Meet the team
HEBA ALY, DIRECTOR
Heba has worked with IRIN in different capacities since 2007, including as field correspondent and Middle East Editor, and played a key role in planning and executing IRIN’s spin-off from the United Nations to become an independent media organization. She is a regular commentator on humanitarian policy in her published work, in governmental briefings and at conferences around the world. Heba speaks English, French, Arabic and Spanish.
Follow Heba on Twitter or contact her via email: [email protected]
OBI ANYADIKE, EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND AFRICA EDITOR
Obi is an online journalist and editor, with extensive experience covering international development issues, Africa and the Global South. Obi began his career as a back-packing journalist writing for the Economist and other London-based African publications. He was the Zambia correspondent for Inter Press Service, chronicling the start of the multiparty wave in Anglophone Africa, and went on to cover the upheavals in Somalia and Ethiopia. He later worked as Africa Editor for IPS based in Zimbabwe, working with a team of young pioneers carving out space for progressive, independent media on the continent. A regular commentator on Boko Haram, Obi holds an MA in Peace and Conflict studies from the University of Notre Dame.
Follow Obi on Twitter or contact him via email: [email protected]
EMMELINE BOOTH, OUTREACH AND REPORTING OFFICER
Emmeline joined IRIN as an intern in 2015, after graduating from City University with a degree in journalism. She was IRIN's editorial assistant before taking on her current position. Emmeline prepares reports for prospective donors, identifies new funding opportunities, handles republication and partnership requests, keeps track of IRIN's impact and assists with editorial production. She speaks English and French.
Follow Emmeline on Twitter or contact her via email: [email protected]
VICTORIA BYTSKO, ADMIN AND FINANCE OFFICER
Victoria joined IRIN in late 2016 after 20 years working for Médecins Sans Frontières, both in the field on long term missions and emergency interventions (in DRC, Burundi, Angola, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria) and in HR at the Brussels head office, responsible for the cell managing operations in South Sudan, DRC and Guinea. On top of her experience in the humanitarian sector, she worked as line producer for the TV reality programme “Peking Express” in Russia, Mongolia and China between 2004 and 2005.
Contact Victoria via email: [email protected]
KENNETH DIMALIBOT, SOCIAL AND MULTIMEDIA OFFICER
Kenneth joined IRIN in 2017 after several years working with Save the Children and the Red Cross in media, communication, and marketing roles. With his experience in building brand experiences across digital and emerging channels, Kenneth will help drive our audience growth and engagement, while overseeing our presence on social media, developing our creative multimedia content strategy, and honing our analytics.
Follow Kenneth on Twitter or contact him via email: [email protected]
JARED FERRIE, ASIA EDITOR
Jared joined IRIN in 2015 to oversee coverage of Asia. Previously, he was a Reuters correspondent in Myanmar, and a South Sudan correspondent for Bloomberg News. Jared's work has been published or broadcast in Global Post, Radio Deutsche Welle, CBC, CNN, The Christian Science Monitor, and France 24, among others. He has reported from countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. He holds a Masters of Journalism from the University of British Columbia.
Follow Jared on Twitter or contact him via email: [email protected]
RICHARD GOLDING, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Richard began his professional career in the UK as a Chartered Accountant before joining PwC as a management consultant, specialising in Finance, Governance and Risk Management. His career with PwC spanned 25 years and culminated with eight years as Global Relationship Partner for the United Nations System, the Global Fund, and other multilateral organisations. Richard was also an advisor to the UK and Swiss governments on their foreign and international development policy think tanks. Since 2013, he has been working as an independent consultant and also serves as a Board member and Finance Committee Chair for the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, and as an advisor to the Finance & Accountability Committee of Unitaid in Geneva. Richard joined IRIN as Director of Finance in 2017.
Contact Richard via email: [email protected]
ANDREW GULLY, CHIEF EDITOR
Andrew joined IRIN in 2015. He is a journalist and editor whose 12-year career at Agence France-Presse took him from Paris to London to Hong Kong to Washington via short stints in Jakarta, Jerusalem, Moscow, Baghdad and Port-au-Prince. His final years at AFP were spent as Deputy Desk Chief for North America, running the editorial output for the Americas and covering Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
Follow Andrew on Twitter or contact him via email: [email protected]
DANA HAZIN, ARABIC EDITOR
Dana has been managing IRIN’s Arabic service since 2007. Before joining IRIN, she was an Arabic Language Editor at ME Printer, a magazine in Dubai Media City and an editor at Info2cell, a wireless information provider in Jordan. Dana holds a MSc. in Poverty Reduction from University of London/School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She is fluent in English and Arabic.
Follow Dana on Twitter or contact her via email: [email protected]
SARAH NOBLE, DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Follow Sarah on Twitter or contact her via email: [email protected]
BEN PARKER, SENIOR EDITOR
Ben has worked for various development agencies in Africa (including Oxfam, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the European Union and the UN Environment Programme). He set up the initial editorial and online systems for IRIN in 1995 and later moved into web publishing in the private sector with Africa Online in 2000. In 2007, he returned to IRIN, taking over as Editor-in-Chief and Director. As a UN communications officer in Sudan from 2003-2006, he was closely involved in raising the alarm about Darfur internationally and released some of the first photos and TV footage of the crisis.
Follow Ben on Twitter and Medium or contact him via email: [email protected]
ANNIE SLEMROD, MIDDLE EAST EDITOR
Annie is a journalist and editor, covering the Middle East. From 2010-2013 she reported on Lebanon for Beirut’s The Daily Star, where she focused on Palestinian refugees. After leaving Beirut, she covered Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a freelancer for IRIN, The Independent, and The American Prospect. Annie holds a Masters in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Follow Annie on Twitter or contact her via email: [email protected]