Our team

Frederic de Dinechin

UfM Senior Policy Adivisor

Frederic de Dinechin joined the Union for the Mediterranean in 2023 as Policy Advisor in Water, Environment and Blue Economy.  Prior to this assignment, Frederic worked in multilateral development banks including the World Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank and had experiences in the private and public sectors in France. He has a broad international experience including long term assignments in North and Latin America. He graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique in France and holds master’s degrees in Geographic Information Systems, and Urban Planning.

Almotaz Abadi

UfM Deputy Secretary General

Almotaz Abadi, Deputy Secretary General for Water, Environment and the Blue Economy of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Amotaz Abadi has been the UfM’s Deputy Secretary General for Water, Environment and the Blue Economy since September 2022 leading initiatives on the water political process in the Mediterranean, including a Ministerial Declaration and approving a regional water strategy. He was UfM Acting Deputy Secretary General for the same division between September 2015-August 2016. He has also served as Director General of the Directorate for Water Management at the UfM, leading initiatives on water governance in the Mediterranean region. Previously, he was Director of the GoP Aid Coordination and Management Unit for the water and related sectors. He also played a key role in programs, led by the State Department and a coalition of donors, set up to drive socio-economic improvements and build fair and equal opportunities. With more than twenty years’ experience, Abadi is an expert in international cooperation, with a master’s degree in water resources management and governance and a postgraduate degree in leadership and multilateral cooperation on resources and cross-border arrangements. He has advanced skills in diplomacy and regional cooperation, international relations, business development on service sectors, development policies, cooperation & investment.

Samira Shaban Pina

Union For The Mediterranean

Samira Shaban Pina is a dedicated professional at the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in the Policy Advisor in Water, Environment and Blue Economy Division. Supporting cooperation and sustainable development in the Euro-Mediterranean region. She collaborates on initiatives addressing water resource management, economic development, and social cohesion while actively engaging stakeholders to promote strategic partnerships.
Previously, she coordinated a project related to the Council of Europe’s non-hate speech movement and worked as a research assistant at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona within the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Immigration.
Samira holds an MSc in Public Policy and Human Development from Maastricht University and a BSc in Political Science from Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Michael Kropac

Mentor – Cewas Co-Director

Michael is the founder and Co-director of cewas – the world’s first dedicated water and sanitation entrepreneurship platform. Throughout his 18 years of work experience, Michael has been an innovator, knowledge producer, trainer, facilitator and specialized water/food business development coach. Michael is a Geographer with minors in Business Administration and Transdisciplinary Environmental Sciences. He has planned and conducted 100+ capacity development programs for practitioners, decision makers and innovators, including 200+ WEF entrepreneurs worldwide.

Juliette Gabrion

Mentor – Cewas Project Manager

Juliette holds a MSc in Management from ESSEC Business School where she specialized in entrepreneurship. Working closely with female social entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle-East since 2017, she has several years of experience in NGO program design and management. She has worked as an independent consultant for various NGOs and foundations in the field of social entrepreneurship.

Ahmad Hazaymeh

Facilitator – Cewas Project Officer

Ahmad currently plays a role as part of the Cewas team. He actively supports on-ground activities in Jordan, providing valuable assistance and mentoring to the industrial sector and Cewas’s start-ups. Ahmad’s engineering background, combined with his passion for research and sustainability, enables him to approach his work from a well-rounded perspective.

Manuela Múnera

Facilitator – YWS Programme Manager

Manuela holds a degree in International Cooperation and a Master in Business Policy and Social Responsibility from the Université Paris Dauphine-PSL. Her experience includes working with international NGOs, especially in the empowerment of young volunteers from the Global South. She has also worked with social and solidarity economy incubators and contributed to a sustainable impact startup, demonstrating her dedication to supporting social and environmental impact projects.