Our Team

Value Chains Coordinator

Berta coordinates value chain activities at CREATES. Originally from Austria and Poland, she has worked for fifteen years in Senegal in agroecology, permaculture and intercultural facilitation.

Director of Development

Joan manages the project portfolio and development strategy at CREATES. A geographer, filmmaker and social entrepreneur, he has fifteen years of field experience across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Admin & Finance Manager

Ndella manages CREATES' administrative and financial operations. With a Master's in Computerized Management (UGB), she brings over ten years of finance and administration experience with IBCR, GIZ, USAID, UNFPA and UNICEF in Senegal.

Audiovisual - Videographer & Photographer

Pape Ousman documents CREATES' work through images and video, giving visibility to field realities and the faces of Sahelian transformation.

Filmmaker

Thomas produces CREATES' audiovisual content. His documentary Poisson d'or, Poisson africain, co-directed with Moussa Diop, was selected at 85 festivals and won 27 awards.

Scientific Director

Patrick oversees the scientific direction of CREATES. A researcher at the University of Bern, he has spent twenty years working on natural resource governance and social justice, from the Amazon to sub-Saharan Africa.

Agroecology Project Manager

Saliou leads CREATES' agroecology projects in the field. An agronomist and certified trainer in Ecological and Biological Agriculture, he has coordinated agroecological projects in the groundnut basin since 2014. Master's in food security risk management (UGB).

Agroecology Field Coach - Bambilor

Bineta supports agroecological producers in Bambilor as part of the NICE project. A technician in agricultural sciences (Bachelor's with distinction, EMIA), she co-hosts Bambilor Community Radio and chairs the Production Commission of CIGA Bambilor.

Research Assistant Intern - Water Governance

Awa conducts research on multi-scale water governance in Thiaffoura, CREATES' living lab. A geography student at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, she comes from the territory she studies.

Photographer

Serge is a photographer and project manager based in Geneva. Trained at HEAD (Geneva University of Art and Design) and the University of Geneva, he collaborates with CREATES on the AgroVoiceS project, capturing through images the territorial transformations and invisible realities of Sahelian communities.

Associate Researcher

Keaton conducts research on indigenous crop preservation and agroforestry. A Fulbright Scholar, she came to the Sahel through ethnobiology and permaculture.