Members of the Operational Planning and Logistics Group (OPLG) International are part of a global network of experts from the humanitarian, development, peace and security domains. They work in the public sector, academia and international organizations.
Members benefits from privy access to our knowledge sharing platforms, network strengthening events and our training programme.
If you want to be part of this network, join us!
The membership fee for individual is 300 CHF and is available to everyone who is interested in collaborative efforts for greater preparedness and response at the nexus of the humanitarian, development and peace & security agendas.
Masayo has extensive experience in development, peace & security, and humanitarian affairs, gained through roles with the United Nations, government and other organizations in Mexico, Paraguay, El Salvador, the USA and Geneva. Her understanding of life has been deeply influenced by her experiences in Mexico, and also through missions in Ghana, and Mali.
With academic studies in Japan, the USA, Mexico, and Switzerland, she has gained valuable insights into diverse cultural and life perspectives.
At OPLG, she is committed to contributing to the collective professional and personal growth of all members, while working to bring hope to vulnerable communities facing critical challenges.
"When we build bridges, new horizons unfold."
Josef Reiterer is a retired humanitarian affairs officer of UN OCHA. After two peacekeeping missions in the Middle East, he joined the United Nations in 1999 in Geneva, leading the humanitarian civil-military coordination training programme until 2008 and deploying with rapid-response mechanisms such as UNDAC. From 2008 to 2010, he headed DPKO’s civilian pre-deployment training team in Brindisi, overseeing the graduation of 1,500 peacekeepers. Returning to OCHA Geneva, he focused on surge capacity and rapid response, later serving nearly six years as Chief of OCHA’s Civil-Military Coordination Section before leading readiness, training, and staff development within a new Civil-Military Coordination Service.
“Prepared people save time—and lives—in humanitarian crises.”
Emilio is a career military officer who has served as a subject matter expert in Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) for the Portuguese Armed Forces. He has been deployed on multiple peacekeeping missions, acting as a CIMIC Liaison Officer at both national and international levels, and as a CIMIC Trainer for NATO’s Civil-Military Cooperation Headquarters at Motta di Livenza in Italy.
His extensive experience in Civil-Military Cooperation has earned him recognition within the Portuguese Armed Forces. Through his role with OPLG, he aims to place his military expertise, skills, and knowledge at the service of OPLG’s members, fostering meaningful connections across different levels of engagement.
"Daring to look beyond creates space for dialogue and understanding”
Joëlle brings extensive field experience from her work with a major international humanitarian organisation, including the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, and Colombia. Her career evolved from finance and administration into protection, where she focused on community engagement and humanitarian dialogue, working closely with affected populations and engaging with both state and non-state armed actors. These experiences strengthened her understanding of conflict dynamics and principled negotiation.
Joëlle studied at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and later specialised in Conflict, Peace, and Security at the Geneva Graduate Institute. As a board member of OPLG, she seeks to contribute her field perspective, interpersonal skills and network to support collaboration across humanitarian, peacebuilding, and development actors.
“Lasting change is never the work of one, but of many.
Martin is a British humanitarian professional with nearly 20 years of experience in emergency response and preparedness, including roles with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He brings strong expertise in civil-military coordination, access negotiation, strategic planning, and humanitarian financing, with a regional focus on Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Committed to continuous professional development, Martin has completed most of an MSc in Systems Thinking at the Open University, undertaken executive training on Artificial Intelligence at Oxford University, and is developing proficiency in Russian.
Anne-Sophie is a senior learning and innovation leader with more than 20 years of experience across the United Nations system including roles with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and more recently collaboration with Giga, the joint UNICEF/ITU initiative on connectivity and digital inclusion.
She has led both large-scale digital learning and residential capability development initiatives, including scaling the award-winning OpenWHO.org platform to more than 9 million learners in over 75 languages worldwide and heading training and partnerships in civil-military coordination, strengthening organizational preparedness and readiness in complex humanitarian settings. Her work bridges learning strategy and system, technology, and innovation, translating vision into scalable, user-centred solutions.
She recently completed an Executive MBA at EPFL, focusing on harnessing technology and innovation. At OPLG, she seeks to strengthen operational readiness, foster innovation, and support the collective growth and impact of its members.
"Sustainable and meaningful impact emerges where innovation, learning, and technology evolve together".
Lao-born Patrick Somxaysana Vilayleck has been engaged in humanitarian action since 1999, first in Turkey and Afghanistan. Patrick also led many field operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rwanda, Former Yugoslav Republic, Guinea, Burundi, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Pakistan, and in Geneva.
From 2018 to 2021, he directed his consultancy firm providing humanitarian advisory and training services to organisations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Australia.
As operations manager at the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian negotiation in Geneva, Patrick developed and supported a professional network of 2’800 members working together on negotiations in the most critical and complex humanitarian crisis.
"The true measure of our humanity lies not in what we achieve, but in how we uplift others when the world looks away.”