Our Team in Sri Lanka

Marc-André Franche has served the United Nations for over 24 years. Prior to his appointment as the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, he acted as the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Libya promoting better governance, local peacebuilding and sustainable growth.

Between 2016 and 2021, he led the Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund in the Peacebuilding Support Office in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, investing in over 50 countries worldwide to sustain peace. Prior to this assignment he was Country Director for UNDP in Pakistan from 2013 to 2016, where he led a team working on governance, climate change adaptation and crisis prevention and recovery. He was Deputy Director of UNDP in Haiti from 2008 to 2012 where he oversaw the implementation of programs addressing governance, rule of law reform, improvement of livelihoods and environmental protection notably in the context of the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction. Between 2004 and 2008, he worked for UNDP in New York as Program Adviser for Conflict Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before that he worked on applied research and policy dialogue for UNDP in Colombia from 2001 to 2004, and poverty reduction and local governance for UNDP in Bolivia from 1998 to 2001.

Azusa Kubota joined UNDP in Sri Lanka as the Resident Representative in January 2023. Prior to her appointment in Sri Lanka, Ms. Kubota served as the Resident Representative for UNDP in Bhutan from 2019-2022, where she led overall operations, programme implementation, strategic vision setting and representation of the office in the country. She has served UNDP in multiple leadership capacities over the years as the Manager and Head of Office of UNDP in the Solomon Islands and the UN Joint Presence Office Manager (2016 – 2019); Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Lao PDR (2014 – 2016) and UNDP Maldives (2011-2014). She led UNDP’s independent country programme and thematic evaluations in multiple countries across regions, while working for UNDP’s Independent Evaluation Office from 2008 to 2011. Her career with UNDP began as the Programme Analyst- Sustainable Economic Empowerment Unit, UNDP Malawi in 2002. Prior to joining the UN, she worked for non-government organizations, including the International Law Institute in Washington DC.

A national of Japan, Ms. Kubota holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs in Economic and Political Development from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, USA; and a Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College, Northampton, USA. She has spent a semester at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal.

With more than 20 years of experience in development and operations across several different regions and organisations, Mr. Callanan has served as the Director of UNOPS Multi-Country Office, responsible for UNOPS operations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Prior to this he served as Director of UNOPS New York Office where he managed operations in 110 countries and represented UNOPS in the Executive Board. He has been responsible for planning and managing projects with up to 179,000 personnel,
has worked for the private sector, United Nations and the military.

With extensive experience in humanitarian, development and post-conflict settings, he has worked in Afghanistan, East Timor, Sudan, Iraq, China, UAE, State of Palestine, Denmark, USA, Nepal, Jordan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He has won UNOPS Executive Director’s award four times, graduated with Honours in Science from the University of New South Wales, and as a Sloan Fellow was granted an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Sloan Business School focused on Innovation and Global Leadership. Most recently as part of the COVID-19 humanitarian response he has led his teams to deliver $100M emergency projects for medical supplies.

Before her appointment as the UNICEF Representative to Sri Lanka she served as the Deputy Representative for UNICEF in Bangladesh from 2022-2025, and in a similar role in Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that she served with UNICEF Mozambique from 2013 to 2019, including as Chief of Planning. Before joining UNICEF, Emma worked for the Aga Khan Foundation, first in Washington DC, then in Mozambique supporting donor engagement and community-led projects. She has also worked at a UK-based think tank, Chatham House, where she was responsible for supporting Track II diplomacy in the Middle East.

Harshini Halangode has over 20 years of experience in international development, having worked extensively in sectors focusing on sustainability, environment, climate change, trade, tourism and rehabilitation as Programme Manager in the Delegation of the EU in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. She holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Colombo.

Joni Simpson is the Country Director for ILO activities in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. She has 26 years of experience working on issues relating to gender equality and inclusion in the world of work, with over 20 years working internationally.

Previously she was ILO’s Senior Specialist on gender equality and non-discrimination, covering East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. She was also an Advisory member of the ILO’s Disability Champions’ Network. Prior to that, she headed ILO’s Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Entrepreneurship Education programmes from Geneva.

