Laurel Townhead

Representative for Human Rights and Refugees

Laurel Townhead has a Bachelors Degree in Law & Politics from the University of Manchester and a Masters in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. Laurel previously worked with QUNO as a Human Rights and Refugees Programme Assistant and Project Officer (2005-2007) and returns to QUNO Geneva after working on human rights protection in the UK, with a particular focus on people in the criminal justice system. Prior to joining QUNO, Laurel worked for 5 years as Policy and Campaigns Manager for Women in Prison. This role included pursuing the domestic implementation of the Bangkok Rules on the Treatment of Women Prisoners, which Laurel contributed to drafting. Laurel has also worked on a wide range of human rights and refugee protection issues, including contributing to international litigation on the right to conscientious objection to military service. Laurel has been an attender of Peckham Quaker Meeting in London for several years.

Cassidy McKenna

Programme Assistant, Human Rights and Refugees

Originally from Yorkshire in the UK, Cassidy has a degree in History of Art from University College London (UCL). Previously, she worked for Refugee Rights Europe, and has led and been a part of a number of front line support projects and services for displaced peoples, with a focus on women and girls, and the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to moving to Switzerland, Cassidy has lived in Greece and Mexico.

Luca Motta

Programme Assistant, Peace and Disarmament

Luca holds a LL.M. from the University of Milano-Bicocca and a Master of Advanced Studies in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from the Geneva Academy. Luca worked for two years as a corporate lawyer in Milan. In Geneva, he interned at the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. He also conducted field research on the impact of internal displacement for the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem. Prior to joining QUNO, Luca worked with slavefreetrade to analyse corporate social responsibility and labour standards, with a focus on modern slavery in supply chains.

Justine Taylor

Programme Assistant, Human Impacts of Climate Change

After graduating from her Masters in Understanding and Securing Human Rights form the University of London, Justine worked and volunteered in campaigning and fundraising for human rights, climate change and grassroots organizations. Prior to joining QUNO, she worked as a Fundraising and Campaigns Officer at The Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire. Justine is excited for the opportunity to broaden her understanding of the ways peace, human rights and the environment fit together globally, both in practice and in policy. She has also recently taken up the fiddle and looks forward to joining folk session in Geneva in her free time.

René Lejeune

Finance Officer

René studied at the International School of Geneva before starting his career in international banking in Geneva and Johannesburg. He has worked as management consultant for an American company, as a coffee and cocoa trader in Africa and Madagascar, and in administration and finance with international companies in Geneva. He completed his studies as Swiss specialist in finance and accounting in 2006 and is now member of the Board of a dozen SMEs. He also works as a consultant in finance, human resources, fiscal issues and organization with both small and large companies.

Stephen Schenck

Communications Consultant

Stephen Schenck joined QUNO in February 2014 and brings 15+ years of marketing and communications experience in the private and public sectors. Previously, Stephen held international leadership and client service roles with The Nielsen Company, a leading global information and market research company. In 2006, he joined Nielsen's fledgling social media division in New York, consulting major global brands on social media research and marketing best practices, and eventually relocating to Europe in 2010 to help lead its business there. Stephen earned his Bachelors of Journalism degree from The University of Texas at Austin and began his career working in public relations and communications for non-profit and public organizations in Texas.

Susan Sprague Parachini

Office Manager

Susan, a Canadian with a B.A. in Geography from the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, joined QUNO in March 2014. She traveled the world extensively as an administrative manager of different resorts of a well-known hotel chain before settling in Geneva to work as office manager and assistant to the ambassador of the Colombian Mission to the World Trade Organization. Susan then worked as project finance officer for the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association (IUF), running educational projects on health and safety in the workplace for IUF members worldwide. Most recently Susan and her husband created and ran a restaurant in Burgundy, France, before returning to Geneva in autumn 2013.

