Secretary General
Patrick ten Brink
Secretary General
Patrick ten Brink
Secretary General
Patrick was appointed EEB Secretary General on 1 July 2022.Patrick provides political leadership across all the organisation’s policy areas. He oversees the daily management and fundraising of the association and supervises the staff. He leads the EEB senior management team and the strategic work of the organisation and prepares the work of the different EEB governance bodies together with the EEB President.
Patrick also represents the EEB and its member organisations vis-à-vis the EU institutions and in other relevant fora. He is currently a member of a range of high-level groups, including the Fit for Future Platform, Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform, the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, the Industrial Forum, the Chemicals Sustainability roundtable and the EU Biodiversity Platform.
Patrick ten Brink joined the EEB as EU Policy Director in 2018 and in 2020 he also became the Deputy Secretary General. Ever since he joined, he has been particularly active on the European Green Deal, EU Presidency work, 8EAP, Better Regulation and green fiscal reform.
Before joining the EEB, Patrick was the Director of IEEP-Brussels and head of its Green Economy Programme. He has worked extensively on circular economy and marine litter, green tax reform, subsidy reform, climate policy, and biodiversity policy. His past work contributed to the Passenger Cars and CO2 regulation, the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Regulation on Invasive Alien Species, and the Regulation on Access and Benefits Sharing of genetic resources.
Patrick has published widely, with books on environmental harmful subsidies, on the multiple values of nature and on voluntary environmental agreements, and articles on better regulation, the benefits of EU law, sustainable development, biodiversity policy, transport policy, marine litter, ecological tax reform, green economy, eco-industries and environmental employment, the costs of climate mitigation and EU enlargement.
He has a master’s degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics and a Joint honours Physics and Philosophy degree.
Patrick is German and speaks English, French, German and Spanish.
Patrizia Heidegger
Deputy Secretary General and Director for EU Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies
Patrizia Heidegger
Deputy Secretary General and Director for EU Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies
Patrizia Heidegger is Deputy Secretary General of the EEB and its Director for Environmental Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies.In this role, she leads the EEB’s work on sustainable development and global justice and follows intergovernmental processes at regional and global level including the UN Environment Assembly. For UN Environment stakeholder engagement, she serves as an elected Regional Facilitator for Europe.
She supervises the teams working on European Institutions and Governance, Environmental Law and Justice, Economic Transition, and Regional and Global Policies. She is part of the EEB’s Senior Management Team and acts as the EEB’s Diversity Manager.
Patrizia represents the EEB on the board of European Movement International.
Patrizia has been working as an advocate for environmental justice, human rights and sustainable development for 20 years, mainly with NGOs in Europe and Asia. She was previously Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, served as a parliamentary advisor to the Greens in Germany and worked in development cooperation in South Asia.
Patrizia has graduated with an M.A. in Comparative Literature and Political Science and holds an LL.M in International Human Rights Law.
She speaks English, French and German, a bit of Italian and Bengali, and is learning Hindi. She is most happy on a mountain peak.
EU Policy Team
Stéphane ARDITI
Director for Climate, Circular Economy and Industry
Stéphane ARDITI
Director for Climate, Circular Economy and Industry
Stéphane is responsible for Circular Economy and its integration with other policy dimensions, such as Climate, Industry, Chemicals, Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Goals.Before joining the EEB, Stephane worked as a Quality/Lean consultant for the industry in France and UK. He also collaborated to academic research programs on energy efficiency in building and evaluation of sustainable development policy.
Stephane has educational background in philosophy and environmental management.
Stephane is French and speaks English and French.
Faustine Bas-Defossez
Director for Nature, Health and Environment
Stéphane ARDITI
Director for Nature, Health and Environment
Faustine Bas-Defossez is EEB’s Director for Nature, Health and Environment .A French national with far-off German origins, Faustine is a true European. With more than fifteen years of professional experience in EU environmental policy, she is a true environmentalist.
As Director for Nature, Health and Environment, she leads a large policy portfolio of the organisation: namely biodiversity, water, soil; agriculture and food; chemicals; mercury and air quality and noise and she is part of the senior management team.
Between 2009 and 2018 she was leading the agriculture work of the EEB. Before re-joining the civil society movement, she spent 5 years in leading roles within the sustainability think tanks’ community, as Head of the agriculture and land management program first and then External Impact Director.
At the beginning of her career she also worked for the European Commission Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Faustine has a master’s degree in International and European Law and holds a MSc in European politics from Science Po Strasbourg.
She speaks French and English and a bit of German.
Tatiana SANTOS
Head of Chemicals Policy
Tatiana SANTOS
Head of Chemicals Policy
Tatiana graduated from the University of Cádiz (Spain) and is specialized in Environmental and Food Chemistry. She also holds a Master’s degree in both Environmental Impact Assessment and Occupational Health and Safety.Previously she worked for the Spanish occupational institute ISTAS and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).
She is Spanish and speaks Spanish, English and basic French.
Christian SCHAIBLE
Head of Zero pollution Industry
Christian SCHAIBLE
Head of Zero pollution Industry
Christian is in charge of activities on industrial production, in particular the review of the environmental performance benchmarks (Best Available Techniques Reference Documents) for industry.He studied international law and graduated with a Master's specialisation in environmental law in Egypt, Norway and France.
He previously worked for the German Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the European Commission's Renewable Energy DG and in a Brussels-based industry group promoting renewable energy sources.
He holds German-French nationality and speaks English, basic Norwegian and some Arabic.
Elena LYMBERIDI-SETTIMO
Policy Manager for 'Zero Mercury' Campaign
Elena LYMBERIDI-SETTIMO
Project Manager for 'Zero Mercury' Campaign
Elena co-founded the Zero Mercury Working Group - an international coalition of NGOs working on mercury in 2005 and has co-coordinated it ever since.She previously worked for the European Commission (DG ENV) and for consulting firms on environment policy and project management.
