Our Team in Micronesia

Alison has worked extensively in humanitarian and crisis settings, including over five years in Afghanistan, where she served as the Special Representative for UN Women and, earlier, as Deputy Country Representative.
She has also held regional and global roles with UN Women, contributing to policy and programming on peace and security, access to justice, and inclusive governance across Asia and the Pacific. At the UN Women Headquarters, she worked on transitional justice and spearheaded the development of the portfolio on preventing violent extremism.

Earlier in her career, Alison worked with organizations including the International Center for Transitional Justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNDP in Somalia, and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service in Australia. She holds a BA in Government and an LLB from the University of Sydney, and an LLM from Harvard University.

Alrina brings over 10 years of experience working in management, marketing, communications, and international relations in the Pacific. Before this, she worked with UNDP Pacific on the Public Finance Management Project as the Project Activity Manager.
Alrina holds a bachelor's degree in Management and Public Administration and Information Systems, and postgraduate qualifications in human resource management and international affairs, and diplomacy. She is passionate about contributing to meaningful change in our region and beyond.

Ms. Andie Fong Toy was appointed Head of the ESCAP Subregional Office for the Pacific, effective 1 August 2022.
Ms. Fong Toy brings over thirty years of experience in the Pacific. She previously served as Legal and Political Advisor, International Legal Advisor and Director, Political and Security Programme at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat before being appointed as its Deputy Secretary-General. In this capacity, she oversaw political and security, economic governance, and trade policy issues, including economic integration and reform in the Pacific.
In her more recent capacity as Labour Mobility Advisor for the Australian Pacific Training Coalition, Ms. Fong Toy provided strategic advice to countries of the Pacific on ways to optimize labour mobility and produce the best employment outcomes.

Ms Atsuko Okuda has served as Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific since April 2020. Based in Bangkok, she oversees ITU’s support to digital transformation across 38 member countries and manages the Bangkok and Jakarta offices.

Prior to this role, Ms Okuda was Chief of the ICT and Development Section at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), where she led the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative to strengthen regional broadband connectivity and promote inclusive access. She has also held senior positions with ESCWA in Beirut, contributed to the UN Secretariat’s Umoja ERP project in New York, and advanced ICT for development initiatives at ESCAP, ECA, and UNDP.

Ms Okuda holds degrees from Kyoto University and Helsinki University, and is a research fellow at UNU-MERIT in the Netherlands. Her publications span broadband, AI, digital transformation, and e-governance, including contributions to the UNDESA E-Government Survey and ITU blogs.

Ms. Bidisha Pillai is the Director & Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pacific Island Countries, a position she assumed in March 2025.Ms. Pillai brings over 30 years of leadership and expertise in advocacy, strategic partnerships, programme management, and policy influence. Previously, she served as UNFPA’s Representative in Liberia, where she led efforts to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and youth empowerment.

Before joining UNFPA, Ms. Pillai held multiple leadership positions, including as Global Policy, Advocacy, and Campaigns Director at Save the Children International, where she spearheaded global advocacy initiatives. She also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children India, leading a team of 400 professionals and overseeing large-scale development programmes across the country.

Earlier in her career, she worked with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in India, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and various civil society organizations, focusing on child rights, gender equity, and public health.

Over the years, Ms. Pillai has consistently delivered impactful results at scale, especially by fostering strategic partnership with governments, local communities, and other key stakeholders including the private sector and media. Through a collaborative approach, she has facilitated collective ownership, optimized resource utilization, and enhanced programmes and policies through technical assistance.

She is a passionate advocate for women and children's rights, quality education for all, gender equity, ending violence against women and children, and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health rights for all.

Mr. Candra Samekto currently holds position as the Country Director and Representative for IFAD Pacific office, based in Suva Fiji. He manages IFAD Pacific portfolio across 13 Pacific Island Countries. Prior to this position, he was the Country Director for Afghanistan based in IFAD East Asia Sub-Regional Hub in Beijing, China. Mr. Samekto brings over 20 years of experiences in multi-sector development both in public and private sector organizations including IWC, BAPPENAS, UNESCAP, OXFAM, SIWI and Department of Environment and Resources Management of Queensland Government.

