Mona Betour El Zoghbi

Sustainable Development Consultant

Mona Betour El Zoghbi is a sustainable development consultant. She has worked with international organisations including UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNDP, as well as various universities, research institutes, and local and global NGOs across the Arab region, Europe and Africa on climate change, sustainable development, public health, and youth and community education and engagement. She has also worked as national coordinator of youth projects at UNESCO Office in Beirut, and as a University Instructor on ethics and sustainability. She holds a Master in Environmental Sciences and PhD in Sustainable Development.

hannah.wuzel@cewas.org

Hannah Wuzel

Cewas Project Manager – Lebanon

Hannah holds a MSc degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in International Liberal Studies with a focus on International Relations and Political Science from Waseda University, Japan. In addition to several years of experience working in sustainable innovation and social entrepreneurship, Hannah has expertise in communications, advocacy and business development. As of 2018, she manages cewas Middle East’s activities in Lebanon and also works to foster water and environmental start-ups on a regional level.  hannah.wuzel@cewas.org

Maya Wakim

Community Developer _makesense Lebanon

With a degree in Media and Communication and an emphasis in visual journalism, Maya enjoys coming across hidden stories around her. Through meeting the faces behind artistic, social and environmental initiatives, she developed her passion for supporting others, as well as using her skills to learn, create and transform communities around her. She currently works as a Community Developer with makesense (Lebanon office) who designs and delivers programs to citizens and aspiring social entrepreneurs. Apart from her work, she is also a member with the Global Shapers Beirut Hub, an initiative by the World Economic Forum and as its Curator (2018-2019) and Vice Curator (2019-2020). In her spare time, you will find her reading, writing or filming works related to the anthropological and cultural history of Lebanon and other countries. She has previously documented and lived with numerous communities including Nubians in Egypt, Bedouins in Jordan, and the Sinhalese and Tamil in Sri Lanka.

Ziad Khayat

Economic Affairs Officer in the Water Resources Section – ESCWA

Mr. Ziad Khayat serves as Economic Affairs Officer in the Water Resources Section in the Climate Change and Natural Resources Sustainability Cluster at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut.  Mr. Khayat joined ESCWA in 2015 focusing on implementing regional initiatives and efforts to support Arab States in the areas of integrated water resources management, transboundary water resources management, climate change impacts on groundwater resources and the water-energy-food security nexus, and the water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) all within a Human Rights-based approach. Prior to joining ESCWA he worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as project manager for the groundwater assessment project of Lebanon and with Dar Al-Handasah Consultants on various hydrogeological assessments and groundwater management issues in the Arab region. He has also taught Hydrogeology graduate courses at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He holds degrees in Hydrogeology from the University of British Columbia in Canada and the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Jessica Hanna

UNICEF – Lebanon

Civil Society Advisor at the USAID funded Lebanon Water Project where my work is focused on working with Civil Society Organizations, Municipalities, farmers, and industries to raise awareness on water protection and water conservation. Skilled in Civil Society organizations, Organizational Development, and humanitarian assistance. Currently, a PhD candidate in Social Sciences, with a background in Human Resource Management and Psychology.

Elias Boustani

Strategy & Tech Consultant – Innovation Park

Elias is a Strategy & Tech Consultant with 12 years of experience. Served as the Chief  Operating Officer for Wamda, a Senior Associate for Strategy& (previously booz&co) and a Consultant for Accenture France. Led the design and implementation of entrepreneurship programs for Expo 2020 Dubai, the World Bank, General Electric, the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Beirut Digital District amongst others. Has managed the Wamda Research Lab for in-depth research on Entrepreneurship. Mentor of startups and previously lecturer at AUB and ESA Business Schools.

Rizk Gerges Rizk

Chairman & General Manager at Bekaa Water Establishment

Eng. Rizk Gerges Rizk went to college de la Sagesse – Achrafieh, Studied electrical engineering at Ecole Superieure d’ingenieurs de Beyrouth – ESIB, Studied IT – Software Engineering at ESIB, Studied MBA at Saint Joseph University, another MBA IP at Universite Paris 1- Pantheon Sorbonne. Joining the private sector for many fields, he held different positions: Former Trainee at LBC international, Former assistant at Unicef, Former Engineer at CBM computers Business Machines, Former R&D engineer at Intergo Middle East, Former Sr. R&D Engineer at SAB Mediterranee, Former Admin at Universite Saint-Joseph de Beirut – USJ, Former Business Unit Manager at Air-Liquide, where he continued until March 2018 when he was assigned by the Council of Ministers to the position of Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Bekaa Water Establishment. In this position he implements the Water & Wastewater Sector Reform in the Bekaa.

Christine Al Halabi

Christine is a graduate student with a bachelor degree in Civil and Environmental engineering from Notre Dame University. She has been working at HETC for two years in the domain of designing and establishing water and wastewater networks. She attended an intensive training on Global Innovation management, and took several courses in hydraulics, water and wastewater networks, environmental engineering and project management. In an attempt to enhance her experience, she got engaged in several workshops (sustainable development by Hague municipality, Grant road show by the U.S Embassy in Beirut, DMU, TWC). Her work experience includes designing networks (Litani main collector, Kabelias sewer networks, Rashaya water networks) and several research work (change in surface water discharge in Lebanon, air pollution in Zouk Mosbeh, landfill design in Aramoun).

Through participating in WIL Lebanon 2019, Christine’s team won two prizes – USD $5000 AUB Seed Grant and the CEWAS mentorship award!