She holds an Ptychio in Chemistry (Athens), an M.Sc. in Business Strategy and Environmental Management (UK) and an MBA (Belgium).
She is Greek and speaks Greek, English and French.
Luke HAYWOOD
Policy Manager for Climate and Energy
Luke HAYWOOD
Policy Manager for Climate and Energy
Luke leads the EEB’s climate and energy team. Before joining EEB, Luke was policy analyst and climate economist at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) in Berlin. He previously worked as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris and at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin.He has a PhD in economics from the Paris School of Economics, an M.Phil in Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.
Luke holds British and German nationality and speaks English, French, German and Spanish.
Sergiy MOROZ
Policy Manager for Water and Biodiversity
Sergiy MOROZ
Policy Manager for Water and Biodiversity
Sergiy leads the EEB’s work on the Water Framework Directive and coordinates the EEB’s involvement in efforts for a better implementation of the EU Nature Directives and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020.Before joining EEB, Sergiy worked as a Policy Director for the European Water Partnership, promoting uptake of water stewardship approaches, as well as for WWF on a range of projects from river restoration to advocacy for ambitious EU laws.
Sergiy is originally from Ukraine and speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, French and Dutch.
Dolores ROMANO
Deputy Policy Manager for Chemicals
Dolores ROMANO
Deputy Policy Manager for Chemicals
Dolores is an agriculture engineer (Polytechnic University of Madrid) and holds a master's degree in Occupational Health.Before joining the EEB, Dolores was working as a consultant on chemical risk prevention. She worked extensively on chemicals and waste policies for several environmental NGOs (Greenpeace, Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo and Ecologistas en Acción) and for the trade union institute ISTAS in Spain.
Dolores is Spanish and speaks Spanish and English.
Davide SABBADIN
Deputy Policy Manager for Climate
Davide SABBADIN
Deputy Policy Manager for Climate
Davide is Senior Policy Officer for Climate and Circular Economy. Davide tries to bridge the gap between CE policies and Climate policies to decarbonize industry and the heating sector. He is also working on climate sequestration in buildings and on the development of the batteries sector.In the past he has been working for a long time at Legambiente, in the fields of energy efficiency, refrigerant gases and circular economy.
He holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences from the University of Padua, Italy, and he likes to bike his way through Europe on holidays. He’s also interested in trekking, rhymes and trains.
Jean-Pierre SCHWEITZER
Deputy Policy Manager for Circular Economy
Jean-Pierre SCHWEITZER
Deputy Policy Manager for Circular Economy
Jean-Pierre works on issues relating to product policy and the circular economy.He has a Master's degree in Environmental Policy from Humboldt University of Berlin and in Geography from the University of Oxford.
Prior to joining the EEB, Jean-Pierre worked for four years at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) in Brussels, within their Green Economy Programme, he specialised in plastics, market-based instruments, and economic indicators.
Jean-Pierre speaks English, French and German.
jean-pierre.schweitzer@eeb.org
Jean-Luc WIETOR
Deputy Policy Manager for Chemicals/Sustainable Production and Best Available Techniques
Jean-Luc WIETOR
Deputy Policy Manager for Chemicals/Sustainable Production and Best Available Techniques
Jean-Luc works on emissions from industrial activities to the environment, focusing on updating and implementing the Industrial Emissions Directive, and promoting ambition, best practices, and techniques.Before he joined EEB, Jean-Luc worked in chemical R&D and marketing, in public affairs and consulting. He holds a PhD in chemistry from Cambridge University and an MBA from FOM Düsseldorf.
Jean-Luc is from Luxembourg and speaks Luxembourgish, German, French, Dutch, and English as well as some Italian and Spanish.
Eva CORRAL
Senior Policy Officer for Pesticide and Water pollution
Eva CORRAL
Senior Policy officer for Pesticide and Water pollution
Eva develops and implements advocacy strategies to tackle pesticide and water pollution at the EEB.Her previous work experience includes working in Africa and Asia as humanitarian, writing and co-writing several studies on agriculture, biodiversity and rural development, and working, at EU level, on wine, organic farming and air pollution.
Eva is an agriculture engineer (Polytechnic University of Madrid), holds a Master's of Science in Food Production and Marketing by the Imperial College London (Wye College) and has a degree as environmental advisor (Institut Eco-Conseil of Namur).
She is originally from Spain and speaks Spanish, English, French and some Portuguese.
Sara JOHANSSON
Senior Policy Officer for Water Pollution Prevention
Sara JOHANSSON
Senior Policy Officer for Water Pollution Prevention
Sara works on issues related to water pollution and covers the ongoing revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the update of priority substances for surface and groundwater.Prior to the EEB, she worked in various research and development projects in the field of innovative wastewater treatment at Lund University, AnoxKaldnes and Veolia.
She holds a PhD in Water Science & Technology from the University of Girona, a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from Lund University and has completed a program of International Journalism at Thomas More Hogeschool, Belgium.
Sara is originally from Sweden and speaks Swedish, English, Spanish and French.
Aliki KRIEKOUKI
Senior Policy Officer for Industrial Production
Aliki KRIEKOUKI
Senior Policy Officer for Industrial Production
Aliki is working on pollution prevention and control of industrial activities, in particular the review of the environmental performance benchmarks (Best Available Techniques Reference Documents) for industry.Before joining the EEB, she worked for a Brussels-based European Federation in the area of waste management and environmental services, as an environmental auditor in Greece and at the European Commission's Executive Agency for SMEs.