Mr Samekto holds PhD degree in Natural Resources Management and Policy from the University of Queensland, Australia, and Master of Science in Water Service Management from UNESCO-IHE Delft, the Netherlands. He has specialized knowledge in programme and portfolio management, natural resources management, public policy, as well as infrastructure development and financing. He also has strong technical background and experience in the design and implementation of investment programmes.

Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin currently serves as the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Northern Micronesia, covering the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Based in Pohnpei, FSM, Dr. Ofrin assumed this role in October 2025, bringing with him over two decades of experience in public health, emergency response, and health systems strengthening across the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions.
Before his current appointment, Dr. Ofrin served as WHO Representative to India (2020–2025), where he led a team of over 3,000 personnel supporting the Government of India’s COVID-19 response. Under his leadership, WHO India played a pivotal role in administering over 2 billion vaccine doses, deploying 4,000 oxygen concentrators, and strengthening health logistics across all 36 states and union territories.
He championed the development of real-time disease surveillance tools, including the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), and helped restore routine immunization to record levels of post-pandemic. His tenure also saw WHO India advance digital health, expand NCD care at the primary level, and support disease elimination efforts for TB, measles-rubella, kala-azar, malaria, and trachoma. Dr. Ofrin prioritized equity, directing cross-programme support to India’s most underserved “aspirational blocks,” ensuring health goals reached those who needed them most.
Earlier, as Regional Emergencies Director for WHO South-East Asia, he led responses to major crises including Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the Rohingya refugee crisis, and the beginnings of the COVID pandemic. During his stint in the regional office for the emergencies program, he contributed to shaping emergency preparedness and response in the Region through the development of key regional mechanisms such as the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) and the Regional Benchmarks for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Dr. Ofrin began his WHO career in 2000 as a Public Health Officer in Timor-Leste, where he helped establish foundational health systems in a post-conflict setting.
Dr. Ofrin is a specialist in public health emergencies and disaster risk management. He holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of the Philippines and a Master’s in Public Health from the Hebrew University Hadassah, Israel. He has been recognized with the WHO Director-General’s Reward for his work in the response and recovery for the 2015 Nepal Earthquake (2016) and for his leadership of WHO India during the pandemic (2021).
Dr. Ofrin continues to be a strong advocate for integrated, resilient, and equitable health systems, particularly in vulnerable and underserved communities across the Pacific.

As Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific, Eamonn Murphy supports countries across the region in achieving the goals outlined in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS.

He leads and facilitates a joint United Nations response to support countries and their HIV programmes, which includes strengthening the links between governments, civil society, the United Nations system and development partners.

Mr Murphy was previously the UNAIDS Country Director in Myanmar, where he supported Myanmar’s significant scale-up of services and helped to create an enabling environment and overcome legislative obstacles. Prior to that, he served in Viet Nam as UNAIDS Country Director, where he was honoured with the Order of Friendship by the President in 2010, UNAIDS headquarters as Director of Governance, United Nations System and Donor Relations, and as the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Myanmar.

Before joining the United Nations, Mr Murphy held a number of senior positions with the Australian Government, including Director for Health Sectors with AusAID in the Foreign Ministry, as well as Assistant Secretary for Communicable Diseases and Environmental Health and Director of the National AIDS Programme for the Commonwealth Health Department.

Mr Murphy has a Masters of Health (Merit) from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Education from the Australian Catholic University.

Emma Conlan has served as the Deputy Country Director of the WFP Pacific Multi-Country Office since 2022 and as Country Director a.i. since December 2025. She is an experienced humanitarian and development leader with more than 25 years’ experience across the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Emma has worked with WFP since 2012, leading complex programmes and multi-disciplinary teams in both development and emergency settings. She previously held senior programme roles in Cambodia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Palestine, and the Middle East and North Africa region, including oversight of large-scale food security, resilience, and social protection portfolios. Emma has also deployed to major emergency responses in Gaza, Syria, and Timor-Leste.

