Leadership
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Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General
Ms. Elizabeth Spehar of Canada is the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding and Peace Support, in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO). With more than 35 years of experience in international and political affairs, Ms. Spehar has worked in United Nations Headquarters and in the field, leading political, development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention initiatives. Most recently, since 2016, she was the Secretary-General¡¯s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), also serving as Deputy to the Secretary-General¡¯s Special Adviser on Cyprus.
Previously, Ms. Spehar was Director of the Policy and Mediation Division in the former Department of Political Affairs, now DPPA, where she worked on policy and operational matters related to conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and gender mainstreaming. Prior to this, she was the Director for the Americas and Europe Division and Director of the Europe Division in the Department of Political Affairs, engaging extensively on key political issues facing the region. She also served briefly as Interim Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNFICYP in 2008.
Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Spehar was a senior official with the Organization of American States (OAS) for more than 12 years, working to promote democracy and develop the organization¡¯s dialogue and conflict resolution instruments.
Ms. Spehar holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours from Queen¡¯s University in Canada, a master¡¯s degree in international affairs from Carleton University¡¯s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, also in Canada, and a Dipl?me d¡¯Etudes Sup¨¦rieures from the University of Pau in France. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Croatian.
Born in Port Arthur, Canada, she has a daughter.
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Richard Howard,?Director and Deputy Head of PBPSO ad interim
Mr. Richard Howard is the Director and Deputy Head, ad interim, of the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations.
Richard brings to PBPSO more than 30 years of experience in management and research, including economic growth and decent job creation, peacebuilding , gender equality and inclusion with the private sector, non-government organizations, and the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific. He recently served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea, and the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim, and International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director in Nepal.
Prior to this, Mr. Howard worked as Senior Regional Specialist with ILO in Bangkok, Thailand, Chief Technical Advisor, Private Sector Partnerships on Health for Internal Migrants in Beijing, China, Asia Regional Programme Manager, Private Sector Partnerships for Health with FHI360 (formerly Family Health International) and as Director of Research (Industry Analysis and Market Strategies) with Castle Asia both in Jakarta, Indonesia. ?
Mr. Howard was a Fulbright scholar in Indonesia with research focusing on gender, ethnicity, and national identity. ?He holds a?Doctor of Philosophy?in Anthropology?from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina.?
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Akossiwa Lea Koudjou,? Chief, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Section
Ms. Akossiwa Lea Koudjou has over 20 years of work experience in Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Prior to joining the DDR Section, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, she served as Reintegration Officer with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), as DDR officer and Micro-Projects Programme Manager with the United Nations Operation in C?te d¡¯Ivoire (UNOCI) and worked closely with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) on cross-border issues. She also worked as Field Coordinator with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
She was deployed on short-term assignments in the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA), in the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) as well as in the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
She holds a master¡¯s degree in international affairs from ISC Paris. She speaks Ewe, English and French.
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Dani?l Prins,? Chief, Security Sector Reform Unit?
Dani?l Prins¡¯s experience ranges from military confidence-building measures, regional integration and election monitoring, to arms regulation, mediation and multilateral negotiations.
He was a lecturer in Political Science and International Security at the Royal Dutch Naval Academy, and worked for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various positions before joining the UN in 2008.
Prins was secretary-general of the UN conferences leading to an Arms Trade Treaty (2014).
In 2017 he was a senior visiting fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.
Prins holds an MA in History from the University of Amsterdam.
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Robert Pulver,? Chief,?Justice and Corrections Service?
Robert Pulver is Chief of the Justice and Corrections Service Branch of the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office. He oversees United Nations efforts to strengthen the rule of law in an effort to help bring peace to post-conflict nations around the globe. The team which he directs supports nearly 600 United Nations justice and corrections officers in peace operations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, South Sudan, and other settings.
Mr. Pulver recently returned to United Nations Headquarters after serving as acting Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo and Deputy Head of UNMIK.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Pulver served as Co-Head of the Kosovo Department for Democratic Governance and Civil Society ¨C akin to a ministry in Kosovo¡¯s jointly-run administration. He established rule of law programmes for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Albania and Kosovo. As a Fulbright Scholar, Mr. Pulver taught aspiring judges and prosecutors at the Albanian School for Magistrates.
Mr. Pulver is a certified executive coach (ICF/ACC) and lawyer. He has worked for over twenty years on peacekeeping, governance, rule of law, judicial reform and constitutional matters in conflict and post-conflict settings.
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Gillian Sheehan,? Chief, Strategy and Partnerships
Ms. Gillian Sheehan heads the Peacebuilding Strategy and Partnership Branch in PBPSO, where she oversees the Office¡¯s strategic partnerships for peacebuilding with youth-led organizations, civil society, think tanks and the private sector, as well as UN system-wide engagement with international financial institutions and multilateral development banks in prevention and peacebuilding settings.
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Gillian has over 25 years of experience in political analysis, support to peace processes and peacebuilding, including field assignments in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Haiti. Since 2019, she has led PBSO¡¯s work developing UN system partnerships with the World Bank and other regional development banks in conflict-affected settings. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff for the United Nations Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) from 2021-22 and was deputy head of the transition team for the Secretary-General¡¯s 2019 reforms of the peace and security pillar. Prior to joining the UN in 2006, Gillian served with her country¡¯s diplomatic service in London and Beijing.
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Gillian holds a bachelor¡¯s degree (Joint Honours) in History and French from Oxford University, UK; and a master¡¯s degree in international affairs from The Fletcher School, Tufts University (United States). She is a certified community mediator and speaks English, French, and Mandarin Chinese.
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Brian James Williams,? Chief, Peacebuilding Fund? ?
Brian Williams has worked in the development field for close to 30 years. In 2021 he served in the United Nations Development Coordination Office as the ad interim Chief of Policy and Programming, following on from serving as UN Resident Coordinator in Albania from December 2015 to mid-2020. From 2010 - 2015 he was the Chief of the Peacebuilding Fund in the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office and from 2001 to 2008 he worked on the global HIV crisis, as UNAIDS Coordinator in Myanmar and in Geneva headquarters. Since 1990, Mr Williams has lived in and worked on humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. He has worked with the United Nations, USAID, CARE International, and the International Rescue Committee.
Mr. Williams has a Masters from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and an undergraduate degree in engineering from Harvard University.
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