She holds an MSc in Environmental Technology and an MEng in Chemical Engineering.
Aliki is Greek and speaks English and some French.
Jai KRISHNA
Senior Policy Officer for Industrial Production
Jai KRISHNA
Senior Policy Officer for Industrial Production
Jai is working on pollution prevention and control of industrial activities in particular water- energy nexus. He also co-leads the water working group in Europe Beyond coal campaign, which aims at phasing out coal power plants from Europe by 2030.Prior to joining the EEB, he worked for campaigns at Greenpeace in India, International and Central and East Europe on Sustainable agriculture, Climate change and Energy water nexus.
He holds a Masters in Physics.
He speaks English apart from Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Telugu.
Blanca MORALES
Senior Coordinator for EU Ecolabel
Blanca MORALES
Coordinator for EU Ecolabel
Blanca studied Environmental Sciences for her undergraduate degree and holds a Research Masters on Environmental Education and a Diploma on Environmental Management Systems.She has recently worked as Pollution Control Officer for ECOS and was previously the EU Ecolabel Coordinator in EEB and the European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) from 2007 till 2010. Before that she was a trainee at the EU Commission in the field of EMAS, worked in the Local Agenda 21 of Granada and was involved in cooperation projects in Mexico and Ukraine.
Emily MACINTOSH
Senior Policy Officer for Textiles
Emily MACINTOSH
Senior Policy Officer for Textiles
Emily works on issues relating to the textile industry.She has worked at the EEB since 2015, previously as a member of the communications team. Before joining the EEB, Emily worked as a press officer for the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament.
She holds a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University.
She speaks English and French.
Célia NYSSENS
Senior Policy Officer for Agriculture and Food Systems
Célia NYSSENS
Senior Policy Officer for Agriculture and Food Systems
Celia leads the EEB's work on agricultural and food policy, covering the CAP, agriculture in the Fit for 55 package, carbon farming, and food system governance.She holds a B.Sc. in Political Sciences from KULeuven and an M.Sc. in Global Environmental Politics from the University of Edinburgh.
Before joining the EEB, she worked on food, agriculture, and climate change policy in Scotland for 3 years.
Celia is originally from Belgium and speaks French, English, Spanish, and Dutch.
Riccardo NIGRO
Senior Policy Officer for Zero Pollution Industry
Riccardo NIGRO
Senior Policy Officer for Zero Pollution Industry
Riccardo is coordinating the Europe Beyond Coal campaign, which aims at phasing out coal power plants from Europe by 2030.He used to work for WWF Italy on various campaigns about energy generation and energy efficiency; then he joined Eliante, where he worked on Energy Labelling and Ecodesign issues.
He holds a Master’s degree in Scientific Communication from the University of Milan and likes playing bass guitar, basketball and travelling the world.
Margherita TOLOTTO
Senior Policy Officer for Air and Noise
Margherita TOLOTTO
Senior Policy Officer for Air and Noise
Margherita holds a Master's degree in European and International Law from the University of Trieste, Italy, and the University of Montpellier, France.She covers air and noise related issues.
Before joining the EEB, she worked in the Veneto Region representation office in Brussels, following environmental-related issues.
She is Italian, and speaks Italian, English and French.
Laetitia Aumont
Policy Officer for Circular and Carbon Neutral Built Environment
Laetitia Aumont
Policy Officer for Circular and Carbon Neutral Built Environment
Laetitia is part of the Circular Economy Team and focuses on the decarbonisation of the built environment.She has a Master’s degree on International Laws from Maastricht University, and she specialised in European policies while undertaking a traineeship at the European Commission in DG GROW.
Prior to her current position, she worked at a public consultancy in Brussels on studies such as impact assessment and evaluations, focusing particularly on consumer protection topics.
In addition to French – her mother tongue – Laetitia speaks English and some Spanish.
Charline CHEUVART
Policy Officer for Mercury
Charline CHEUVART
Policy Officer for Mercury
Charline is Policy Officer for Mercury.She holdsa Master's degree in Public Policy and Human Development from the University of Maastricht and the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), a Master's degree in Comparative and International Politics from the KULeuven and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve.
Before joining EEB, Charline worked as policy and project officer in international cooperation at SOLIDAR, focusing on issues related to social justice in the MENA and Sub-Saharan regions.
She speaks French, English and Dutch.
Mariana GOULART
Policy Officer for Chemicals
Mariana GOULART
Policy Officer for Chemicals
Mariana is a lawyer specialised in International Law and Regulatory Affairs both in Latin America and Europe.She started her career working as a Legal Officer at the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice. In 2020, she worked at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), getting in close contact with the latest REACH updates and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Continuing her efforts for a better EU legislation in Chemicals, before joining the EEB, she worked as a Public Affairs consultant for frontrunner industries that wish to push for more ambitious green policies.
Mariana is Brazilian/Italian and speaks Portuguese, Italian and English fluently and Spanish and French in an intermediate level.
Jurij KRAJCIC
Policy Officer for Land and Climate
Jurij KRAJCIC
Policy Officer for Land and Climate
Jurij works on issues related to carbon farming and carbon removals.He holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Political Geography.
Before joining the EEB Team, Jurij worked as Jr Attaché for Environment and Climate Change at the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the EU, focusing on files relating to climate and international mandates.
He speaks English, French, and Slovenian.
Laura HILDT
Policy Officer for Biodiversity
Laura HILDT
Policy Officer for Biodiversity
Laura focuses on the follow-up and implementation of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, ecological restoration and the implementation of the Nature Directives, while also working on the Council Presidencies.She holds an LLM in Public International Law with a specialisation in Environmental Law from Utrecht University and a Law Degree from the University of Cambridge.
Laura speaks English, German and some French.
