Our staff

balwant.singh@spherestandards.org

Appointed Executive Director in 2019, Dr Singh has more than 25 years of leadership experience in philanthropy, international development and humanitarian initiatives across Asia, Africa, Europe and the USA.

Until 2019, Dr Singh was the CEO of a UK-based philanthropic foundation. He was previously the Global Director of an initiative addressing maternal, newborn and child mortality across Africa and Asia; Regional Director for South and Central Asia at Save the Children; and Executive Director of Doctors of the World USA. His earlier experiences include leading the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in India, directing International Family Health’s global programmes, and managing the global relief organisation Project HOPE’s work in Russia. Balwant is a physician by training and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration.

romain.benicchio@spherestandards.org

Romain joined Sphere in August 2018. Prior to this, he worked with Oxfam and IFRC in various positions focusing on advocacy, campaigns and communication. Over time, he worked on a variety of issues including disaster risk reduction, migration, climate change, health, trade or financing for development.
Romain holds a postgraduate degree in international relations from the University of Amsterdam and a Masters in development economics from the University of Grenoble. He speaks French and English.

tristan.hale@spherestandards.org

Tristan has been Sphere’s Learning and Training Manager since 2017. Prior to joining Sphere, he worked as a Senior Content Manager at Thomson Reuters and held various finance roles at Capita Life and Pensions. He also serves as Board member at Lake Aid, an association supporting refugee and migrant children in Annecy (France). Tristan holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Bath (United Kingdom).
He speaks English and French.

wassila.mansouri@spherestandards.org

Wassila has been responsible for the coordination of the global Sphere network since she joined Sphere in 2015. She has several years of experience in the humanitarian sector, including with Oxfam and Médecins du Monde. She also worked in the occupied Palestinian territories as part of a peacebuilding mission.
Wassila holds a Master’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva, Switzerland). She speaks English, French, and Arabic.

aninia.nadig@spherestandards.org

Aninia joined Sphere in 2008. She focuses on Sphere’s policy development and outreach and supports the Sphere community through implementation guidance for the standards; she also coordinates the Humanitarian Standards Partnership. She was heavily involved in the revision of the 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook. Prior to joining Sphere, Aninia was Country Analyst at the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Before that, she focused on Dutch and EU refugee and asylum policy issues with Dutch non-profit organisations. She also carried out refugee status determination for the Swiss Federal Office for Refugees.
Aninia holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Lausanne and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). In addition to English and French, she speaks German, Dutch and Spanish, and some Italian.

barbara.sartore@spherestandards.org

Barbara has been in charge of Sphere’s communications since 2017. Before then, she worked with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and managed the communications department at ICMC, a humanitarian organisation focusing on displacement.
Barbara holds a Master’s Degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva), an undergraduate degree in Human Rights from the University of Padua (Italy), and an Advanced Certificate in Corporate Communications from the University of Fribourg's School of Management. In addition to English and French, Barbara speaks Italian and Spanish.

loredana.serban@spherestandards.org

Loredana joined the Sphere team in 2015. She has experience working with non-profit organisations and with the private sector in the areas of finance, operations and program management. For several years, she also served as treasurer for the Geneva chapter of the Organisation of Women in International Trade.
Loredana holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Financial Management. In addition to English and French, she speaks Romanian and Italian.