Earlier in her career, Emma held leadership and advisory roles with FAO, Oxfam, and The Asia Foundation, spanning emergency response, livelihoods, protection, civil society engagement, disaster risk reduction, and programme quality.
An Australian national, Emma holds qualifications in Agricultural Economics, International Development, and International Relations. She is a strong advocate for gender equality, inclusion, and the meaningful participation of communities throughout all stages of humanitarian and development work.

Eri Taniguchi joins the UN Women Fiji MCO with over 16 years of experience in gender equality and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) across development and humanitarian settings. Since joining UNFPA in 2011, she has worked in Mongolia, Somalia, Iraq, and Myanmar, leading gender equality and GBV programming as well as inter-agency coordination mechanisms.

Most recently, Eri served as the Gender Equality/Gender-Based Violence Programme Specialist at UNFPA Myanmar from 2019 to 2025, where she played a pivotal role in ensuring access to quality GBV services during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent political crises. She also expanded partnerships with civil society and women-led organizations. From 2022 to 2023, she acted as the Deputy Representative for UNFPA Myanmar.

Before her UN career, Eri worked with a non-governmental organization in Nepal and at the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan. A Japanese national, she holds a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies from the University of Oxford. In her spare time, Eri enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring diverse cuisines.

With an extensive career in humanitarian response and migration management, Ewa Naqvi served as Head of Office in Qatar since July 2023 heading IOM’s response during the relocation of Afghan refugees and migrants to the United States, where she also held the position of Chief of Mission ad interim for one year. Her experience further extends to her role as Deputy Chief of Mission in IOM Somalia from April 2020 to June 2023, and as Programme Coordinator in IOM Libya from July 2018 to April 2020 supporting humanitarian response for internally displaced persons and migrants. Prior to this role, Naqvi served in IOM Turkiye for over three years coordinating cross border humanitarian response in Northern Syria.
She holds dual citizenship in Poland and the United Kingdom. She earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Salford in Manchester, UK.

Ms Gabrielle (Gabby) Emery, a citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand, was appointed to the position of UNDRR Head of Pacific Subregional Office in January 2022 and is based in Suva, Fiji. As the UNDRR Pacific Representative, she oversees UNDRR support to Pacific Island countries and regional organisations.

Prior to this current appointment, Gabby was the head of the disaster law programme with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in Asia Pacific. She brings extensive experience working with governments, partners and local actors to develop, revise and support implementation of climate, disaster and humanitarian laws and policies in the region, including many countries in the Pacific.

Gabby has also served as the policy and advocacy manager for New Zealand Red Cross, working on issues of international humanitarian law and refugee services in New Zealand. She was also humanitarian and development advisor for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs based out of New York. Gabby holds a master’s in international human rights law, and undergraduate degrees in Law and Arts. She is married with three children, and several adopted street dogs.

Guangzhou Qu (Mr.) is the Subregional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), since 1 February 2025. He is based in Apia, Samoa.

The Subregional Coordinator is also the FAO Representative who oversees FAO’s initiatives across 13 member nations - the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, as well as the territory of Tokelau, an Associate Member.

Mr Qu joined FAO in 2019 as Special Adviser to the Director-General and was subsequently appointed Deputy Directeur de Cabinet in the Office of the Director-General. Since December 2020, he has been serving as Director, FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York (LON). Prior to joining FAO, he served consecutively from 2013 to 2019 as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bangladesh and in New Zealand.

Mr Qu started his career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, and held increasingly senior positions on Arms Control and Non-Proliferation at home and abroad. He was posted in The Hague, Netherlands, and in Vienna, Austria, then served as Director of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament within the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Mr Qu, a national of the People’s Republic of China, holds a Master of Arts in World History from Nankai University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Anhui Normal University in China. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, United States of America.

Gulbahor brings with her over 20 years of experience with UNDP, having served in diverse development and humanitarian contexts, including politically constrained and sanctioned environments across the ECA and Asia Pacific regions.