Olatz FINEZ
Legal Policy Officer for Industrial Pollution Prevention
Olatz FINEZ
Legal Policy Officer for Industrial Pollution Prevention
Olatz is working on pollution prevention and control of industrial activities. She supports policy development with a legal focus, in particular regarding the ongoing revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive. She is also involved in topics related to climate and water protection as well as environmental democracy and rights linked to the Aarhus Convention. Olatz studied Law and International Relations and specialised in Human Rights Law. Before joining the EEB, she worked for the European Ombudsman in case handling, several Brussels based consultancies and the Delegation of the Basque Country for the EU. Olatz speaks Basque, Spanish, English, French and some Italian.
Rina GUADAGNINI
Policy Officer for Mercury
Rina GUADAGNINI
Policy Officer for Mercury
Rina is Policy Officer for Mercury. She graduated in Biology at the Padova University and worked several years at Legambiente, focusing on air pollution and pesticide residues and their impact on human health. To make her action more effective she engaged in doctoral research at the Paris VII University, where she obtained a PhD in Toxicology.Before joining EEB she has been working at Pesticide Action Network UK focusing on pesticide exposure of vulnerable groups in countries with an economy in transition.
She’s Italian and speaks French, English and Spanish.
Marco MUSSO
Policy Officer on Fiscal Reform for Circular Economy and Carbon Neutrality
Marco MUSSO
Policy Officer on Fiscal Reform for Circular Economy and Carbon Neutrality
Marco works with the EU policy Team on financial, fiscal and economic instruments for the green transition.He holds a double-degree Master of Science in European Governance from Utrecht University and the University College of Dublin as well as a Bachelor of International studies, Development and Cooperation from the University of Turin.
Prior to joining the EEB, he worked on circular economy and environmental policies as EU Public Affairs and Communication Manager for EUROPEN, the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment. Previously, he also worked in the European Parliament as junior policy assistant for a Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee and completed an internship with the Association of Italian Joint Stock Companies.
Marco speaks Italian and English as well as intermediate French and Spanish.
Cosimo TANSINI
Policy Officer for Renewable Energy
Cosimo TANSINI
Policy Officer for Renewable Energy
Cosimo works in the Climate and Energy team. He focuses on renewable energy and related EU policies, especially in the framework of the PAC 2.0 project.Prior to joining the EEB, he has worked in the Lombardy Region’s government, focusing on electro-mobility and energy efficiency, and at the University of Milan, where he was in charge of managing research projects in the field of climate, agriculture, and circular economy.
He holds a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Pavia, Italy. He speaks English, Italian, and bits of French and Spanish. Outside of work, he is very keen on jazz music, distance running, and hiking in the mountains.
Orla Butler
Associate Policy Officer for Circular Economy
Orla BUTLER
Associate Policy Officer for Circular Economy
Orla works both in the Events team and the Circular Economy team. She works mainly on the co-ordination of the Right to Repair campaign, whilst also supporting some events.She has a background in European Studies and is passionate about environmental issues.
She speaks French, Irish and some Spanish.
Sophia CAIATI
Associate Policy Officer for Agriculture
Sophia CAIATI
Associate Policy Officer for Agriculture
Sophia is part of the Agriculture Team and works on the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.She holds a B.A. in International Studies from Leiden University and a M.A. in European Studies on Society, Science and Technology from Maastricht University.
Sophia previously completed an internship in the UNEP’s Sustainable Lifestyles team in Paris and has worked for a German public interest think tank, exploring the intersection between society and sustainability.
She speaks English, German and is working on her French.
Caroline Heinzel
Associate Policy Officer for Soil
Caroline Heinzel
Associate Policy Officer for Soil
Caroline works on the development and implementation of EU soil policies. She focuses on the EU soil strategy for 2030 and the forthcoming Soil Health Law.She holds a French-German MA in political science from the University of Freiburg and Sciences Po Aix with a special focus on European politics and advocacy.
Caroline comes originally from Germany and speaks English, German and French.
Noémie Jegou
Associate Policy Officer for Chemicals
Noémie Jegou
Associate Policy Officer for Chemicals
Noémie is part of the Chemicals Team and works on improving the EU Chemicals policy through different projects.She holds a M.A. in European Studies from Sciences Po Rennes, where she specialised on EU climate and biodiversity policies.
Before joining the EEB, Noémie completed a traineeship in the Budget Committee Secretariat of the European Parliament and worked for an NGO focusing on fisheries and ocean conservation.
She speaks French, English and some German.
Isabel PALIOTTA
Associate Policy Officer for Sustainable Food Systems
Isabel PALIOTTA
Associate Policy Officer for Sustainable Food Systems
Isabel is part of the Agriculture Team and works on the EU’s transition to a Sustainable Food System.She holds a BA in Economic Development, International Cooperation and Conflict Management from the University of Florence and an MA in International and Diplomatic Affairs from Bologna University. After specialising on the history of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, she expanded her focus on food while interning at the EU Delegation to the UN Organisations in Rome.
Before joining EEB she worked with Slow Food Europe and with German consultancy GFA, collaborating with the European Commission and focusing on sustainable agri-food systems in EU partner countries.
She speaks English, Italian and French.
Miriam THIEMANN
Campaigner for EU Ecolabel and Sustainable Consumption
Miriam THIEMANN
Campaigner for EU Ecolabel and Sustainable Consumption
Miriam works at the EEB as EU Ecolabel and Sustainable Consumption Campaigner and focuses on strengthening the uptake of the EU Ecolabel.She has a Master’s degree in Global Change Ecology and a certificate in environmental law from the University of Bayreuth.
Prior to her current position, she worked at an environmental consultancy in Barcelona on stakeholder engagement and workshop development in the field of sustainable water management and circular economy.
