Our team in Moldova

Ms. Desiree Monique Jongsma joined UNICEF Moldova Country Office in September 2017. As UNICEF Representative, she is responsible for oversight of all activities under the Government of the Republic of Moldova – UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation from UNICEF side. These include planning, coordination, resource mobilization and implementation of programmes of cooperation contributing to further enhancing national capacities towards ensuring that all children of Moldova, especially the most vulnerable, enjoy their rights to education, health, adequate standard of living, and participation within a child-friendly legal environment, and are protected from abandonment, neglect, discrimination, exploitation and violence.
Prior to Ms. Jongsma’s assignment in Moldova, she has served as UNICEF Representative in Timor-Leste (2014-2017) and DPR Korea (2012-2014), as Deputy Representative in Sri Lanka Country Office (2007-2012), as well as in Laos PDR Country Office (2004-2007).
In earlier years, she worked for UNICEF first as Project Officer and later on as Chief of the Education Programme in Cambodia (1998-2003), as Education Officer in New Delhi, India (1993-1997) and as a freelance consultant in Freetown, Sierra Leone (1990).
Ms. Jongsma is a national of the Netherlands. She graduated from the University of Groningen, Netherlands in 1985.

Dr. Rita Columbia has 20 years of experience in the area of health, population and development, programme management and advocacy, working in government, non-governmental sector and UNFPA. She began her professional career as a medical doctor. In 1997, she headed her first country programme in Kazakhstan. A few years later she joined UNFPA country office in Kazakhstan heading a programme on sexual and reproductive health. In 2009, Dr. Rita Columbia returned to UNFPA as Regional Programme Adviser on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. She holds a medical degree and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Kazakhstan and a Master’s degree in Management from New York University. She started her work in Moldova as a UNFPA Representative in 2016.

Mr. Lars Johan Lönnback assumed the position of IOM Chief of Mission in Moldova in September 2018.
Mr. Lars Johan has worked with IOM since 2010, where he started as Head of Division and Senior Migration Policy Advisor at HQ in Geneva. Mr. Lönnback was most recently posted in Bangkok, Thailand where he was Program Manager within the Bali Process, and Senior Migration Policy Advisor on Migration and Development at the IOM Regional Office for Asia Pacific. Prior to working with IOM, Mr. Lars Johan worked for the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs posted in Brussels at the Swedish Permanent Representation as Counselor, and at the European Commission as National Expert. Prior to his time in Brussels, Mr. Lönnback was posted in Sarajevo at the Office of the High Representative for the Dayton Peace Accords as political officer. Mr. Lars Johan has also prior experience of working with UNHCR in Northern Iraq and the Russian Federation.
Mr. Lönnback holds a Master’s Degree in International Law from the University of Stockholm in Stockholm, Sweden. Lars Johan is a Swedish national and speaks English, Italian and French.

Ms. Ala Lipciu has a long working experience with the International Labour Organization (ILO), serving since 2005 as National Coordinator (NC) for Moldova. The ILO NC mandate involves country-level co-ordination and liaison on behalf of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Central and Eastern Europe to facilitate and strengthen implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) in Moldova. Ms. Lipciu provides necessary programming and administrative support to the ILO technical cooperation activities carried out in the country. She also facilitates interagency information sharing and interaction with the UN Country Team in Moldova. She has degrees in public communication and economics. Ms. Lipciu holds master degree on Law, European Social Security from the Katholic University of Leuven, Belgium. She was awarded Master degree in Applied Labour Economics for Development by the University of Turin and the Institute d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). Ms. Lipciu has a PhD degree in Economics from the Moldovan Academy of Economic Science.

Peterson is a gender equality and women’s rights advocate with over 17 years of senior level experience on global policy issues and programmes related to development. Peterson comes to Moldova from the UN Women office in Afghanistan, UN Women’s largest operation globally, where he has been serving as Deputy Representative since 2017. He has also served as Deputy Representative for UN Women in Liberia (2014-2017). His role in these positions has been to provide strategic leadership and management of country programmes, covering women, peace and security; ending violence against women, women’s leadership, participation and representation; and women’s economic empowerment. His experience also includes policy advocacy, programme development/implementation, partnerships and coordination, and overall management.
He holds a Masters’ degree in Public Health and Bachelor’s degree in Economics/Education.

As Human Rights Adviser to the United Nations Country Team, Bea Ferenci is also heading the presence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Moldova. She has over 20 years of work experience in human rights.
In 2002 Ms. Ferenci began her international career with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in West Africa. She first joined OHCHR in 2005 in Cambodia, and later moved on to work with OHCHR in Nepal, Gaza (occupied Palestinian territories), and Central Asia. She also worked with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Kosovo* (as per SC res 1244).
In her various assignments Ms. Ferenci engaged among others with state authorities, civil society and National Human Rights Institutions to contribute to their efforts to an improved human rights record including by contributing to capacity building efforts, by providing technical expertise, by supporting legislative drafting processes as well as facilitating the engagement of various stakeholders with UN human rights mechanisms.

Ms. Dima Al-Khatib (Lebanon) serves as UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova, as of 24 March 2019. Prior to this appointment, Dima was the Programme and Policy Coordinator at the UNDP Regional Hub in Amman since October 2018. She also served as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kuwait (September 2013 - September 2018) and the UNDP Deputy Country Director in Libya (June 2012 - August 2013). She has also assumed several functions in UNDP Headquarters in New York (May 2012 - August 2004). Dima was the Environment Programme Manager in UNDP Lebanon (January 1997 - August 2004) and worked for the UNDP Lebanon Reintegration of the Internally Displaced Project (February 1995 - January 1997). Dima holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Health from the Lebanese University and France University of Bordeaux II. She also holds a Bachelor of Science and a Teaching Diploma in Environmental Health from the American University of Beirut. She speaks English, French, and Arabic.

Volodymyr Tulin is the Resident Representative of the IMF in Moldova since August 2017.
Mr. Tulin, a national of Ukraine, has been with the IMF since 2005. During his IMF career, he has worked on emerging and developing economies, including in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. He has also worked in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, focusing on systemically important banks. His analytical work has covered inflation, growth and inequality, and capital flows. Mr. Tulin holds a master’s degree in international economic development (MPAID) from Harvard Kennedy School and a master’s degree in economics from Central European University.