Introduction
Director of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). I've worked full-time on evaluation since 1999 with GEF and UNDP (where aI served as Evaluation Advisor and Deputy Director of IEO). In these functions I've managed and conducted numerous evaluations, focusing especially on environment-poverty interlinkages, which is my major interest. I spent the 1990s at UNU as Academic / Sr. Academic Programme Officer for environment and sustainable development. I've written extensively on issues related to environment, sustainable development, environmental hazards and evaluation. I've had visiting positions at Kyoto University, Rutgers University and the University of Montana. A native of Finland, I was educated at the University of Helsinki and Lund University, and I hold a PhD in Social and Economic Geography.
Expert
Evaluation: Director, GEF Independent Evaluation Office (2014-); Deputy Director (2009-2014), Evaluation Advisor (2005-2009), UNDP Independent Evaluation Office; Senior M&E Specialist / Coordinator, UNDP/GEF (1999-2004); Executive Coordinator, UN Evaluation Group (2009-2012; 2014); Coordinator, UNEG Working Group on Incorporating Environmental and Social Impact into Evaluations (2019-); Associate Expert, IFAD (1984-1987).
Environment, natural resources management, environmental hazards, sustainable development: Academic / Senior Academic Officer, United Nations University (1990-1999).
Academic: Visiting Professor of Global Practice, Rutgers University (2013-2016); Visiting Scholar (2005; 2013), International Advisor (2012-2014), Kyoto University; Visiting Scholar, University of Montana (2013); Research Fellow, Nordic Africa Institute (1988-1989).
Author / editor of several books (newest: Evaluating Environment in International Development; Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development; Universities and the Sustainable Development Future; Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction); author of 40+ journal articles on evaluation, sustainable development and environmental hazards.
Fields of expertise: Environmental policy / climate change, Evidence for policy / knowledge valorization, Monitoring and evaluation