Being from Germany, Miriam speaks German, English, Spanish and some French and Dutch.
Nicoleta LIPCANEANU
Policy Assistant for Climate and Nature
Nicoleta LIPCANEANU
Policy Assistant for Climate and Nature
Nicoleta supports the Climate and Energy Team. Her work is focused the phasing out fossil fuels in the heating and cooling sector and on the Fit for 55 Package.Nicoleta holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Markets and Institutions and a Master’s degree in Resource Economics and Sustainable Development from the University of Bologna.
Her final thesis was based on the analysis of the correlation between women’s political status and environmental performance.
She speaks French, Romanian and basic Chinese, besides Italian and English.
Nicoleta is also keen on photography and art history.
Global Policies and Sustainability Team
Patrizia Heidegger
Deputy Secretary General and Director for EU Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies
Patrizia Heidegger
Deputy Secretary General and Director for EU Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies
Patrizia Heidegger is Deputy Secretary General of the EEB and its Director for Environmental Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies.In this role, she leads the EEB’s work on sustainable development and global justice and follows intergovernmental processes at regional and global level including the UN Environment Assembly. For UN Environment stakeholder engagement, she serves as an elected Regional Facilitator for Europe.
She supervises the teams working on European Institutions and Governance, Environmental Law and Justice, Economic Transition, and Regional and Global Policies. She is part of the EEB’s Senior Management Team and acts as the EEB’s Diversity Manager.
Patrizia represents the EEB on the board of European Movement International.
Patrizia has been working as an advocate for environmental justice, human rights and sustainable development for 20 years, mainly with NGOs in Europe and Asia. She was previously Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, served as a parliamentary advisor to the Greens in Germany and worked in development cooperation in South Asia.
Patrizia has graduated with an M.A. in Comparative Literature and Political Science and holds an LL.M in International Human Rights Law.
She speaks English, French and German, a bit of Italian and Bengali, and is learning Hindi. She is most happy on a mountain peak.
Francesca CARLSSON
(on maternity leave)
Senior Legal Officer and Lead on Trade and Due Diligence
Francesca CARLSSON
Senior Legal Officer and Lead on Trade and Due Diligence
Francesca is Senior Legal Officer and is in charge of the EEB’s work on environmental law and governance. Francesca leads on trade and due diligence and was leading the Implement for LIFE project where she worked on the implementation of EU laws in the member states and other broader horizontal legal issues, such as participatory rights and access to justice.Before joining the EEB, Francesca worked for the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and for a Brussels-based sustainability consultancy, Lumina Consult. She also did a traineeship at the European Commission’s Legal Service in 2012 where she worked in the External Relations and CFSP unit.
Francesca has a legal background, having obtained an LL.B. in Law (UK) with Italian Law and an LLM in International Law from University College London, as well as another LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Oslo.
Francesca is passionate about the ocean and speaks English, French, Swedish and Italian and is learning Arabic.
Manuela GERVASI
Senior Policy Officer for Sustainable Development and Public Participation
Manuela GERVASI
Senior Policy Officer for Sustainable Development and Public Participation
As Senior Policy Officer for Sustainable Development & Public Participation, Manuela leads the coordination of REAL DEAL for the EEB, a Horizon2020 project which focuses on stepping up citizens’ participation in the European Green Deal. She is responsible for the EEB’ work on the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Previously, she worked at the United Nations Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Canada) on the cities and biodiversity work programme and contributed to the UN Habitat Policy Issues Papers supporting the New Urban Agenda. She has experience with networks of cities and regions for environment, climate and energy in Europe and Asia, including a background as a researcher on participatory democracy at local level.
Manuela has a Master's degree in Environmental Governance awarded by the Institute for the Advanced Studies of Sustainability of the United Nations University in Tokyo and another in Urban Planning and Policy from the Polytechnic of Milan.
She speaks Italian, English and Portuguese and is improving her French, Dutch and German.
Nick MEYNEN
Senior Policy Officer for Systemic Change
Nick MEYNEN
Senior Policy Officer for Systemic Change
Nick Meynen is Senior Policy Officer for Systemic Change. For 15 years now, he connects grassroots struggles for justice with the bigger economic system errors that need to change.After obtaining his Master's in geography (2002) he added postgraduates in conflict studies (2003) and investigative journalism (2007).
Nick is involved in European projects around ecological economic and environmental justice since 2008 and investigated environmental frontlines all over the world, both as journalist and for civil society.
In the EEB, Nick created and leads the economic transition cluster. His opinion pieces appear in mainstream media and his third book “Frontlines. Stories of Global Environmental Justice” was praised by influential thinkers and voted in the top ten climate books by climate activists globally.
Nick is Belgian and speaks Dutch, French and English. He loves hiking, especially in snowy mountains.
Katharina WIESE
Senior Policy Officer for Economic Transition and Gender Equality
Katharina WIESE
Senior Policy Officer for Economic Transition and Gender Equality
Katy is Senior Policy Officer for Economic Transition and Gender Equality.She completed a Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Science in Lund, Sweden.
Previously, she has been working for different renewable energy development projects in West and East Africa and as technical consultant for a social impact consulting firm in Berlin, Germany.
She has also been investigating gendered impacts of environmental policies in the Global South and Europe, publishing scientific articles on that nexus. Coming from Germany she speaks German, English, a little bit of Swedish and is working on her French and Dutch.
Sonia GOICOECHEA
Civil Society Engagement Officer
Sonia GOICOECHEA
Civil Society Engagement Officer
Sonia works on the projects in the Global Policies and Sustainability unit. She is experienced with the organization of conferences and is a professional photographer.She worked for Friends of the Earth Europe in Brussels before heading to West Africa, where she worked 8 years with Oxfam.