In her recent role in Iran, she has served as the Deputy Resident Representative, overseeing programmes focused on Global Fund grants, health procurement, wetlands conservation, renewable energy, access to water etc. Prior to that, she led a complex Local Governance programme in conflict-affected states in Myanmar, and in Tajikistan, she built a robust portfolio in Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights portfolio.

Gulbahor holds a Master’s degree in Governance and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, UK.

Hamish Young is the Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Pacific, bringing over 30 years of experience in leadership, strategic management, humanitarian coordination, and development work across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East.

A lawyer by training, Hamish has extensive expertise in international human rights, humanitarian and environmental law, emergency response, and resilience programming. Within the UN system, he has held senior roles including leading emergency response operations in Gaza as Senior Humanitarian Coordinator, overseeing field operations and humanitarian coordination in Yemen, and guiding polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.

Hamish has also served in UNICEF Headquarters in key leadership positions, including Deputy Director of Internal Audit and Investigation and Chief of the Climate, Resilience and Peacebuilding Unit in the Programme Division. In the field, he has represented UNICEF in Papua New Guinea and served as Deputy Representative in Tanzania, as well as providing regional advisory support on child protection across Eastern and Southern Africa. He began his UN career supporting humanitarian operations with Operation Lifeline Sudan.

Prior to joining the UN, Hamish worked with the International Rescue Committee in Sudan and Rwanda, and earlier practiced as a commercial litigation attorney in Sydney and London.

He holds degrees in Economics and Law and is admitted as a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and the High Court of England and Wales.

Heike Alefsen has almost 30 years of human rights, legal, political and development work experience with the United Nations, the Council of Europe and civil society. Until 2020, she was Senior Human Rights Adviser to the UN Country Team in Bangladesh and to the UN Development Group Asia-Pacific in Bangkok.

Jayvee is the Regional Coordinator for the Pacific for ASYCUDA, the largest UNCTAD technical cooperation programme. He has 20+ years experience in customs automation and modernization working in 20 country projects in Asia-Pacific. Jayvee’s office currently supports 12 Pacific countries and territory.

Mr Jinhua Zhang assumed the position of Senior Coordination Officer, UNEP Pacific Office as of 1 January 2024.

A national of China, Mr Zhang has extensive experience in UNEP particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where he has worked for the last 19 years. Prior to this role, he was Regional Sub-programme Coordinator responsible for the implementation and delivery of the UNEP Science-Policy foundational programme in Asia and the Pacific. With an educational background in land resources inventory and quantitative land evaluation, Mr Zhang has been working on integrated environmental assessment, environmental indicators, data, and information management, and building partnerships.

With this new role, Mr Zhang is based in UNEP Pacific Office in Apia, Samoa to coordinate UNEP work in the Pacific Region, covering Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Ms. Marie Pegie Cauchois has worked for the UN since 2012, first in UN Peace Keeping operations in South Sudan, Afghanistan, Central African Republic and Somalia, she then joined UNODC in 2017 and worked in Myanmar as Anti-Corruption Programme manager. She is now Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser and manages the Anti-Corruption Project in 14 Pacific Island countries.

Martin Wandera is the Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Pacific Island Countries (PICs), based in Suva, Fiji. Mr Wandera debuted his career with the ILO in March 2024 with the posting in the ILO Office for PICs.

He is responsible for supporting 11 ILO member States (Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Tonga, and Cook Islands). In addition, the Office also provides technical support to non-member Pacific Island States.

Across the Pacific Islands Countries, Mr Wandera oversees a wide range of work including promoting international labour standards and social dialogue, employment creation and skills development, rural and labour-intensive infrastructure development, national employment policy, youth employment initiatives, elimination of child labour and forced labour, gender equality, labour law reform, labour migration and mobility, and social protection.

Mr. Wandera, hailing from Uganda, boasts of over two decades of profound expertise in the fields of labour, employment and public administration. Before assuming his current role in Fiji, he dedicated nearly a decade to serving as the Director of Labour, Employment, and Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development in Uganda. Preceding this position, he held the role of Director at the Centre for Labour Research and Studies in Uganda. Mr Wandera also served as a Member of the Ugandan Parliament.

