Meet the team

Staff

Sonja Derkum, Head of the IRM

Sonja Derkum is the Head of the GCF's Independent Redress Mechanism. She was previously Head of the Complaints Mechanism (CM) for the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) for six years where she successfully managed the EIB’s independent public accountability function. She was with the EIB in Luxembourg in different control and accountability functions since 2003. In 2011, she spent a year supporting the Office of Internal Audit (OIA) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sonja is passionate about topics around good governance and accountability and is a strong advocate for independent grievance mechanisms as a necessity to give a voice to affected communities.

Halina Ward, Senior Consultant and interim Compliance Case Lead

Halina Ward, a dual Polish and UK national, is a specialist in international financial institution accountability and compliance processes. A lawyer by training, she has over thirty years’ experience in applied sustainable development policy research, including through positions with the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Senior Fellow), the International Institute for Environment and Development (Programme Director and Senior Associate) and Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (Director). She recently served as a member of the Asian Development Bank’s Compliance Review Panel (2018-2023) and has also served as a senior consultant to the compliance team of the International Finance Corporation’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (2019-2021 and currently), as an expert with the Project Complaint Mechanism of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2014-2017), and as an Advisor to the GCF’s IRM (2016-2018). Halina’s research in the field of climate change includes analysis of just transitions from a business and human rights perspective (IHRB, 2020), and a major research project on links between democracy and climate change (FDSD, 2010-2013). Halina holds an LLB from University College London, and an LLM in Law and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Preksha Krishna Kumar, Registrar and Case Officer

Preksha Krishna Kumar is a researcher, with wide-ranging experience relating to accountability and redress mechanisms. She previously worked for an international human rights advocacy organization based in New York, supporting dozens of frontline communities in their efforts to access information and redress. Over the course of her career, Preksha has been immersed in the policies, practices and impacts of development finance institutions – working with diverse stakeholders in countries such as India, Colombia, Malawi and Kenya. Preksha holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, New York, with a focus on Development Economics and Spanish Literature.

Peter Carlson, Communications Officer

Peter is the IRM’s Communication Officer with significant communications experience in education and international development. Prior to joining the IRM, Peter was part of the communications team at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), focusing on digital campaigns and media. Before GPE, he worked at the OECD, managing communications for the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) and the Environment Directorate. He has also worked at HEC Paris business school, UNESCO and African Artists for Development. Peter holds Bachelor’s degrees in Marketing and French from Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris.

Sue Kyung Hwang, Dispute Resolution Case Associate

After studying International Affairs and Environmental Studies at the George Washington University, Sue Kyung Hwang pursued her master’s degree in Water Cooperation and Diplomacy, a joint programme held at the University for Peace (Costa Rica), IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (Netherlands), and Oregon State University (U.S.), to learn how different stakeholders in riparian countries co-manage their shared water resources. Her past work experiences involve preparing a database of livestock carbon emissions and using it to educate the public for climate action in a local community in Costa Rica. Sue Kyung served as the IRM’s intern in 2020 and the IRM’s Team Assistant from April 2021 to October 2023. She was appointed as the Dispute Resolution Case Associate in October 2023.

Amanda Bierschenk, Case Associate

Amanda is the IRM’s Case Associate, supporting compliance review, policy, and advisory functions. Amanda comes to the IRM after three years in GCF’s Secretariat, where she worked in external affairs on resource mobilisation and partnerships. In 2021, she also served as the IRM’s intern. Prior to joining GCF, she held roles at the US House of Representatives, US electoral campaigns, the AmeriCorps, and various human rights and community development nonprofits. Amanda holds an MSc in Environment and Development from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in International Relations from Boston University.

Kiara Tegbe Savignac, Intern

Kiara is an intern at the Independent Redress Mechanism. She has diverse experience both in France and abroad, spanning NGOs, the private sector, and local government. Her roles have included PR assistant, project manager, community liaison, local democracy mission officer, and research assistant. Kiara holds a B.A. from Sciences Po Paris, with a focus on economics and sociology and a Euro-Asian concentration. She also earned a master’s degree in public policy, specializing in social policy and social innovation, from Sciences Po Paris. Her research thesis focused on policy evaluation, and she aspires to work in the field of accountability at the international level.

Oscar Nuwagaba, Intern

Oscar Nuwagaba joined the IRM Unit as an intern after earning his Ph.D. in Public Administration from Yonsei University, South Korea. He also holds a master's degree in Public Administration (Yonsei University) and a bachelor's degree in Democracy and Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University, Uganda. Oscar is a researcher and boasts over 12 years of experience in community development functions. Previously, he served as a Community Engagement Supervisor at the USAID-Education Development Centre, where he designed and led project-wide stakeholder engagement strategies and provided capacity building for implementing partners. As a Senior Community Development/Service Officer in the local and central government of Uganda, he supported dispute resolution, community engagement for voluntary withdrawal from encroached wetlands, and compliance investigations related to environmental social safeguards. He is deeply passionate about accountability and redress mechanisms.

Former staff

Paco Gimenez-Salinas
Compliance and Dispute Resolution Specialist (October 2019 – November 2024)

Ibrahim Pam
Head of the IRM a.i. (September 2022 – March 2023)

Lalanath de Silva
Head of the IRM (November 2016 – August 2022)

Christine Reddell
Registrar and Case Officer (February 2019 – July 2021)

Susana Rodriguez
Compliance and Dispute Resolution Specialist (July 2017 – July 2019)

Arian Grace Jovena
Team Assistant (August 2017 – February 2019)

Former consultants

Paul Safar
Communications and Events Assistant Consultant (January – December 2020)

Former advisors

Asanga Gunawansa
(2016 – 2018)

Halina Ward
(2016 – 2018)

Former interns

Hajar Mountassir (Winter/Spring 2018)
Shamir Shehab (Winter/Fall 2018)
Andrea Guevera (Summer/Fall 2018)
Peter Boldt (Winter/Spring 2019)
Marta Trofimova (Winter/Spring 2019)
Siddhanth Prasad (Summer/Fall 2019)
Paul Safar (Summer/Fall 2019)
Sue Kyung Hwang (Winter 2020/Winter 2021)
Katrina Lehmann-Grube (Winter/Fall 2020)
Giada Giacomini (Fall/Winter 2020)
Anusha Kaushik (Fall/Winter 2020)
Amanda Bierschenk (Spring/Fall 2021)
Safaa Loukili Idrissi (Fall 2021/Winter 2022)
Noémie Fankhauser (Spring/Fall 2022)
Charlene Angela Sardoma (Fall 2022/Winter 2023)
Janneke Kielman (Spring/Summer 2023)
Roxanne Aminou (Spring/Summer 2023)
Vaishnavi Pallapothu (Summer 2023 - Winter 2024)
Nicholas Kemble (Summer 2023 - Winter 2024)