Upon her return, Sonia joined ANPED and has worked in the field of sustainability since 2012.
She is Spanish and speaks Basque, Spanish, French, English and Dutch.
Frederik HAFEN
Policy Officer for Environmental Democracy
Frederik HAFEN
Policy Officer for Environmental Democracy
Frederik works on environmental law and democracy. He focuses on the rights guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention, access to environmental information, participation in decision-making, and access to justice.He holds a Master's degree in European Public Affairs from Maastricht University and a Bachelor's degree in European and International Law from the University of Groningen.
Prior to joining the EEB, he was the policy adviser in the Cabinet of the European Ombudsman, focused on relations with the European Parliament and the coordination of policy briefings and speeches.
Frederik speaks English, German, intermediate Dutch, as well as basic French.
Diego MARIN
Policy Officer for Environmental Justice
Diego MARIN
Policy Officer for Environmental Justice
Diego Marin works with the Global Policy team.He hold a Master in International Development with a specialization in Political Strategy and Communication from the University of Kent, Brussels School of International Studies. During his academic career, Diego mainly focused on environmental issues, indigenous rights, and poverty alleviation.
He previously interned for the Red Cross EU Office working on development projects. Diego spent some time in Cajamarca, Peru where he completed his thesis on the impact of extractivism and its link to poverty exacerbation in the region.
Diego speaks Spanish, English, and French.’
Robin Roels
Associate Policy Officer for Raw Materials
Jeffrey MOXOM
SDG Watch Europe Coordinator
Jeffrey MOXOM
SDG Watch Europe Coordinator
Jeffrey works in the Global Policies and Sustainability team as the SDG Watch Europe Coordinator.He studied Politics at the University of Leicester and holds an MA in Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex.
Prior to joining the EEB, he worked as a Research Coordinator in the international cooperative movement.
Jeffrey is from the United Kingdom and alongside his native English he is working on his French and German.
Marguerite CULOT
Associate Policy Officer for Economic Transition
Marguerite CULOT
Associate Policy Officer for Economic Transition
Marguerite is part of the Economic Transition team.She has a master’s in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS (London), and completed the EU Environmental Policies & Law Programme at Université Saint-Louis (Brussels). The main focus of her degree was the link between political economy, environmental issues and gender.
Before joining the EEB, she worked for migration and environmental NGOs, both in Europe and internationally.
Marguerite is from Belgium and speaks French, English and Dutch.
Margarida MARTINS
Assistant for Environmental Democracy
Margarida MARTINS
Assistant for Environmental Democracy
Margarida works on environmental law and democracy. Her main focus is on the rights guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention: access to environmental information, participation in decision-making, and access to justice.She holds a Master's degree in European Public Law & Governance from Maastricht University and a Bachelor's degree in Law from NOVA School of Law, Lisbon.
Prior to joining the EEB, she was a policy assistant at UIPI and, before that, a trainee at the Court of Justice of the European Union (General Court).
Margarida speaks English, Portuguese, intermediate French, as well as basic Spanish and German.
Juliette Robert
Assistant for Environmental Law and Justice
Juliette Robert
Assistant for Environmental Law and Justice
Juliette supports the Environmental Law and Justice Team.She studied French and German Law and specialized in environmental Law.
She is passionate about environmental issues and has worked on the link between democracy and environmental protection, focusing mainly on access to justice in environmental matters and legal defense of environmental defenders.
She speaks French, English and German.
Communications and Membership Team
Emma ERNSTH
Director of Membership and Development
Emma ERNSTH
Director of Membership and Development
Emma oversees the EEB membership, welcomes new members and guides them through the application process and supports the organisation of Board meetings and the Annual General Assembly.She is also working on organizational development in the areas of membership engagement and internal communications.
She previously worked for several European networks in the cultural sector.
She is Swedish and speaks English, French, Dutch, Italian and a bit of Spanish.
Denise GODINHO
Director of Communications
Denise GODINHO
Director of Communications
Denise is responsible for the broader communications area of the EEB - encompassing institutional, external and press communications - and works to ensure that the organisation's communications objectives are met.Prior to joining the EEB, Denise worked for over 15 years in communications roles within the international NGO sector.
She holds an MPhil in Contemporary Critical Theory from the University of Birmingham (Birmingham, UK) and completed an MBA course in Marketing and Business Administration (Porto, Portugal).
Denise speaks Portuguese, English, German and French.
Roberta ARBINOLO
Senior Communications Officer
Roberta ARBINOLO
Senior Communications Officer
Roberta is responsible for communications on circular economy and for the EEB's social media strategy.She previously worked as a Communications Officer at Zero Waste Europe and led the communications of the Rethink Plastic alliance.
Roberta has a background in development cooperation and human rights and holds a degree in International Affairs from the University of Turin.
She speaks Italian, English, French, and is working on her Spanish.
Andreea ANCA
Communications Officer
Andreea ANCA
Communications Officer
Andreea is the communications focal point in the Chemicals team.Before joining the EEB she worked for major international organisations, such as the United Nations and the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and for a global network of human rights and civil liberties organisations.
She holds an MA in English language and literature from the ELTE University in Budapest, Hungary.
She speaks Romanian, Hungarian, English, some Russian and is currently working on her French.
Andreas Budiman
Communications Officer
Marie-Amélie BRUN
Communications Officer
Marie-Amélie BRUN
Communications Officer
Marie-Amélie works in the Communications Team covering multimedia work, she is responsible for the videos and podcasts of the EEB.She holds a Master's degree in Environmental Communication and International Cooperation.
Marie-Amelie is French and speaks English, Spanish and is working on her Portuguese.
