Secretariat | Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies

Petra Heusser

Coordinator of the Geneva Global Hub for EiE

Petra Heusser has worked for the past 15 years in the international humanitarian field for the protection of children, refugees and migrants. She has programming and management experience from field locations in Latin America, Africa and Asia and worked with NGOs and UN agencies. Prior to joining the Geneva Global Hub, Petra held the role of Deputy Coordinator at the UNICEF-led Global Child Protection Area of Responsibility, where she also worked to advance initiatives for increased collaboration between education and child protection in emergencies and deployed to over ten emergency contexts.

Etienne Lacombe-Kishibe

Communications Specialist

Etienne Lacombe-Kishibe is an experienced communications professional who has been working in the non-profit sector since 2006. He moved to Switzerland in 2009, and over the past decade has worked with NGOs focused on a range of topics including education, environment and humanitarian action. Over that time, he has gained a broad understanding and appreciation of Geneva’s unique network of international and civil society organisations. He is fluent in English and French.

Odile Blanc

Event Management Consultant

Odile Blanc has recently completed her master’s degree in International History and Politics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Prior to joining the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies as an event management consultant, she has worked almost two years as a research and production assistant at the ICRC Museum. Passionate about photography and humanitarian history, she worked and specialized on humanitarian iconography. Additionally as part of her master’s thesis, she conducted archival research of the photographic collections of the ICRC Museum.

Akanksha Ashok Patil

Intern (50%)

Akanksha is an MPA/MGA student at the LSE and University of Toronto. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Leiden University, and a master’s degree in Global Health Policy from the LSE. Her current roles include being an editor and podcast lead for the Policy Sphere Journal, as well as the Careers and Alumni Coordinator for the Association of Public Policy Students at the LSE. Prior to joining LSE, Akanksha was engaged in several extracurriculars with a special interest in social impact and global affairs. During her programme, she acted as the chair of UNICEF’s Student Team in Leiden, which entailed organising events to raise funds and awareness for UNICEF’s project – Malnutrition in Burundi. More recently, Akanksha produced a podcast on the securitisation of health and its impact on women.