Founding Members
Ann-Lis Svensson (Sweden) is since 2017 a Founding Member and Executive Director of ‘it is about us’ . Before that she was the Founding Director of Rio Monte, an organization dedicated to private sector partnership for sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Between 1992 and 2007 Ann-Lis was the UNICEF Country Director, representing the UN in various countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. As member of top management in the UN and regional development corporations, and as director within international NGOs and the Swedish international development cooperation, SIDA, Ann-Lis played at both local and global level a direct and active role in social development that has taken place over the last 30 years.
Ayse Sakar (Turkey/Canada) is a Founding Member of ‘it is about us’. She wrote the Sustainable Cities’ chapter in the booklet; Take action, enter a new era.
Since 2014, she has been studying sustainable development through courses such as: Earth Institute, Columbia University; The Age of Sustainable Development (2014), Stockholm Resilience Center, Stockholm University; Planetary Boundaries and Human Opportunities (2015) and Transforming Development: The Science and Practice of Resilience Thinking (2018) SDG Academy, Sustainable Cities (2017), and Macroeconomics for a Sustainable Planet (2018).
Ayse has a BA in economics and has worked in the finance and accounting field in various private corporations in Turkey and Canada for 25 years.
Eugenia Arribas (Spain) is a Founding Member of ‘it is about us’. Professionally she focuses on the development and implementation of sustainable tourism projects that enhance not only the economic development of a destination but also the personal and professional skills and positive attitudes of the destination´s stakeholders, public and private, which is key to a successful sustainable development. She has lived in 9 different countries and acquired entrepreneurial, management and coordination expertise.
She holds a degree in Hotel Management by the Lausanne Hotel School, achieved several specializations in Sustainable Tourism and International Cooperation (GWU, UNWTO, GSTC) and has a Master´s degree in Strategic Management and Development of Sustainable Tourism Destinations (UOC-UNWTO).
Ivona Sak (Poland) is a Founding Member of ‘it is about us’. She is a creative expert in the brand, corporate responsibility and sustainability areas, with more than 10 years’ experience in advertising. She works with organizations across the sustainability ecosystem, including Global Reporting Initiative, that are looking to align their brand proposition with creating a better world, in pursuit of creating products that people can trust and buy. Ivona is a practitioner with solid knowledge and more than 15years experience in business as Managing Director, Director of NGO’s, and member of Board of Directors.
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