Fabrizio Carboni, Head of Delegation

Fabrizzio has served as the Head of Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada since June 2024. His background consists of 20 plus years of field and headquarter level experience. Fabrizzio had various roles during his field experience in active conflict areas, including large scale logistics management, detention work, IDP management, protecting family links, dialogue with government officials, and non-government actors. Fabrizzio attended the Université Libre de Bruxelles where he graduated with a master’s degree in international law. He currently lives in Washington with his wife and two children.

Andrea Harrison, Head of Operations/Deputy Head of Delegation

Andrea has also served as a Legal Advisor and Deputy Head of Legal Department in Washington, after which she took on the role of Head of Movement Relations. Prior to being posted in Washington, Andrea served at ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva as Legal Advisor to Operations for the Near and Middle East and Central and Southern Africa. In addition to work at the ICRC, Andrea has taught International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as an adjunct professor at American University School of International Service, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Texas A&M Bush School of Public Policy. Andrea earned her PhD in Law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

Alain Dondainaz, Head of Mission to Canada

Alain is a senior manager with more than 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian assistance. Before taking the position of ICRC Head of Mission to Canada, he worked for the Development and Cooperation Agency of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs where he was the senior finance officer overseeing the institution’s risk management procedures and internal controls. From 2010 to 2013, he was the Canadian Red Cross country representative in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. From 1999 to 2005, he was deployed with the ICRC in the Balkans, Uganda, the Russian Federation and Liberia. In addition, Mr. Dondainaz has other professional experiences with a Canadian NGO in the Philippines and with First Nations Organizations in Vancouver. Mr. Dondainaz holds Master of Arts in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

Sylvain Vité, Head of the Legal Department/Senior Legal Advisor

Sylvain has held various positions both at the ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva and delegations. He worked as a Field Delegate in Colombia, as well as Operational Legal Coordinator in Myanmar. He has also worked as Legal Adviser and Program Manager with different non-governmental organizations and was lecturer and researcher with academic circles. Sylvain holds a Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Geneva. He has published several academic books and articles on International Humanitarian Law, human rights law, and the privileges and immunities of international organizations. He also contributed to the ICRC’s new Commentary on the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Trevor Keck, Head of the Policy Department

Trevor is the head of the policy in the Washington delegation and manages a small team that works closely with ICRC’s field teams on identifying messages for governments and other key audiences. Trevor has been with the ICRC since 2013, and work in different capacities in communications and policy for ICRC’s Washington delegation. Prior to joining the ICRC, Trevor was an Afghanistan researcher for Center for Civilians in Conflict, an organization that conducts field research and advocacy on protection of civilians. Based in Kabul, he conducted research on civilian protection issues, conducted interviews with victims of conflict across Afghanistan, and authored reports on his original research. Trevor holds a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Paul Peugnet, Head of the Foreign Armed Services Department

Paul joined the ICRC in 2016 in the Congo where he was responsible for dialogue with Congolese armed forces and various non-state-armed groups. He’s also served as an advisor on armed carriers for ICRC’s Geneva headquarters and later a military and armed group advisory with the Nairobi and Somalia delegations covering Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and Djibouti. Before his tenure with the ICRC, Paul spent 30 years as an officer in the French Air Force  as the commander of a fighter pilot squadron and in various joint positions including a Africa Desk Officer at the Strategic Operations Centre in Paris and plans for operations in Chad and the Central African Republic. He retired with the rank of colonel. He holds a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Space of the Air Force Academy in Salon de Provence, and is a graduate of the French Joint War College.

Camilla Matteucci, Head of the Protection Department

Beginning her career in Brussels on EU‑funded social development projects, Camilla has dedicated over 20 years to humanitarian work with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She served across four continents gaining expertise on operations that are at the core of ICRC’s mandate in times of conflict and other situations of violence managing activities aimed at promoting the protection of civilians and detainees in Colombia, Burundi and the Philippines, as well as separated families, with significant contributions to addressing disappearances in the Caucasus, Uganda, and Mexico. Most recently she played a lead role in the set-up and surge of ICRC response to major humanitarian crises in the Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Hamas conflicts. Camilla studied International and Diplomatic Science in Italy, and holds a European Master’s degree in Human Rights and Democratization.

Steve Dorsey, Head of the Communications Department

Steve joined ICRC in 2024 after a more than 15-year-career as a journalist. Most recently, Steve was a Senior Producer at the BBC in Washington. Prior to that, he was Executive Editor and Correspondent at CBS News where he oversaw the network’s radio coverage of the White House, Pentagon, State Department and Congress. His career has also included reporting work for NPR, CBC, CNN and Bloomberg in Istanbul, Russia, London and Australia.

