Staff and associates

Elena joined Conciliation Resources in September 2009, initially as Caucasus Programme Assistant before moving to Finance. She previously worked as a PR Officer and Campaign Coordinator with Amnesty International in Moscow and as a Project Assistant with Saferworld in London, where she supported local partner organisations in Russia in their activities on small arms control.

She holds a BA in Philosophy and Theology, as well as two Masters degrees in Human Rights and in Political Science. Languages other than English: Russian.

Giulia joined Conciliation Resources in July 2011 as Fundraiser, after working as Programmes Officer with One World Action, an international development organisation protecting women’s rights worldwide.

Previously she had worked as Programme Officer with Women Living Under Muslim Laws, an international solidarity network for women whose lives are subject to laws derived from Islam. Giulia’s voluntary experience includes roles with the United Nations Associations, Save the Children, War on Want and Emergency UK.

Prior to attending an MA in Human Rights, Giulia participated in a community development project in India, where she organised vocational trainings for women and girls. Languages other than English: Spanish and Italian.

Priscilla joined Conciliation Resources in April 2008, with responsibility for fundraising and donor relationships. Prior to this she held fundraising roles at the Media Trust and YWCA England and Wales, both UK-based charities.

Previously she had worked as a project consultant in Indonesia and was a TV producer and reporter based in Singapore. She holds a Masters degree in International Politics from The School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London.

Michael joined Conciliation Resources in November 2011. He was previously Director of Finance and Support Services at the charity Reach Volunteering for more than three years. Prior to that he had been the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's Director of Finance and Administration and US Treasurer for four years. This followed working at Barclays for 20 years in a number of roles across the bank. He has an MBA from the Open University and a keen interest in gardening.

Nicolas Tillon joined Conciliation Resources in December 2010. He holds a Masters degree in Violence, Conflict and Development from the University of London (SOAS).

In the six years prior to joining us, Nicolas worked in several conflict-affected countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. His most recent position was with International Alert in eastern DRC coordinating research and working with community organisations to enhance community dialogue in conflict areas. Languages other than English: French.

Nerea Bilbatúa joined Conciliation Resources in January 2012 as gender adviser for the Philippines and Colombia programmes. Nerea has lived for the past decade in South East Asia working as Programme Coordinator at the International Secretariat of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, supporting women rights NGOs globally, and as Programme Officer at UNESCO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Nerea earned a Masters degree in Human Rights and Democratization from the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC), where she focused on the right to reparation for victims of gross human rights violations. She also holds a degree in Sociology with a major in Anthropology. Languages other than English: Spanish, Catalan and French.

Rachel joined Conciliation Resources full-time in July 2001, after previously working as Caucasus Programme Associate. Prior to this she held the Max Hayward Research Fellowship at St.Antony's College, Oxford and worked as a lecturer in Russian at the University of North Wales, Bangor.

For several years Rachel worked as a volunteer/consultant for local and international organisations in the Caucasus. She has served on Quaker Peace and Social Witness committees concerning work in the former Soviet Union.

She has a degree in Russian and Spanish from the University of Cambridge, and a doctorate (DPhil) from the University of Oxford on the politics of literature and identity in Abkhazia. Languages other than English: Russian, German, Spanish.

Rhona joined Conciliation Resources in 2004 after gaining a Masters in International Studies from the University of Reading. She has a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Durham and from 2000–2002 worked in Moscow as a school director for an English Language school chain.

Before this she worked at the Royal Society, administering grants to support collaboration between scientists from the former Soviet Union and the UK, and at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where she arranged visits for official guests to the UK. Languages other than English: Russian, French and German.

Violet joined Conciliation Resources in September 2001 after eight years as finance officer for the YMCA and a private company Electro Tech Ltd. She provides financial and administrative support to Conciliation Resources’ West Africa field operations, with specific responsibility for financial relations with project partners.

She has a diploma in Accounting and Finance and has undertaken a series of training with Management Accounting for Non Governmental Organisations (MANGO).  Languages spoken: English, Mende and Krio.

Felix joined Conciliation Resources in August 2010, initially as an intern with the Policy and Comparative Learning team (now Policy, Practice and Communications). Having worked on short-term development projects in Senegal and Mongolia during his undergraduate degree, Felix completed his Masters in Human Rights Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in September 2009.

Since then, he has gained experience at Index on Censorship in London, and returned in June 2010 from a four-month consultancy in Central African Republic, where he worked on a human rights protection programme with Mercy Corps UK. Other than English, he speaks fluent French.

Sophie joined Conciliation Resources in February 2010. She previously managed the advocacy platform of leading British and Irish non-governmental organisations with programmes in Colombia, ABColombia.

Before that Sophie worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Algeria on governance and human rights issues. She also worked as an early warning consultant for the World Food Programme in Rome and for the International Crisis Group in Colombia and Brussels.

Sophie holds a Masters degree in International Relations and International Economics with a specialisation in Conflict Management from Johns Hopkins University, USA, and a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol, UK. Languages: English and French (fluent) Spanish (good) Dutch and Italian (basic).

Alexander joined Conciliation Resources in August 2009 as Accord Series Editor. Before this he was a research fellow in the international programme at the Institute for Public Policy Research.

He worked as specialist adviser to the House of Lords European Union (EU) Select Committee in its inquiry into the EU Strategy for Africa, before which he was head of the Peace and Security Programme at the United Nations Association-UK. He has also been an associate fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House. Alexander completed a PhD in July 2011.