She holds a master’s degree in Cultural anthropology and a bachelor’s in education. Before joining the ILO, she headed a Women’s Enterprise Center and social purpose enterprise in Canada. She has lived and worked in the Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

Kristin Parco has more than 24 years of experience in migration, health, humanitarian & development work in Haiti, Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia. Ms. Parco is from the Philippines, and she started her career in Cambodia in 1998 working with various INGOs. Since 2000, she has worked with IOM on migration programmes focusing on labor and human development, counter trafficking, migration and development, migration governance, migration health, border management and emergency and post-crisis response. She served as the Chief of Mission of IOM Cambodia prior to being posted to Sri Lanka. During this period, Ms. Parco served as the UN Resident Coordinator a.i in Cambodia on numerous occasions.

Philip brings 30 years of experience in international humanitarian assistance and development, largely within the United Nations system. For the past five years, he has served as Secretary to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme, managing the interface between the management and governing Board at WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy. His previous WFP assignments include Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe, overseeing operations in 14 countries, and Senior Donor Relations Officer, leading a team to build partnerships with key donors worldwide. He also has extensive field experience in emergency humanitarian operations, having served in WFP’s frontline responses in Sierra Leone, Iraq, Haiti, and for Syrian refugees. Before joining the UN, Philip worked as an Evaluation Officer at Canada’s International Development Research Centre.

Mr. Wangyel joined the UNFPA Country Office on January 2022. He is an experienced development professional with an expertise on policy analysis.

Before joining UNFPA, he worked as Chief of Research and Evaluation Division, Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) and experienced working in the field of development planning and coordination, and research under the Ministry of Finance.

His experience includes coordinating the formulation of development plan and programmes, aid coordination, design and conduct of evaluations and designing and formulating targeted poverty intervention programmes. More recently he led the formulation of the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities and the led review of numerous public policies including the policy for Accelerating Mother and Child Health Policy.

Mr. Wangyel has a Master of International and Development Economics from The Australian National University, Australia. A national of Bhutan, Mr. Wangyel is married with two children.

Ms Salgado assumed her position as Head of Office in 2014 when UN Women established a programme presence in Sri Lanka. Previously, she served in different capacities in various international development agencies and local not-for-profit organisations, including the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, Care International, Save the Children, and the Centre for Policy Alternatives. A national of Sri Lanka, Ms Salgado holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the National Institute of Social Development, Sri Lanka, and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Delhi in India. She has over 14 years of experience in International Development and has worked extensively on issues pertaining to women’s rights and gender equality with a special focus on governance, peace and security issues.

Sanjitha Satyamurthy has more than a decade of experience with UNHCR in Sri Lanka working on refugee rights, protection, and solutions. She holds a degree in Legal Studies and Business Administration (USA) and a LL. B (UK). She has more than 15 years of experience working on displacement issues. Ms. Satyamurthy joined the United Nations in 2006 with FAO in the aftermath of the Tsunami and thereafter worked with UNDP on Transition and Recovery of the displaced prior to joining UNHCR.

Ms Sharmalee Jayasinghe joined UNV as the Country Coordinator in January 2018. She has over 25 years of experience in the development sector. She initially joined the UN system through UNDP and subsequently served with ILO prior to joining UNV. Her experience is largely in the volunteering sector. With a background in management, she has extensive experience in large-scale advocacy initiatives, partnership development, project management and working with youth. Sharmalee was educated in Sri Lanka and she holds a Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Ms. Song, a South Korean national, serves as Officer-in-Charge of the UNODC Programme Office in Sri Lanka (POLKA). She brings 10 years of professional experience with the United Nations, covering both Africa and Asia. Ms. Song joined POLKA in 2022 as Regional Programme Coordinator in charge of the Eastern Indian Ocean region for UNODC’s Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP).

Prior to taking up this post, Ms. Song worked for various UNODC programme, country and regional offices across Africa, including in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In 2019, she joined the Global Maritime Crime Programme, for which she also acts as human rights focal point. Throughout her UNODC experience, Ms. Song has been responsible for programme/project coordination and management, specializing in criminal justice responses to transnational organized crime and illicit trafficking, both on land and at sea.

Ms. Song is a lawyer and holds Master’s degree in Public International Law from the Sorbonne, in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Université Panthéon-Assas, as well as in the Law of the Sea and Maritime Security from Nantes Université. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Law from the Université de Bretagne Occidentale.

Sharan brings with him nearly three decades of national and international government leadership experience focusing on rural development, agriculture and food security issues. As a former member of the Indian Administrative Service, he has worked with the Indian Government extensively in rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra and has also been actively involved in agriculture and food policy formulation working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in New Delhi. Sharan holds a degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, India and an MBA in Public Policy from the University of Birmingham, UK.