Meet MobiliseYourCity’s Secretariat

 

2020 has been a year of changes at the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat. Despite the coronavirus crisis, the Secretariat did not stop growing and five new professionals have joined the team since last February, bringing a breath of fresh air to Brussels’ headquarter.

With their skills and diverse professional backgrounds, they work for an ambitious goal: contributing to the creation of more sustainable mobility, the empowerment of cities and the fight against the global climate crisis.

Curious about who is who behind this project? Meet the Secretariat!

Sasank Vemuri

Sasank Vemuri is the Coordinator of the Global Secretariat for the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium.

Before joining the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat in May 2019, Sasank worked for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since 2013. In his last position at the ADB as an Urban Development Specialist in the South East Asia Urban and Water Division, he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of infrastructure investments and technical assistance in Vietnam and Laos of approximately $300 million. Prior to joining the ADB Sasank prepared pre-feasibility studies for climate change related infrastructure projects with the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA), where he led the CDIA portfolio for India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan. Before moving into the urban infrastructure finance space, Sasank lived and worked with GIZ in India for 6 years, where he spent most of the time advising the Indian rural development bank on developing new financing products for projects related to sustainable resource use.

Sasank is a father, a committed development professional, an economist, and an American. In addition to Belgium, he has also lived in worked in Vietnam, Philippines, India, Germany and the United States. 

Vincent Larondelle

Vincent is the Monitoring and Evaluation manager, in charge of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership’s results reporting and communication, at the Global Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

Before joining MYC in October 2019, Vincent has worked as data scientist or data expert both at the European Commission DG DEVCO and at Sciensano, the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health, contributing to data collection and data management strategies and IT development.

He also worked in Dakar, Senegal as technical advisor and program manager at Lux-Development (Luxembourg development agency) and at the NGO Solidagro, on Belgian, Swiss and European development programs in Senegal, Mali & the Gambia, on interventions focused on food value chains, education and job creation, and on rural development.

Vincent is a Brussels local, and an experienced cycling commuter and traveller.

Eleonore François-Jacobs

Eleonore is the Partnership and Outreach Manager at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium.

Before joining the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat in February 2020, Eleonore has worked for various NGOs in the urban sustainability space. As a project manager or doing strategic communications she has applied her skills to promote sustainable urban development, focusing in particular on mobility and urban food systems.

Julien Ferdinand

Julien is the Communications Manager at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership.

Before joining the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat in March 2020, Julien managed international communication projects for both non-profit organizations and the private sector. He used his skills on topics such as environmental issues, new technologies, human rights and education. Julien has lived in Brazil and the UK and is now based in Lyon, France.

Mateo Gomez Jattin

Mateo is MobiliseYourCity Secretariat’s Associate Mobility Expert, located in Eschborn, Germany.

He joined the Secretariat in June 2020, after finishing his master’s in Governance and Public Policy. Mateo has gained previous experience in the transport sector working for Germany’s International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) on monitoring and reporting, national and local sustainable mobility plans and policies, and digitalization. In his master thesis he analysed the role of traditional public transport operators in the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit in developing countries.

Elena Tanzarella

Elena is the Communications Assistant at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership.

Before joining the Secretariat in August 2020, she graduated in Conference Interpreting and Specialised Translation at the University of Trieste, a windy city in the North of Italy. Languages are her passion: she speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish and a pinch of Russian. As a freelance translator, interpreter and subtitler, she applied her knowledge and skills to different fields, such as sustainability, migration and cinema.

Elena is a southern Italian food lover, who never misses the opportunity to gather friends and colleagues around a freshly baked cake.

Anouchka Strunden

Anouchka is an Assistant Mobility Expert at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership.

She joined the team as an intern in autumn and supports all capacity building related tasks concerning the Communities of Practice. With a multidisciplinary background in Urban, Business and Cultural Studies, Anouchka has been focusing on sustainable mobility from a socio-economic perspective since her Masters and has work experience in the fields of bicycle urbanism and sustainable transport planning.