New York

Andrew Tomlinson

Director & Quaker UN Representative

Andrew Tomlinson is Director of the Quaker UN Office (QUNO) in New York. He holds Masters Degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in South Asia and the Middle East. Andrew joined QUNO in 2008 after working in international finance and socially responsible investing in London and New York. Andrew’s programmatic focus includes the integration of peacebuilding and prevention perspectives across the UN system, and upholding the role of peaceful, just and inclusive societies within development frameworks and beyond. A Quaker since he came to Philadelphia from the UK on an exchange scholarship, Andrew is now a member of Chatham-Summit Monthly Meeting in New Jersey.

Rachel Madenyika

Quaker UN Representative

Rachel F. Madenyika joins QUNO with a broad range of experience in economic and social development, financial and nonprofit management. A former QUNO Programme Assistant in 2000, Rachel is glad to return and continue Quaker work at the UN. In the intervening years, Rachel has also worked in various capacities with organizations such as the International Center for Transitional Justice, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – Kennan Institute, and WITNESS Inc. She has consulted with Save the Children, the European Commission and the UN. Rachel comes to us from HealthRight International where she served as the CFO for 6 years. She holds an M.A. in Economics from the New School for Social Research and a M.Sc. in Nonprofit Management & Urban Policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy. Born in Zimbabwe, Rachel was raised following the tenets of Quakerism.

Megan Schmidt

Quaker UN Representative

Megan joins QUNO with knowledge and experience in the fields of human rights and atrocities prevention, and holds Masters degrees in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University and in Human Rights and Genocide Studies from Kingston University. Having worked with the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect, the Wiener Library, and the Kurdish Human Rights Project, Megan has conducted comparative genocide research, worked to advance the Responsibility to Protect at the UN and globally, and implemented a diverse range of atrocity prevention programs throughout the world. She has a range of materials focusing on the Responsibility to Protect, women’s rights and participation, among other issues related to the field of atrocity prevention. Megan is excited to work with QUNO to represent and uphold Quaker values, which mirror those instilled in her through her upbringing in the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Outside of QUNO, Megan is also an avid runner, and spends time with her husband, dog and two cats.

Elisabeth Halliday-Quan

Office Coordinator

Originally from Massachusetts, Elisabeth Halliday-Quan studied German and Linguistics at Johns Hopkins University and Vocal Performance at the Peabody Conservatory. A Unitarian Universalist, Elisabeth is thrilled to be working with Friends, whose ideals and beliefs mirror her own. As well as working at QUNO, Elisabeth sings with and co-runs the non-profit opera company Rhymes With Opera. When not singing or coordinating the Quaker United Nations Office, Elisabeth spends time with her wife - a U.U. minister-in-training - and their cat, Hildegard von Harlem.

Mireile Evagora-Campbell

Programme Assistant

Mireille grew up in York, England where she attended a Quaker high school and Friargate Quaker Meeting House. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge where she specialized in Political Philosophy and International Justice and sat on committees of the International Development Society and the UNICEF society. Since graduating, Mireille has worked at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization in Geneva. Here she focused on, amongst other things, accountability to affected populations within health emergency responses, upholding minority voices and addressing stigma and discrimination within the HIV/AIDS response and promoting the right to health within international global health responses. Mireille also has experience working for the UK-based peacebuilding NGO Concordis International and is a Researcher at Global Health 50/50 where she works on sexual harassment policies in global health organizations.

Jędrzej Nowe

Programme Assistant

Jędrzej is originally from Poland. He holds a BA in Psychology from SWPS University in Warsaw, Poland and a MA in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University, New York. Jędrzej is particularly interested in peace education and worked with youth in Madagascar, and at a Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem, Israel. His research focused on the impact of empathy and agreeableness in negotiation and on education for coexistence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His current areas of interest include the themes of youth, peace and security, mental health of immigrants and refugees (with focus on children and adolescents), and non-violent communication. In his free time, Jędrzej can be usually found in movie theatres, concert venues, Broadway theatres, basketball courts, or just wandering around the city – always with his headphones on. He is very excited about putting his theoretical knowledge to practice at QUNO and working with Friends, whose values reflect his own.