The Secretariat
The MobiliseYourCity Global Secretariat works in Brussels to coordinate the Partnership's activities.
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Sasank Vemuri
Coordinator
Sasank Vemuri
Coordinator
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.
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Eléonore François-Jacobs
Partnerships and Outreach Manager
Eléonore François-Jacobs
Partnerships and Outreach Manager
Eléonore is the Partnerships and Outreach Manager at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium.
Before joining the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat in February 2020, Eléonore has worked for the World Secretariat of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability in Bonn, Germany since 2016. In her last position at ICLEI as Communications Officer, she was responsible for strengthening the place of the organization in the global landscape of likeminded players and supported project teams to achieve their communications and advocacy goals.
Prior to joining ICLEI, Eléonore has worked for the International Urban Food Network coordinating a study funded by the French Environment Ministry in order to devise reform-oriented policy recommendations for French actors. Before moving into the urban sustainability space, Eléonore has gained experience in project management in a large industrial company where she supported the design and implementation of an international project which aimed to turn the company into a learning organization, geared towards innovation.
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Nicolás Cruz González
Sustainable Mobility Expert
Nicolás Cruz González
Sustainable Mobility Expert
Nicolas is a Sustainable Mobility Expert at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium. As part of the Capacity Development team of the Secretariat, he contributes to the definition of the overall methodological framework of the Partnership.
Before joining MobiliseYourCity in December 2021, Nicolas worked for international organizations such as SLoCaT, CAF (the Development Bank of Latin America) and the UNFCCC. For some years he also supported in planning and implementation processes of sustainable mobility policy in Bogota, Colombia as well as environmental actions in the transport sector in the city.
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Carine Assaf
Sustainable Mobility Expert
Carine Assaf
Sustainable Mobility Expert
As part of the MobiliseYourCity Secretariat, Carine supports methodology development, capacity-building, monitoring and evaluation, and other Secretariat activities.
Prior to joining in April 2025, Carine was a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven, contributing to the ACTIVE CITIES project (Interreg EU), which focused on promoting active mobility. Carine holds a PhD in Engineering Science: Architecture with research on how socially innovative initiatives at the urban fringe challenge and reconfigure transport planning tools. She has also worked with NGOs such as Riders’ Rights and Youth Against Corruption (YAC) in Beirut to advocate for more inclusive and effective mobility systems. Her expertise lies in informal mobility, social innovation, and institutional planning, with a regional focus on the MENA region and Europe.
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Jacopo Giavoli
Capacity Building Intern
Jacopo Giavoli
Capacity Building Intern
Jacopo is the Capacity Building Intern at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium.
Before joining MobiliseYourCity, he was a Policy Analysis Intern at the OECD’s Environment Directorate, where he supported regional and city governments in advancing their net-zero transport goals.
His work included a project with the region of Catalonia, focusing on policies to cut emissions in passenger transport while improving quality of life. He also contributed to the implementation of Dublin’s Climate Action Plan under the EU’s Mission 100 Cities, helping foster cross-sector collaboration to support the city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
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Jenny Salinas
Sustainable Mobility Expert
Jenny Salinas
Sustainable Mobility Expert
Jenny is a CODATU expert in sustainable mobility, based at the MobiliseYourCity Global Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. Her work focuses mainly on decarbonization strategies and greenhouse gas emissions calculation tools for the informal transport sector, as part of a project funded by ADEME.
Jenny has a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in sustainable development economics. Before joining MobiliseYourCity, Jenny worked for international cooperation programs in Colombia and for the private sector on issues related to low-carbon development, transport, and active mobility. She has extensive experience in supporting the development of sustainable urban mobility plans in several countries and in capacity building/training for local governments and stakeholders in GHG emissions calculation, MRV, and climate finance.
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Maximilian Buchsteiner
Capacity Building Intern
Maximilian Buchsteiner
Capacity Building Intern
Maximilian is the Capacity Building Intern at the Global Secretariat of the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in Brussels, Belgium.
Before joining MobiliseYourCity, Maximilian worked as a Policy Officer at the Austrian Association of Public Enterprises, focusing on transport policy with a particular emphasis on multimodal mobility, rail and freight transport through dossiers on LMTG, TBER, PRR or TSI. His portfolio also included linking mobility and housing policies and broader issues of municipal policy through the role of LPHAs in sustainable urban development.
He also gained prior experience at GIZ on international energy partnerships in the MENA region, is actively engaged in youth sustainability networks such as YES-Europe and CliMates and is a regular attendee at the EFA.
Maximilian holds an academical background in environmental science and sustainable development and is furthermore an alumnus of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.