Strengthening the H2H Network governance: Welcoming three new members to the H2H Network Board

The H2H Network is delighted to announce the appointment of three new member representatives to its Board, who will provide an important link between the membership and the H2H Team, and provide strategic input and advice in support of the network’s mission.

The newly elected members are Christina Wille, Director of Insecurity Insight, Ewan Oglethorpe, Executive Director of Data Friendly Space, and Mary Ana McGlasson, Executive Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership.

This will bring the total number of board members to seven, with two existing board members now stepping down after serving their terms. We’re extremely grateful to both Dany Egreteau, Director of Atlas Logistique, and Nick van Praag, Executive Director and Founder at Ground Truth Solutions for their time and service.

The H2H Network’s Executive Director, Kim Scriven, said of the news “I am pleased to see three new highly qualified members join the Board, bringing their experience in the humanitarian system as well as the perspectives of their diverse and impactful H2H organisations. I’m grateful to them for their commitment to the H2H Network, and looking forward to working together. My thanks also to Nick, Dany and the rest of the existing Board for their input and advice to me in my first months with H2H.”

More information on the new members can be found below, and details of the other existing Board members can be found here.

Christina Wille founded Insecurity Insight, which examines threats facing people living and working in dangerous environments by using innovative data collection and analysis methods. Before this, she worked as a senior researcher at the Small Arms Survey in Geneva, completed a two-year diplomatic training programme by the European Commission in Slovenia and worked for UNHCR in Bangkok. Originally from Germany, Christina studied at Durham and Cambridge in the United Kingdom and became a Swiss citizen in 2019.

Christina shared, “I am looking forward to serving on the H2H Network board to help strengthen the H2H network and, in particular, the opportunities it brings for small H2H organisations. I am certain that the network offers invaluable collaboration opportunities to ensure that we collectively bring more than our unique contributions to the table. I am particularly interested in ensuring that the network strikes the appropriate balance between being a service provider and a disrupter of the existing humanitarian system.”

Ewan Oglethorpe is a data scientist who shifted from the private sector to humanitarian causes after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, initially working on shelter issues with IFRC and on local projects with Habitat for Humanity. Today, he’s the Executive Director of Data Friendly Space, a global NGO creating data systems for international humanitarian organizations and the technical lead of the DEEP platform. He is passionate about modernising the way humanitarian organisations use data.

Ewan said, “I am enthusiastic about serving on the H2H Board and becoming more involved in helping the network execute its mission and thus assist the world's most vulnerable. Having grown quite disenchanted with the more traditional top-down approach, H2H's mission has inspired and intrigued me since I first came across it, in particular with regard to uniting smaller actors.”

Mary Ana McGlasson’s humanitarian experience covers a range of contexts in Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, in roles including Country Director, Global Emergency Response Coordinator and Global Health Advisor. She has designed and managed humanitarian programs including epidemic response; conflict, post-conflict, and refugee health systems; emergency WASH-related services for refugees and IDPs; natural disaster response; and community-based peacebuilding. Mary Ana has held leadership roles at MSF, Relief International, GOAL, Mercy Corps and now as Executive Director at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership.

Mary Ana shared, “The H2H Network brings together a unique collaboration of humanitarian actors that is unmatched by other networks as it values local leadership, accountability, collaboration, and use of technology to improve humanitarian response in a changing world. As a board member, I want to keep increasing H2H Network’s global brand and reach in service of more effective partnership and locally-led responses.”

Together, the new board members bring valuable expertise and relevant qualifications to guide the H2H Network in its mission of enabling efficient, impactful, and accountable aid during crises, as well as in driving principled change in the wider system.