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WFSA Staff

The WFSA is led and run by volunteers and is consequently able to keep staff numbers low.

Our small Secretariat supports all aspects of the Federation’s work including programme management, fundraising, membership, volunteering and governance and is based in London.

Kristine Stave

Chief Executive Officer

Kristine Stave

Prior to taking over as WFSA CEO in June 2022, Kristine was the founding Executive Director and subsequently Global COO of Lifebox, the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to surgical safety. During her 11 years with Lifebox, the organization distributed over 30,000 pulse oximeters to anaesthesia providers in more than 100 countries, developed a ground-breaking surgical site infection reduction programme (Clean Cut) and delivered capacity-building work across low-resource settings.

Kristine’s earlier career includes time spent working on patient safety issues, including surgical safety at the World Health Organization in Geneva and at the UK Department of Health.

Maria Tortajada Chardi

Membership Manager

Maria, our colleague from Valencia (Spain), is the digital nomad of the team. With almost 20 years of experience in managing International Congresses and Events, for the last 7 years, she has also been working in Digital Marketing, providing training to entrepreneurs and small businesses, supporting them in the digitalization of their companies and in the optimization and use of their social networks. 

At WFSA she is responsible for Membership and Mentorship Programs, developing her work in English, French and Spanish. Together with the rest of the team, she serves globally, both to the various societies of anaesthesiologists and to their members around the world. When not working for the WFSA, Maria enjoys her family life with her husband and son, spending her time between Valencia and the South of France.

 

Niamo Yassin

Governance Manager

Niamo has a strong interest in global health and in governance. Prior to joining the WFSA, Niamo worked as a Programme Coordinator for a national clinical audit programme at the Royal College of Physicians, and has previously worked as a Commissioning Assistant within the NHS.  Niamo has also earned a degree in History and Arabic at SOAS, University of London.

Matthew Rothero

Partnerships Manager

Prior to joining WFSA, Matt worked as institutional fundraiser in development and humanitarian contexts for more than 14 years. This includes longer term deployments to the South Caucasus region with Oxfam, working as part as Oxfam’s Syria Crisis Response based in Lebanon, and more recently with ActionAid, deployments to Somaliland in response to the East Africa Food crisis, and to Bangladesh as part of ActionAid’s Rohingya Crisis Response. Matt brings extensive experience of fostering relationships with donors, working closely with colleagues to prepare proposals, contract management, and reporting. Matt’s voluntary experience includes working with a small Oxford based charity called Asylum Welcome where he acted as a voluntary Youth Support Worker helping to run a youth club for young, male, asylum seekers arriving in the UK. 

Francis Peel

Communications & Advocacy Manager

Francis has over 15 years’ experience working in communications, marketing and advocacy for global health and not for profit organisations. Prior to joining WFSA, Francis ran Global Health Comms, a consultancy providing communication services to research groups working primarily in public health. His clients included London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Economist Group and Imperial College London. He has worked on a wide range of global health issues  including school health and nutrition, neglected tropical diseases, small-holder agriculture, malaria and WASH. When not promoting global health initiatives Francis can be found at home being given the run around by his two kids.

Sophie Harris

Communications Officer

Sophie has a background in Communications. Prior to joining WFSA, she worked with a non-profit organisation that focused on equal vocational and educational opportunities for women worldwide. She has a degree in English from UCL.  

Rosa Garriga Mora

Digital Learning Officer

Rosa Garriga Mora serves as the Digital Learning Officer at the WFSA, where she coordinates ATOTW, UIA, and other online educational initiatives. With a background in Communications and Event Management, Rosa’s 13 years of prior experience involved collaborating with medical and scientific associations to enhance their online offerings and congresses.

She has a keen interest in developing digital learning solutions that strengthen the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals, with a strong focus on measuring learning outcomes. 

Amal Paonaskar

Head of Programmes

Amal has an academic background in Biomedical Sciences and Global Health. Before joining the WFSA, he supported the programmes of Shaishav, a children’s rights organisation working with marginalised children in urban slums and remote regions of India. He has also worked on community-driven projects aimed at supporting education and livelihoods in Nepal and Zambia and spent time working with the NHS in the UK.

Amelia Crowther

Programme Manager

Amelia has a strong interest in global health and international development. Prior to joining WFSA, Amelia worked for a non-profit membership organisation as a Projects Officer to deliver international programmes focusing on improving skin health globally. She has also worked as a Research Assistant for a university health department. Her volunteering experience includes working in refugee support for the British Red Cross, supporting hurricane disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean, and teaching in Malawi.

Amelia has earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Geography and a master’s degree in International Development with Conflict and Humanitarian Action.

Lauren Hyland

Projects Officer

Lauren has a keen interest in international relations and development. She is just beginning her career in the charity sector after completing her Master’s degree in International Relations in 2021.

In her spare time, she works as a fundraising volunteer for the British Red Cross and with Involve Kent in her local community.

Lauren also has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, which she looks forward to making use of in this role.

Laurie Barnes

Projects Officer

Laurie has a keen interest in international development and humanitarian aid. Prior to joining the WFSA, she worked with international and local organisations on needs assessments and shelter responses. Laurie has earned a master’s degree in international development, with conflict and humanitarian action and specialised in international development management. 

At the WFSA, Laurie is a Projects Officer, she is coordinating the SAFE Programme within the secretariat and is leading on the scholarship programme, small grants, and awards. 

Leslie Enobun

Finance & Operations Manager

Leslie has over 16 years of experience in Finance. Prior to joining WFSA, Leslie worked as a Finance Manager at The National Federations of Women’s Institute where he presented the accounts to Board of Trustees and Finance Committee.

Leslie earned a degree in Accounting from the Ambrose Alli University in Nigeria, where he was born, before moving to England in 2005 to study for a master’s degree in Middlesex University. Leslie also holds an MSc & MA in Financial Management with HR.

When he isn’t working with numbers, Leslie loves to sing, watch films and travel.

Hazi Khader

Finance & Operations Officer

Prior joining to WFSA, Hazi worked as Finance Officer in the Children’s charity Coram for nearly 7 years. She has a degree in Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Finance & Accounts from Madras University (India). Throughout her career, Hazi has noticed that she loves numbers. After a busy day at work, she loves to spend time with her family

 

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