Secretary-General and Staff | World Federation of United Nations Associations

Secretary-General

Bonian Golmohammadi

Bonian Golmohammadi was elected Secretary-General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) in August 2009. Previously, Mr. Golmohammadi served as Secretary-General of the United Nations Association (UNA) of Sweden for eight years. Under his leadership, UNA-Sweden increased its budget from $1 million to $5 million, and expanded its staff from 10 to 30 full-time employees. A new cooperation fund with the corporate sector was set up, which involves multinational companies in long-term partnership ventures. During his tenure, Mr. Golmohammadi introduced several new programmatic initiatives, such as a bilateral international project in more than ten countries including China, Georgia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The projects ranged on issues from the Millennium Development Goals, conflict prevention, human rights and organizational capacity building.

In addition to programmatic initiatives, Mr. Golmohammadi guided UNA-Sweden to increase its marketing and public relations capacity. As a result, UNA-Sweden was awarded a Gold Medal at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 for True Evidence of War, a media campaign to support war victims of Georgia. UNA Sweden won a gold medal at the EuroBest Advertising Awards in 2009 as well as several PR, advertising and marketing awards in Sweden. UNA Sweden now has over 110 local chapters all over Sweden and more than 100 national organizations as members.

Since 2005, Mr. Golmohammadi has served as President of the UNA Europe Network, coordinating United Nations Associations from all over Europe. He has served or is serving on various advisory boards for Swedish Ministers for Development, international development corporations, UN entities, and civil society organizations. Prior to joining UNA-Sweden, Mr. Golmohammadi worked with consultancy and private businesses in Sweden and the Czech Republic, including developing a national globalization project for high schools, working with publishing as well as project management.

Mr. Golmohammadi earned a degree in Political Science, and has studied International Law, Human Rights and Philosophy, from Stockholm and Uppsala Universities.

Speeches and Statements

End of Year Message, December 2009
Keynote Speech at the Harvard National Model United Nations Conference, February 2010
Message on the Launch of the International Year of Youth, August 2010
United Nations Day Message, October 2010
Human Rights Day Message, December 2010
Statement Regarding Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami, March 2011
Keynote Speech at the Beijing Foreign Studies University Model United Nations Conference, December 2011
Human Rights Day Message, December 2011
End of Year Message 2011, December 2011
Keynote Speech at the Moscow International Model United Nations Conference, April 2012

Staff

Allen Abi-Yaghi

Finance and Administration Officer

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Allen Abi-Yaghi is the Finance and Administration Officer at the World Federation of UN Associations. Allen holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business and a Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations with concentrations in Conflict Resolution and the Middle East. Prior to joining the WFUNA team, Allen worked in Finance at JPMorgan Prime Broker servicing Hedge Funds.

Kimberely Hall

Youth Program Officer

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Kimberely Hall is the Youth Program Officer at WFUNA. She is responsible for developing and coordinating youth programs and the youth network, as well as integrating youth initiatives in WFUNA’s policy areas. Kimberely brings with her experience in youth programming, communications, research, and social media. She holds a M.A. in Korean Studies from Yonsei University, with a focus on Asian regionalism, migration, and international security, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations.

Wiebke Harms

Human Rights Education Program Officer

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Wiebke Harms is the Human Rights Education Program Officer at the WFUNA office in Geneva. She is responsible for the implementation of WFUNA’s educational programs, the development of information and educational materials, as well as the strengthening of WFUNA’s links with relevant actors in Geneva. Wiebke has several years of experience in the management and monitoring of humanitarian and development projects in the areas of education and health and has worked for human rights training programs in Geneva. She holds a M.A. in International Relations from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and in International Humanitarian Action from Uppsala University.

Irene Martinetti

Director of Programs

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Irene Martinetti is the Director of Programs of the World Federation of UN Associations Office in Geneva. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a B.A. and M.A. in East Asian Studies from Ca’ Foscari University, Italy. Her previous work experiences include employment as Senior Research Associate at the Center for UN Reform in New York and as Business Development Manager for Panalpina China Ltd, and internships with BBC Beijing and UNDP. She is fluent in English, French and Mandarin Chinese and has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Fruzsina Molnar Straus

Communications and Programme Officer

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Fruzsina Molnar Straus is the Communications and Programme Officer at WFUNA’s New York Office. She holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Seton Hall University and a B.A. in Political Science from Hunter College, New York. Fruzsina joined WFUNA in 2004 and has recently returned as a staff member after a year’s leave of absence. Fruzsina is responsible for UN affairs, partnerships, member support, and program planning. She is the Editor of ACRONYM, WFUNA’s series publication on United Nations topics. Prior to joining WFUNA, Fruzsina worked as a Marketing Assistant for an international company in New York, and in University Administration at the Central European University in Hungary, her country of origin.

Laura Spano

Responsibility to Protect Program Officer

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Laura is the Responsibility to Protect Program Officer coordinating WFUNAs program to raise awareness on and advocate for the prevention of mass atrocities. She has many years experience coordinating international advocacy and awareness raising projects.

Laura has worked closely with grassroots organisations in Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, DRC, Armenia, China, USA and Australia on civilian protection issues. Experiences range from working with local Rwandan human rights organizations to increase advocacy skills of youth to working for the Darfur Australia Network in Austraila on protection issues - analyzing refugee policy and implementing community engagement activities. Additionally, she currently coordinates youth-organized projects implementing education opportunities in Rwanda. Laura has spent time in the field researching civilian protection and post-conflict integration. She has a post-graduate Honours Degree in Development specializing in post-conflict reconstruction and genocide prevention, a B.A. (International Relations and Development), and a Diploma of Modern Languages (French) from the University of Melbourne, Australia and McGill University, Canada.

Julia Diegel

Development Assistant - Consultant
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Julia assists the Development Officer in researching prospective donors and coordinating fundraising plans with Program Officers and Interns. She schedules and coordinates meetings and the drafting of donor correspondences, gift acknowledgements, and applications.

Marie-Marguerite Sabongui

Climate Change Officer - Consultant
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Marie-Marguerite is responsible for coordinating WFUNA's sustainable development advocacy and education activities in the lead up to the Rio+20 Conference, as well as for developing WFUNA's climate change program, Go Beyond.

Interns

Kate D'Angelo - New York
Judith Parker - Geneva
Nattawan Junboonta - New York
Sarah Segler - Geneva
Jonathan Simba Kai - Geneva