Andrea GONZALEZ
Membership Engagement Officer
Andrea GONZALEZ
Membership Engagement Officer
Andrea is Membership Engagement Officer.She graduated in business and management from Vigo University and holds a Master's degree in economic and social science. Coming from the green landscapes of Northwest Spain, Andrea has always been involved in environmental protection and has volunteered in several NGOs around Europe.
Andrea speaks Spanish, Galician, English and French.
Tessa Jansoone
Development Officer
Tessa JANSOONE
Development Officer
Tessa is responsible for supporting the implementation of EEB's fundraising strategies, researching new funding opportunities and supporting the EEB membership development. Tessa holds a master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Antwerp. Before joining the EEB, she worked for the WWF European Policy Office in the areas of EU funding and project management, after having worked for UNICEF and UN Environment. She is a Flemish-speaking Belgian national and also speaks English, French and Portuguese.
Samantha Ibbott
Communications Officer
Samantha ibbott
Communications Officer
Samantha works in the communications team covering food systems and agriculture.She has a BSc (Hons) in Biology and an MSc in Biological Photography and Imaging, from the University of Nottingham.
Previously, Samantha has worked as Digital Communications Officer at the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, and as Digital Content Officer at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum.
Samantha speaks English and German and is learning French.
Daniel Lissoni
Communications Officer
Daniel LISSONI
Communications Officer
Daniel works in the communication team covering air quality issues.
Before joining the EEB, Daniel worked for a corporate social responsibility network and at an innovation network focused on accelerating the green transition.
Since he holds an MA in Human Rights, he is particularly interested in their interaction with climate change.
Daniel is from South Africa and speaks English and is working on his Italian and French.
Ruby SILK
Communications Officer
Ruby SILK
Communications Officer
Ruby is responsible for communications on environmental justice and democracy.Holding an MA and BA in English Literature from the University of Oxford and King’s College London, respectively, she is a passionate writer.
Before joining the EEB Ruby was working for FEANTSA, a Brussels based NGO working on homelessness and housing.
She is a native English speaker and speaks French.
Alberto VELA
Communications Officer
Alberto VELA
Communications Officer
Alberto works in the communication team covering climate and energy issues.He is a journalist specialized in climate and EU affairs, with experience in different media, NGOs and institutions.
In Brussels, he worked for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, the European Cycling Federation and the European Civic Forum.
Since he holds a MA in Documentary, he has a particular interest in audio-visual narratives.
Alberto is Spanish and he speaks English, Italian and is working on his French.
Sarah ABOU-CHLEIH
Associate Communications Officer
Sarah ABOU-CHLEIH
Associate Communications Officer
Sarah works on various projects in the Communications team.She has a background in journalism and holds an LL.M. in Human Rights Law from the University of Kent. Having worked as a graphic designer before, she also supports the team with her design skills.
With a passion for human and environmental rights, she previously worked in Oxfam International’s EU office in Brussels and was supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s journalism programme for several years before that.
Sarah speaks German, English and is working on her French.
Bich DAO
Associate Communications Officer
Bich DAO
Associate Communications Officer
Bich works in the Communications team on circular economy.With an MSc in Marketing and a love for visual art, she aims to shape narratives through creative storytelling.
In Brussels, she previously worked in multimedia for the European Parliament, and on her part time she is working on art residency projects that integrates public art and political and climate activism.
Bich speaks English, Swedish, Vietnamese, and is working on her Dutch and French.
Maria Luís Fernandes
Associate Communications Officer
Maria Luís Fernandes
Associate Communications Officer
Maria Luís works in the Communications team covering Industry Decarbonisation.After completing an LL.B. in Law from NOVA School of Law, she went on to pursue a Master’s in Communication and Digital Media from Tilburg University, where she developed research on Disinformation.
With an interest in social, civic and political issues, she previously worked for Brussels-based NGOs.
Maria Luís speaks Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.
Martina MIGLIORANZA
Associate Membership Governance Officer
Martina MIGLIORANZA
Associate Membership Governance Officer
Martina supports the Membership Team on governance matters and membership database maintenance.She holds a master’s degree in Local Development at Padua University.
Martina previously worked and volunteered in a Brazilian NGO implementing social projects and in an environmental non-profit organisation in Belgium as Education and Campaigning Officer.
She speaks Italian, Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and she is working on her Dutch.
Ben Snelson
Associate Communications Officer
Ben SNELSON
Associate Communications Officer
Ben works in the Communications team on agriculture and food systems adaptation.He holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and Spanish (University of Exeter) and Master's degree in European Studies (King’s College London).
Before joining the EEB, his experience includes work at: a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy; the European Parliament (DG COMM); and a European geopolitical think-tank.
A native English speaker, Ben also speaks Spanish and German, and is learning French.
Mario Cecilia
Communications Assistant for Visual Communication
Mario Cecilia
Communications Assistant for Visual Communication
Erica Gentili
Communications Assistant for Nature and Climate
Erica Gentili
Communications Assistant for Nature and Climate
Erica works in the Communication team covering nature (especially biodiversity) but also climate issues, as a bridge between the two areas.She studied Political and Social Sciences at the University of Turin and has a Master's degree in Advanced European and International Studies from CIFE, that she gained by studying in Berlin, Nice and Rome.
She also previously worked as a journalist for a magazine and a NewsChannel website.
She is passionate about journalism, communication and EU politics but especially about promoting change through the protection of the environment and the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises.
Erica is Italian and speaks English, some Spanish and is working on her French.
Finance and Admin Team
Isabel DE JESUS FONSECA
Finance, Personnel & Administration Director
Isabel DE JESUS FONSECA
Finance, Personnel & Administration Director
Isabel is the Finance, Personnel & Administration Director within the EEB team.She graduated from E.C.S.S.A.C.in Liège and previously worked for another Brussels based NGO in the field of Art.
