Carina Perelli, Chairwoman

Carina Perelli brings more than 15 years of democracy and governance experience to her role as head of IFES’ Executive Advisory Council and Vice President of Development and Outreach. Her professional relationship with IFES began in 1993 and includes field work in the Dominican Republic, West Bank/Gaza and Paraguay.

Ms. Perelli enjoyed an extensive and high-profile career with the United Nations, having most recently served as the director of the Electoral Assistance Division responsible for operations in some 60 countries. She played a direct role in the electoral transitions of countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. She also led efforts to develop a comprehensive regional strategy for political and electoral transition in the Middle East. At the United Nations Development Programme, Ms. Perelli served as deputy director of the Management Development and Governance Division’s Bureau of Policy and Planning.

A prolific writer, Ms. Perelli most recently authored a chapter on electoral transitions in Every Vote Counts: The Role of Elections in Building Democracy. Many of her other writings analyze social and political trends in South America, including her native Uruguay. Ms. Perelli completed postgraduate studies in Government at the University of Notre Dame, has a bachelor degree in social work from the University of the Republic of Uruguay and postgraduate degree in sociology at CIESU/FLACSO.

Jean-Claude Colliard

Jean-Claude Colliard is an internationally-recognized specialist in the rule of law whose career in public service and academia spans four decades. He is currently an official delegate of France for the Venice Commission/Council of Europe.  Prior to this post, he served for almost a decade as a member of the Constitutional Council of France.  In public service, he was chief of staff to French National Assembly President Laurent Fabius and head of the office of French President François Mitterrand. In academia, he distinguished himself at the Politiques de Paris, as professor in the Institute of Public Administration of Nantes, dean of the Faculty of law and political science at Nantes and professor and head of the political science department at the University of Paris I.

Jean-Claude Colliard holds a doctorate of law and degrees from the Faculty of Law of Paris and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. His publications include numerous articles and books including The Independent Republicans and The Contemporary Parliamentary Systems.

Nguyen Huu Dong

Dong Nguyen brings 20 years of electoral experience to the Executive Advisory Council. He currently serves as the international project manager for the United Nations Development Program in Mexico specializing in political participation and representation in indigenous communities. Prior to this position, he worked as a special advisor to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean-Mexico for Haiti, as an advisor on governance to the United Nations Development Programme in Mexico and as one of three international advisers to select members of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq.  During his extensive career with the United Nations, Mr. Nguyen provided electoral support to more than 30 countries, including serving as the head of the UN Advance Team for Electoral Assistance in East Timor, special advisor to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa and head of the UN Observation Electoral Mission in Fiji.

Mr. Nguyen’s contributions to academia include serving as a visiting professor to universities in his native Vietnam, Mexico, Algeria and Thailand, as well as a lecturer at the Université de Paris X and a visiting fellow at Sussex University. Mr. Nguyen holds a doctorate in economic sociology from Université de Paris V/Ecôle des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, a master’s degree in sociology from Université de Paris-Sorbonne and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Université de Lausanne.

Denis Kadima

Denis Kadima has been with the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) for 10 years and serving as its executive director since 2002. Prior to his appointment as EISA's head, Mr. Kadima was country director in Lesotho and senior program manager in Namibia for the National Democratic Institute. He has published extensively on the field of elections, democracy and governance and he has also been involved in efforts to develop common electoral norms and standards for the African region. Since heading EISA, Mr. Kadima has broadened the geographical and programmatic scopes of the organisation, which now encompass the whole of Africa as well as other governance fields beyond elections, such as political party strengthening, legislative work, local governance and the African Peer Review Mechanism. He speaks French, English and basic Portuguese.

Rafael López-Pintor

Rafael López-Pintor is one of the most well-known names in the field of electoral assistance, having led projects in more than 20 countries during his career. As IFES’ chief of party in Nicaragua, he works with the Supreme Electoral Council to build the country’s electoral infrastructure and increase access for voters with disabilities. López-Pintor’s other work for IFES includes lending his expertise to projects in West Bank/Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Yemen.

For the United Nations, López-Pintor has served as an elections advisor on four continents — including leading a monitoring mission in Nepal — and was the main researcher and writer of a UNDP-commissioned policy book on electoral management bodies. He also has worked as a deputy chief observer of European Union missions in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Ecuador and Nicaragua, as well serving in various positions with the OSCE and National Democratic Institute.

A tenured professor at Universidad Autonoma in Madrid, López-Pintor writes and speaks extensively about democracy development. His most recent books include: Getting to the CORE - A Global Survey on the Cost of Registration and Elections and Electoral Management Bodies as Institutions of Governance and Voter Turnout 1945-2002: A Global Survey. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctor in law from the University Complutense in Madrid.

Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann

Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann has had a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors. Presently, he serves as special envoy for the Swiss Ministry of Foreign affairs in Sub-Sahara Africa. Prior to, he served as UN High Representative for Elections in Côte d’Ivoire and as director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. In 1997, he was appointed ambassador and director of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. There he developed the institution’s pre-eminence in election assistance and observation throughout the OSCE area, strengthened its democratization and human rights programs and the organized diplomatic conferences on sensitive human rights issues. Other public service postings include serving as personal adviser to Federal Councilor Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Economy, and serving as deputy head of the Swiss representation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Ambassador Stoudmann’s private sector experience includes working as managing director of the Saint Gallen Foundation for International Studies, University of Saint Gallen and the Saint Gallen International Management Symposium. He holds degrees in law from the University of Lausanne and international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Carlos Valenzuela

Carlos Valenzuela has more than 15 years of experience in managing post-conflict and transitional elections for the United Nations. Most recently, he served as chief adviser to the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone during the country’s 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections. Other notable postings include his work as chief electoral officer of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, as a senior political/electoral officer for the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division in the Middle East with responsibility for Yemen, West Bank/Gaza and Iraq, and as chief electoral officer for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.

Born in Colombia, Valenzuela holds a doctorate from the Sorbonne in economic and social studies, as well as master’s degrees in economics and linguistics from the University of Wisconsin.

Sam Younger

Sam Younger has a diverse background with top leadership positions in politics, broadcasting and academia. He currently serves as chairman of the UK Electoral Commission, a position he has held since 2001. In the non-profit sector, Mr. Younger worked as director general of the British Red Cross, spearheading an effort to promote the organization’s global leadership role during a tumultuous period that included the crisis in Kosovo. Previously, he enjoyed a 20-year career at the BBC World Service, including serving as managing director from 1994-1998. Mr. Younger’s academic roles included chairman of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and Chair of Council at the University of Sussex.