International Board
© Bruno De Cock/MSFDr Marie-Pierre Allié joined MSF in 1990. She worked for programmes in South Africa, Cambodia and Iran before joining the Paris office, where from 1996–2001 she oversaw a range of field programmes. Marie-Pierre then went on to work as a public health doctor in France. In 2004, she joined the board of MSF France, and returned to the Paris office as deputy director, then director, of operations in 2007. In 2008 Marie-Pierre was elected president of MSF France. She was re-elected in 2011.
Dr Jose Antonio Bastos joined MSF in 1991, while he was working as a general practitioner in Spain. His first assignment was in Turkey, and he went on to work in Bolivia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. After a period as head of the emergency unit at MSF’s office in Barcelona, Jose Antonio worked as director of operations in Barcelona and later in Amsterdam. Between 2006 and 2010 Jose Antonio worked in Pakistan, Iraq and then Afghanistan for the International Committee of the Red Cross. He returned to MSF in 2010, as elected president of MSF Spain.
Michalis Fotiadis joined MSF in 1995, to work as a logistician in Yerevan, Armenia. Since then, he has worked in numerous programmes and held varied roles – including that of ‘flying coordinator’– in the Middle East, eastern Europe, central America and Africa. From 2007 to 2011 Michalis was coordinator of MSF’s International Association, facilitating a far-reaching internal reform process. Outside of MSF, Michalis has studied and taught courses in disaster management and humanitarian assistance.
Dr Pim de Graaf worked in wartorn Mozambique and with Ugandan refugees in Rwanda, then in the Netherlands as a general practitioner, before joining MSF in 1989. Over the next 10 years he worked as a project manager, head of medical department and operational director. In 1999 Pim took a six-year break from MSF, to return in 2005 as a member of the board of MSF Holland. Pim was elected president of MSF Holland and chair of the council of MSF’s operational directorate in Amsterdam in 2008. When not busy with MSF, Pim works as an international consultant in health system development.
Dr Jean-Marie Kindermans first worked for MSF in Thailand in 1980, later going on to work in programmes in Chad and Afghanistan. A specialist in public health and tropical medicine, in 1984 Jean-Marie left MSF to become a consultant in public health, and in 1985 he became director of AEDES, the European Association for Development and Health. In 1996, Jean-Marie returned to MSF to work as Secretary General, managing the International Office for five years. Since 2000, he has worked for the Access Campaign, and been a member of the board of MSF Switzerland, and of MSF UK. Jean-Marie was president of MSF Belgium from 2002 to 2010.
Colin McIlreavy is currently based in the United States, working as a consultant. Trained as an engineer, Colin started work in the oil and gas industry before turning to humanitarian assistance. He began by working for the GOAL development organisation in Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. In 1998, Colin joined MSF, and he has since gained 13 years of experience working on programmes in Burundi, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Iraq and Chechnya.
Dr Clair Mills has worked as a field doctor and medical coordinator for MSF in southern Sudan, eastern Congo, Somalia and Sri Lanka. She then went on to study for a master’s degree in London and work for the World Health Organization in Geneva. Clair returned to the field with Save the Children, working in Mozambique and eastern Congo, before taking up the position of medical director with MSF in Amsterdam (2004–2008). In 2008, she returned to New Zealand, to teach and research health inequalities at the University of Auckland. Clair also works as a public health doctor in the far north of the country. She recently returned to MSF field work by taking part in the response to a cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea.
Meinie Nicolai first worked with MSF in 1992, as a supervising nurse in Liberia. She has since gained a decade of field experience in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia and South Sudan. Meinie returned to the Netherlands to coordinate the national network on sexual and reproductive health and AIDS between 2002 and 2003, but her involvement with MSF continued as she became a board member of the Belgian association. In 2004, Meinie became director of operations in the Brussels office until October 2010 when she was elected president of both MSF Belgium and MSF’s operational directorate in Brussels.
Dr Darin Portnoy joined MSF in 1997, and has worked as coordinator and medical doctor in central Asia, central America, Africa, and most lately in the Persian Gulf region. In 2001 he became a board member of MSF USA and he was president between 2004 and 2008. Darin continues to serve on MSF USA’s board of advisors, and he is a board member of the North American office of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. In addition to his work with MSF, Darin has worked with Human Rights Watch and sits on its health and human rights advisory committee. He currently works at Montefiore hospital in the Bronx, New York.
Dr Morten Rostrup began his career working and teaching in various hospitals in Norway. He joined MSF in 1996, becoming the founding president of MSF Norway as well as working in field programmes in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 1998 Morten became International Vice President of MSF and in 2000 he was elected International President. Between 2003 and 2005 he was also a board member of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. Morten now works part-time in emergency and intensive care medicine at Oslo University Hospital.
Dr Abiy Tamrat headed a health department in Ethiopia before joining MSF. He worked in areas where kala azar and sleeping sickness were endemic, and led a guinea worm eradication programme. In 1999 Abiy began working with MSF in Ethiopia as a medical coordinator. Three years later he moved to Geneva, to work as deputy programme manager for emergencies and then director of the medical department. Abiy was elected president of MSF Switzerland in May 2010.
Martin Aked trained as a chartered account and became a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1984. In 1991 Martin moved to Switzerland, where he was responsible for the audits of multinational companies, as well as smaller companies and non-profit organisations. From 1994 he was a member of Cooper & Lybrand’s international accounting standards technical panel. In 2010 Martin took on the role of International Treasurer with MSF. He continues to work part-time for PwC, in a purely advisory capacity.
