People

Meet the

ESDO Board of Directors

Mandana Hendessi OBE

Non-Executive Director 

Gender, Refugees, Human Trafficking and Conflict

Mandana’s long and distinguished career in the humanitarian aid and development sector includes multiple Head of Mission and Country Director roles in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. Mandana was awarded an OBE by the Queen for her work building women’s civil society organisations in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein, notably the Iraqi Women’s High Council who, with Mandana’s support, succeeded in negotiating a 25% quota for women’s representation in Iraq’s parliament. She has delivered programs on civil society, livelihoods, SGBV, human trafficking and women’s protection & empowerment for organisations including Women for Women International, ActionAid UK, Global Rights, Norwegian People’s Aid, International Alert, UN Women, UNDP and Medica Mondiale. Mandana is an active author and is a Board Member of Imkaan, a UK wide organisation addressing violence against minoritised women. She was formerly a Non Executive Director of Oxfordshire Mental Health Trust, a Commissioner for the Women’s National Commission and is an Advisory Group Member of the World Engagement Institute. Mandana speaks Farsi/Dari – her native language, and has a moderate knowledge of Arabic and Kurdish. She holds an MA in Sociology and Social Policy.

Professor Dr. Joseph Adelegan PhD, DBA, C.Eng

Non-Executive Director

Climate, Environment & Food Systems

Joseph Adelegan is an International Development Expert and a Professor with three decades of distinguished professional experience in 20 African countries as well as Asia, Europe, and North America. Professor Adelegan has held senior positions with development finance institutions, green patient-capital social impact investment funds, international organisations, the UN, government, NGOs, the private sector, civil society, education, research and innovation. He is the President of the Nordic-Africa Centre of Excellence for Greenovation based in Finland. Among many awards, Professor Adelegan was presented by President Bill Clinton as a Member of the Clinton Global Initiative and has also been recognised as an Ashoka Fellow. He was awarded an Inventor Social Entrepreneur supported by the Lemelson Foundation, a Young Global Leader and Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum and a Technology Award Laureate of the Technology Museum of Innovation, California. He is also a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council. His television appearances include the BBC and CNN. Professor Adelegan has earned two Doctorate Degrees, one in Business Administration Development Finance, and the other in Civil & Environmental Engineering of which he is a Professor. He is also an alumnus from a number of executive programs including Harvard Business School, the University of California Berkeley and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Siobhán Foran

Non-Executive Director

Gender, Equality, Conflict, Refugees & Migration

Siobhán has over two decades of distinguished professional experience across Africa, the Middle East and Asia working on gender equality, diversity inclusion, protection and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention; mitigation and response programming; and training in the humanitarian and development sectors. She has experience working in conflict settings, including on refugee and migration issues. Siobhán was formerly the Head of the Humanitarian Unit of UN Women in New York and was seconded by Norwegian Refugee Council to a number of UN Agencies, including UN OCHA Iraq, Afghanistan & South Sudan, IOM Geneva, UNFPA Central African Republic and Pakistan and FAO Somalia and Kenya. Her career includes delivering for CARE International, UN Women, the ICRC, the IFRC, Concern Worldwide and the International Rescue Committee. In her role as an independent consultant on gender and diversity inclusion in humanitarian action, Siobhán has worked with World Vision Ireland, Norwegian Red Cross, UN Women Nigeria and British Red Cross. She is currently consulting with CARE International where Siobhán co-chairs the Regional Gender Task Force for Ukraine with UN Women. Siobhán has a Master’s Degree (M.A.) in Equality Studies, a Diploma in Environment and Development and a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Property Economics.

Jeff Bond

Non-Executive Director

Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking

Jeff is a Senior Director at ELEVATE, a global leader in supply-chain sustainability services, and leads their Advisory Team in the Asia-Pacific region. He was previously Director of Strategy at the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS), where he led efforts on supply chains and ethical recruitment across sectors including apparel, construction, agriculture, and domestic work. Jeff was a key advocate for launching and funding ethical recruitment agencies and participated in funding rounds for pioneering ethical recruitment agencies in Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, and Malaysia. He was also responsible for funding R&D at the intersection of financial inclusion and labour migration, which led to the launch of novel financial products for domestic and international migrant workers. At ELEVATE Jeff oversees supply chain auditing on issues ranging from forced labour investigations, recruitment fee repayments, and the launch of grievance mechanisms to building responsible sourcing teams, setting scope 3 GHG reduction targets, and developing just transition strategies. His prior experiences include management consulting and impact investing in financial inclusion innovation. Jeff holds an MBA from INSEAD, an MA in International Development from Johns Hopkins University SAIS, and a BSFS in International Politics from Georgetown University.

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