Francesco Montagnani is an economist by training, and he holds a master's in economics with a specialization in quantitative economic policy assessment. Francesco is a highly analytical professional with both quantitative and qualitative research and management experience who has focused on the analysis and evaluation of Swiss Referenda, the Maya Declaration, and the effect of financial inclusion in developed and developing countries linked to the ICT phenomena affecting income inequality. He has excellent knowledge of economic trends and an understanding of the global economy for better decision-making. 

Italian, is an environmental scientist and plant sciences, specialist. He has solid experience in geo-environmental risk assessments, and is an excellent statistician and field scientist.

Gilberto has a Ph.D. in Plant Ecology. He is specialized in botany and agriculture. He has a solid experience in plant ecology, plant conservation, taxonomy, restoration ecology, and grassland management. He is also a Board Member of the Societa’ Botanica Ticinese. 

Simone is Swiss and graduate in environmental science with a major in global change. He has managed projects related to climate change adaptation, environmental consulting and environmental education. Trained internationally, he is fluent in several languages.

Dominique is Swiss and agriculturalist by training. He was one of the founders of TULUM Ltd., the precursor organization of INNOVABRIDGE. In 2008, he was selected as Vice-Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture and consequently had to renounce to his functions in TULUM and later in INNOVABRIDGE. After his retirement, he is again available with his ample expertise in areas of agricultural and environmental policies, strategies and programmes, both domestic and international.

American, is the initiator of the CarbonZero Project. He has a background in horticulture, manufacturing and computer programming, and is deeply engaged with biochar.

Nikolaus Foidl, our trusted associate of over twenty years, has passed away on 11 January 2020, after a courageous battle against pancreas cancer. He is mourned by his wife and daughter, and all who knew him.                                                                              

Nikolaus was a relentless thinker out of the box and a genius in finding simple, but non-obvious, solutions. He will be remembered by the community combatting mother and child malnutrition thanks to his ground-breaking work on Moringa oleifera. 

He pioneered practical and sound engineering solutions that apply the principles of supercritical extraction, thus rendering the use of dangerous organic solvents obsolete.

His contributions to the understanding of the role humic substances in living organisms such as soil, water, plants and animals will guide us in our efforts of up-scaling and dissemination.

Suna has an academic background in international economics, business and development policy analysis. She has worked in the private, non-profit and multilateral sectors for the World Bank, UNICEF, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and McKinsey & Company. Her core expertise and knowledge areas include governance (transparency, accountability and civic participation), training and skills development, and social inclusion of gender, migrants and vulnerable groups. For the World Bank, Suna provided strategic, analytical and operational guidance for the implementation of good governance and social accountability initiatives across a variety of regions and sectors. She helped develop an extensive Social Accountability Toolkit to guide project teams in designing, implementing and monitoring accountability and governance interventions. Suna has also solid experience in analyzing, monitoring and evaluating socio-economic, political and development policy issues across a variety of sectors.

Swiss/Italian, is a political scientist with a significant background in the management of not for profit organizations. In her 10 years of professional activity abroad (Bolivia) and in Switzerland in the field of international cooperation, she acquired solid expertise in the management of women’s platforms and in planning and implementing projects for the promotion of gender equality.

Dutch, has many years of experience as a rural sociologist/anthropologist with an ecological background in rural development, natural resource management and food security programmes. Well-experienced in evaluation and impact studies.

Bara is Malian and has a PhD in animal production. All his professional life, he has served his country in areas such as agricultural research and the promotion of animal production based value chains, including dairy in rural and peri-urban settings. His exposure to agricultural and livestock development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa makes him an valuable associate in multi-disciplinarian teams.

Swiss, is an environmental engineer whose expertise lies in the fields of water supply and sanitation. He has worked for humanitarian organizations (ICRC and SDC-HA) in emergencies and conflict related situations as well as in policy advise and development projects with the World Bank.

Tanzanian, has a PhD in economics with a strong background in agriculture. She is presently a lecturer at the Mzumbe University Business School in Dar es Salaam.

Belgian/Philippine, is a community development expert with many years of hands-on experience in community mobilization and institutional development, gender mainstreaming for the promotion of gender equality and income generating activities, and improving nutrition governance through multi-sectoral coordination in Asia and Africa. She has also ample experience in project management and evaluations.