Laura Walker McDonald, Senior Advisor on Emerging Technologies in Conflict

Laura is a technologist, lawyer and strategist with more than 18 years of global experience in the aid and development space. Before joining the ICRC in 2021, Laura was Senior Director, Impact and Outreach at the Digital Impact Alliance at the UN Foundation, where she led their policy, impact evaluation, community and communications teams as well as the Principles for Digital Development. Prior to that, she worked at the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation (GAHI), and served as CEO at SIMLab and FrontlineSMS, early leaders in the field of Mobile for Development. Laura began her career working on humanitarian policy, innovation and accountability at the British Red Cross. She has consulted widely on organizational and technology strategy, research, and practice. Laura holds an L.L.M. in international development, law and human rights from the University of Warwick, UK, and an L.L.B. in Law, French and German from the University of the West of England, UK.

Jacob Kurtzer, Senior Strategic Advisor for Policy and Communications Departments

Prior to joining the Washington office, Jake was Communications Coordinator for the ICRC in Israel and the occupied territories. He has also served as head of public and congressional affairs for the Washington Delegation of the ICRC between 2011 and 2014, and carried out short assignments in Juba, South Sudan, and Rakhine State, Myanmar. Previously, Jake was Director and Senior Fellow with the Humanitarian Agenda program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and worked for a year in the political section of the American Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. From 2007-2009, he served as congressional advocate at Refugees International (RI), a humanitarian advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. Jake began his career as a legislative assistant to Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida. Jake holds an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he studied as a Rotary Foundation World Peace Fellow.

Jonathan Horowitz, Deputy Head of the Legal Department

Jonathan focuses on legal issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies in armed conflict, urban warfare, and partnered operations. Previously he was a Legal Advisor at the United Nations and worked as a Political-Military Affairs and Rule of Law Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan where he advised on detention policy. Jonathan has also managed teams of investigators and conducted investigations into alleged human rights and/or IHL violations in Afghanistan, France, Kenya, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Sudan for the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, and legal defence teams. Jonathan received his LLM from the University of Essex (UK) and has published widely on international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Laura Malenas, Policy Advisor

As a policy advisor since 2022 with the ICRC, Laura is the delegation’s lead on policy issues related to the ICRC’s work in Africa, Europe, Eurasia, Food Security and Global Health. Prior to joining the ICRC, she served as a political officer in the United States Foreign Service for more than twenty years, with multiple overseas assignments. In her last assignment at the U.S. Department of State, she was the Director of Energy Diplomacy for the Middle East and Asia, focusing on international energy policy. Laura holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University. She completed a Fulbright Scholar program in Cairo, Egypt, studying media stereotypes prevalent in Western television news.

Edward Gracia, Senior Advisor for Inter-American Affairs

Edward manages relations with the Organization of American States (OAS) and US government entities that oversee the Western Hemisphere. Before joining ICRC in 2022, he served as a legislative affairs specialist for the Inter-American Foundation, an independent US development agency. Before that, he served as Associate Director for the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission, a legislative body created to evaluate US drug policy in the Americas region. He also worked for the Congressional Research Service and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Edward holds an M.A. from Georgetown University. He also studied at La Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and La Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. He is fluent in Spanish.

Marco Zambotti, Senior Policy Advisor for Multilateral Affairs/ Strategic Partnerships

Marco joined the ICRC’s Washington Delegation in 2019 to develop and advance impactful partnerships between the ICRC and the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund) in fragile and conflict situations. Before joining the ICRC, he worked on advanced analytics and country support services in the Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Group of the World Bank. Earlier on, he held research positions at several academic institutions, including the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Brookings Institution, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the U.S., as well as the Institute of International Affairs in Italy. Since 2011, Marco has been regularly teaching graduate courses in international political economy and international history at the Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Science, as well as SAIS. Marco holds a PhD in international political economy from SAIS.

Alejandra Portillo-Taylor, Policy Advisor

Alejandra has been with the ICRC since 2018. She covers Asia and the MENA region for the ICRC. Before this role, Alejandra worked at Crisis Action on efforts for the protection of civilians in Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan. Prior to locating to Washington, she taught English in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She also spent time in Kigali, Rwanda where she developed and led vocational trainings for vulnerable communities. Alejandra received her MSc in International Development from the University of Amsterdam.

Kristien Dermine, Armed Forces Delegate

Kristien joined the ICRC in 2020 serving as an armed forces delegate in various contexts including Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, and Gabon. Before joining the ICRC, Kristien served 20 years in the Belgian Armed Forces with deployments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She holds a master’s degree in political science and international relations from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a master’s in Social and Military Sciences of the Royal Military Academy in Brussels.

Dominique Maria Bonessi, Communications Officer

Prior to joining the ICRC in 2022, Dominique worked as a local reporter covering Maryland government for WAMU, the local NPR-affiliate based in D.C. She has also worked with the Baltimore NPR-affiliate, WYPR, covering Baltimore City Hall, schools, police, and resident concerns. In 2017, she completed a fellowship with the International Center for Journalist in Turkey reporting for multiple news outlets on the lack of health care and educational resources for Syrian diaspora children and their families. Her work was published in USA Today, The Atlantic, US News & World Report, PRI’s The World, and NPR. Dominique holds a master’s degree in international security from American University’s School of International Service and speaks Spanish and Arabic.