The ECW Team

Graham Lang was appointed as the ECW Deputy Director in February 2023. Graham first joined ECW as the Chief of Education in October 2017. In this role, he oversaw the education programmes supported by the Fund’s investments under the First Emergency Response (FER) and Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) windows, leading the expansion of ECW’s portfolio to over 40 crisis-affected countries. He also managed the Fund’s Acceleration Facility which contributes to global public goods in the education in emergency sector. Graham also served as the Director of ECW’s first High-Level Financing Conference which was held in February 2023 in Geneva.  Prior to joining ECW he worked for over 25 years on education programmes in both development and humanitarian contexts, serving with international NGOs in Cambodia, China, Dominica and Thailand and then with UNICEF in Angola, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Laos, Madagascar and Rwanda. In his current function in the New York HQ, Graham supports the ECW Executive Director, oversees the support to the ECW governance structures and maintains a programmatic overview of ECW’s country-level investments.

Christian Stoff joined ECW in 2018 as Chief of Monitoring, Evaluation (M&E) and Global Reporting. Christian leads the work on all things related to M&E, including partnerships and capacity development initiatives to strengthen education in emergency data systems. Prior to ECW, since 2010, Christian worked with UNICEF as Chief of Education in Sri Lanka, and Chief, Education Research, M&E, in Myanmar. From 2006 to 2010, he worked with UNESCAP and NGOs on Statistics, Social Policy and Emergency Needs Assessments in the Asia-Pacific region. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he also taught courses in Micro-Economics and Econometrics. Christian is German and enjoys composing music in his spare time if his three children let him.

Dianah Nelson joined ECW as Chief of Education in January 2024, with expertise in the education sector and international development stemming from 15 years working with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and donor institutions in twenty-one countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining ECW, she provided critical leadership and technical support during Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, the Refugee Response in Tanzania, armed conflict in South Sudan, the European Migration Crisis in Greece/Serbia, and during the Ebola Response in Sierra Leone, to name just a few. Dianah is originally from Uganda and has two Master’s degrees in culture and development studies, and educational studies from KU Leuven University. Dianah enjoys spending quality time with her family especially reading, exploring and dancing with her daughter.

Kent Page joined ECW as Chief of Advocacy and Communications in July 2019, and has served with the UN for 26 years. Prior to ECW, Kent served with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children as Chief, Advocacy/Communications. He previously served as: Strategic Emergency Communication Advisor at UNICEF Headquarters; UNICEF Spokesperson in L3 emergencies (Haiti & Nepal Earthquakes, Philippines Typhoon Haiyan; Civil Conflicts in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, and more); and, with UNICEF in Angola, Brazil and West/Central Africa. Before UNICEF, he worked with UNDP Angola (civil war), UN-OCHA Liberia (civil war) and UNAMIR Rwanda. Kent is Canadian and enjoys spending time with his family.

Maarten Barends serves as the Chief, Humanitarian Liaison and External Relations and Head of the ECW Geneva Office, representing ECW vis-à-vis the different education partners and networks in Geneva and beyond, and acting as the ECW country lead for Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, South Sudan, and Sudan. Prior to joining ECW, he worked for the UN in various crisis and post-crisis settings, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Palestine, and Sudan. Prior to joining the UN, he worked at the Dutch embassies in Islamabad and Khartoum, as well as at Leiden University. He holds an LL.M. from the University of Amsterdam.

Michael Corlin has been with ECW since August 2018. Michael’s first responsibility was as country lead for Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda with a focus on developing programmes, engaging with grantees, governments and donors in relation to these programmes. Since mid-2020 Michael has been ECW’s Chief of Finance and Operations, including Grants Management. Michael has previously served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, at the Embassy of Denmark in Ghana. He has worked for Save the Children and as advisor in the Ministry of Health in Kenya. He has also worked in other capacities in South and South East Asia, and in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Nasser Faqih is ECW’s Chief of Strategic Partnerships. Nasser is a member of the senior management team for ECW and looks after the Fund’s efforts to bridge the global funding gap for education in emergencies and protracted crises. In addition to advocacy and resource mobilization, Nasser also manages ECW’s investments in the MENA region. Nasser is a development practitioner by training and for the past 20 years has led several United Nations and Civil Society initiatives to advance education, youth leadership, sustainable livelihoods, environmental protection, economic empowerment and capacity development in crisis-affected countries in the Africa and the Middle East regions.

Raakhi Williams is Chief of Strategy, Planning and Accountability. She oversees implementation of ECW’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026, manages ECW’s Acceleration Facility investment window supporting global public goods, and leads ECW’s work on Climate, Risk and Safeguarding. Prior to joining ECW in 2022, Raakhi worked for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID now FCDO) in various roles, including DFID Representative in Somalia, Acting Deputy Head of Office in Nigeria, Head of Humanitarian, Peacebuilding, UN Funds and Programmes at the UK Mission to the UN, and Deputy Head of COP26 Delivery. She has also worked with The Social Mobility Foundation and as board member for Y Care International. She holds a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages from Oxford University and an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge University.