Mr Wandera holds a Master of Science in Applied Labour Economics for Development University of Turin (Italy), Executive Master of Applied Labour Economics, Sciences Politiques Paris (France) and a Masters of Economic Development (Social Economy and Labour Concentration) from State University of Campinas, Sao Paulo (Brazil). He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Political Science) of Makerere University, Kampala (Uganda).

Martin Wandera is married to Martha and they have four children.

Mr. Miklos Gaspar is the Director of the UN Information Centres (UNIC) in Southeast Asia, and - since August 2025 - Director a.i. of UNIC Canberra. He has more than 25 years of experience in public information, communications and international relations, both at the United Nations and externally. His UN experience includes being Chief of Digital Media and Public Information Materials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Chief of Communications and Events at the International Trade Centre (ITC). Before joining the UN in 2009, Mr. Gaspar had held several senior-level positions in the private sector, including as Editor-in-Chief of the Budapest Business Journal and Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President of Pressflex, LLC. Mr. Gaspar holds a Doctoral degree in Linguistics from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.

Roi Chiti is an Italian national, holding a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning, an MA in “Development and International Aid”, and an MSc in “Land Use and Water Management”, in addition to other specializations in the field of human settlements planning and management.

Since the late 90’s he has been coordinating and implementing urban development and renewal projects in Italy as an advisor to local governments as well as Mediterranean and Latin American countries within the European Union’s city networks and projects.
At the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs– Department of Development Cooperation (2006-2009) he led integrated development programs on urban infrastructure and basic services in South Sudan and the coastal province of Kenya.

Joined UN-Habitat in 2009 as Kenya Chief Technical Advisor at the Regional Office for Africa, and in 2012, he moved to the External Relations Division/AOC, where he coordinated the substantive programme of three editions of the World Urban Forum (WUF), the premier global platform on sustainable urban development.

Between 2014 and 2017, Roi was seconded to the Habitat III Secretariat to lead the UN drafting team of the New Urban Agenda and coordinate all the relevant knowledge and policy dimensions feeding into its final formulation. He led the main Global Advocacy Platforms (WUF and WUC) at UN-Habitat from 2018-2019, before moving to Santiago de Chile as Coordinator of Regional and UN Interagency frameworks in Latin America and the Caribbean, within the UNECLAC premises. From 2021to 2025, he headed the UN-Habitat Multicountry Office for Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela.

Since June 2025, he has been the Regional Coordinator for Pacific Islands Countries and Territories.

Sardar Umar Alam is the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office and Representative for the Pacific States. He brings over two decades of leadership experience within UNESCO and other international organizations, having served in diverse contexts across Asia and Africa. Prior to his current role, he was UNESCO Representative to Cambodia, South Sudan, and Myanmar, where he led offices and advanced initiatives in education, governance, and development. He has also worked with the Asian Development Bank and UNDP in Pakistan.

Mr. Alam holds an MSc in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics, and an MBA and BBA (Hons) from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. His career reflects a strong commitment to inclusive education, institutional strengthening, and sustainable development across regions.

Ms. Soo Jin Rhee commenced as UNHCR Representative in Australia on 1 July 2025. She brings with her a wealth of experience from various locations in UNHCR and recently Headquarters in Geneva, where she served as the Principal Coordinator for the “Deliver Better Roadmap.” In this capacity, she provided strategic leadership to enhance the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivering protection and solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless populations. Before her current role, Ms. Rhee served as Deputy Representative in Bangladesh, where she played a pivotal role in UNHCR’s response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. Her earlier assignments

at UNHCR Headquarters included positions as Senior Budget Advisor and Senior Policy Advisor, where she led the development of key policies on resource allocation and results-based management.

Tokumitsu Kobayashi is the Pacific SIDS Advisor who represents UNOPS to the Pacific. His most recent assignment was as the Director of the UNOPS Jerusalem Office. Before that, he worked with the Government of Japan, UNDP and JICA in several countries including Kenya, Thailand, Iraq and South Sudan. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations and a BSc in Engineering.