She is Belgian/Portuguese and speaks French, English, and Portuguese.
Aleksandra KOLODZIEJSKA
HR Manager
Aleksandra KOLODZIEJSKA
HR Manager
Aleksandra is responsible for the day-to-day HR operations and activities.Aleksandra graduated in Marketing and Management from Poznan University of Economics and previously worked for two communication agencies in Brussels.
She is Polish and speaks Polish, English and French.
aleksandra.kolodziejska@eeb.org
Carmen BENNER
Finance Manager
Carmen BENNER
Finance Manager
Carmen is the Finance Manager within the EEB team.She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies and graduated in Economics and Business Administration from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
She previously worked as a Project controller and Budget officer for the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.
She is Romanian and Irish, and speaks Romanian, English, a bit of Hungarian and is working on her French.
Joana Cardoso
Executive Coordinator
Quentin MONSIEUR
Office and IT Coordinator
Quentin MONSIEUR
Office and IT Coordinator
Quentin is responsible for IT day-to-day support and IT related contracts.He is also the Office Coordinator of the EEB.
Sandra CAMBULE
HR Officer
Sandra CAMBULE
HR Officer
Sandra supports the day-to-day HR operations and activities.She studied Law at the University of Sassari, and she previously did internships in the Italian Chamber of Commerce in France and in the European Parliament.
She’s passionate about the universe and planets. Sandra is Italian and speaks English and French.
Alessia BIASIOLI
Events Coordinator
Alessia BIASIOLI
Events Coordinator
Alessia is responsible for the coordination of internal working group meetings and external EEB events.Alessia is graduated in International Economics at the University of Padova.
She previously worked for a German healthcare start-up and for an Italian educational centre on human rights.
She is Italian and also speaks English, Spanish, German and some French.
Julie VERDIER
Accounts Officer
Julie VERDIER
Accounts Officer
Julie is responsible for the accounting.
Alina LUKIANOVA
Secretary
Alina LUKIANOVA
Secretary
Alina is the Secretary of the EEB.She also supports the Office Management operations and assists the Secretary General.
Alina studied linguistics in her native Saint-Petersburg, and before moving to Belgium she worked in administrative services.
She speaks Russian, English and Dutch, and uses every opportunity to improve her French.
In her spare time, she enjoys walking in the fields and taking care of her horses.
Jonathan HEYVAERT
IT Technical Support Officer
Jonathan HEYVAERT
IT Technical Support Officer
Jonathan is responsible for IT day-to-day support.
Eline KESTI
Associate Finance Officer
Eline KESTI
Associate Finance Officer
Eline is responsible for the financial management of the projects coordinated by Patrizia Heidegger on Global Policies and Sustainability and by Celia Nyssens on Agriculture, as well as sub-contracting.She holds a MSc in Economic Development from Lund University.
Prior to joining the EEB, she worked in the banking sector and has experience from voluntary work for NGOs.
Eline is Finnish and Swedish and speaks both languages as well as English and is working on her French.
Ervisa CIPI
Associate Finance Officer
Ervisa CIPI
Associate Finance Officer
Ervisa supports financial management of projects coordinated by Luke Haywood on Climate and Stéphane Arditi on Circular Economy, Products & Waste.Ervisa studied Banking and Financial Management for her bachelor’s degree at University of Piraeus, Greece, and did her master’s degree in International Business at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
She speaks Greek, Albanian, and English.
Guillermo BLAZQUEZ
Associate Finance Officer
Guillermo BLAZQUEZ
Associate Finance Officer
Guillermo supports the financial management of projects coordinated by Elena Lymberidiny on Zero Mercury Campaign and Tatiana Santos on Chemicals and Nanotechnology.Guillermo holds a MSc in Sustainable Development and Growth from the University of Castilla-La Mancha.
He previously worked in the banking and insurance sectors and gained experience as coordinator in a youth organization.
He is from Spain and speaks Spanish and English.
Caterina Picciafuoco
Events Assistant
Caterina Picciafuoco
Events Assistant
Caterina works in the Events Team.She has a bachelor's degree in Humanities and a Master's degree in Visual Arts at the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna.
She previously worked in a non-profit organisation, dealing with the preservation of cultural and environmental heritage.
Caterina is Italian, speaks English and is working on her French.
Arianna MATZEDDA
HR Assistant
Arianna MATZEDDA
HR Assistant
Arianna works in the HR team.She studied Psychology at the University of Cagliari.
Arianna previously worked as a psychologist and a teacher. She also volunteered at Universal Civil Service, promoting active citizenship by developing a path of social, civic, cultural and professional training through the human experience of social solidarity.
She’s passionate about human rights and environmental issues.
Arianna is Italian and speaks English, some Spanish and is working on her French.
Marina ROSIGNOLI
Accounting and Finance Assistant
Marina ROSIGNOLI
Accounting and Finance Assistant
Marina works in the Accounting and Finance Teams.She has a bachelor's degree in Global Governance and majored in Economics and Philosophy, in the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Before joining the EEB, she worked with the EU-LAC Foundation in social economic development.
Marina loves to discover new cultures, to travel and the Carnival.
She is a Brazilian-Italian citizen, fluent in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French, and English.
Eleonora VOLPE
Finance Assistant
Eleonora VOLPE
Finance Assistant
Eleonora works in the Finance Team.She has a bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master's degree in Public Policy, with a specialisation in Policy Analysis, from the Hertie School.
Previously, she worked in Berlin as Teaching Assistant for Economics and later on as Operations Analyst in a start-up, promoting economic development.
Eleonora is Italian, speaks English and is working on her French.