The General Secretariat team works for the continued success of the entire ISS global network.
Leadership
The Transition Team is composed of a Transition Committee with two pro bono members appointed by the Governing board, and the acting CEO/legal representative of the ISS General Secretariat, Jeannette Wöllenstein-Tripathi.
our team
Senior Child Protection Lawyer
Director of Communications
Children's Rights Specialist
Network Development Officer
Director Alternative Care Programs
Senior Knowledge Manager IRC and Office Manager General Secretariat
Children’s Rights Specialist
Children’s Rights Specialist
Senior Advisor Network Development
Children's Rights Specialist
Acting CEO ISS General Secretariat and ISS/IRC Director
Carlotta is a qualified Italian Lawyer and English Solicitor, with a Masters of Law in Children’s Rights. She has worked for over a decade on children’s rights, focusing on alternative care and adoption within NGO, UN human rights system and other intergovernmental organisations. Currently, working as Senior Child Protection Lawyer at the ISS/IRC, she has previously worked as legal officer at the Italian Central Authority on intercountry adoption and the only Italian public accredited adoption body. Also, she has conducted training on behalf of the ISS/IRC in Mali and Burkina Faso. She is a native Italian speaker, fluent in French and English, and proficient in Spanish.
Qualified as a lawyer in France, Floriane specializes in international cooperation in family matters. After experience in an international court in Cambodia, in NGOs focused on children's rights, and in a law firm specializing in international law, she worked as a cross-border case officer and legal expert within the French Central Authorities for international child abduction, child protection, and intercountry adoption. She therefore has more than 10 years of experience in the field of children's rights and inter-state cooperation, particularly in relation to wrongful removals, parental responsibility, unaccompanied minors, adoption, and kafala. She speaks French and English, and can work in Spanish and Portuguese.
Dayenne holds a BBA in Global Project and Change Management, with a focus on child development and well-being. She began her career at ISS through an internship in the Network Development unit in early 2025.
Her international experience working directly with children and families continues to inform her approach to child-focused work and strengthen her commitment to international child protection. Dayenne is a native Dutch speaker and is fluent in English.
Marie runs and oversees the global program “A better future is possible” since 2013. She is a double degree graduate in Psychology (major in child development) and international cooperation management. She has a proven field work experience, which started in Benin as project coordinator and then in Mali as a Child Protection and Intercountry Adoption Officer attached to the Embassy of France.
Liliana, of Uruguayan origin, joined the ISS team in 2000 to support the Information and Publication Unit. Today, she is responsible for the administrative part of the ISS/IRC, in particular the management of the international database and the dissemination of services aimed at improving the protection of children around the world, a task that is particularly close to her heart. She speaks French and Spanish.
Giovanna works as a Children’s Rights Specialist within the ISS/IRC team. She is an Italian Ph.D. candidate and is qualified to work as a lawyer. In addition, she has both international experiences, notably with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and the German Central Authority, and national experience with the Court of Appeal of Milan in the family and minors section. She speaks Italian, Spanish (both as a native speaker), English and German.
Spanish human rights lawyer and children's rights expert. She has both international experience, notably with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Child Rights Connect, and national experience, at Plataforma de Infancia, the national network and coordinating body for NGOs working in children's rights in Spain. She has mainly worked in the fields of access to justice, violence against children and the rights of children deprived of parental care. She speaks Spanish, Catalan (both as a native speaker), English and French.
Alissa is a Children’s Rights Specialist. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights from the University of Valencia and a Degree in International Studies from Leiden University. With international and regional experience in Latin America, including at the Inter-American Children’s Institute of the Organisation of American States, she has worked on issues such as alternative care, child participation, and the protection of children deprived of liberty. At ISS/IRC, Alissa contributes to project management, advocacy, and research initiatives. A native Dutch speaker, she is fluent in English and Spanish and is passionately learning other languages.
Jeannette holds a double Degree in Law from the Universities of Sorbonne-Paris 1 in France and Cologne in Germany. She subsequently specialised in Advanced Children’s Rights, a professional Master from the University of Geneva.
Jeannette has over 9 years of experience working on different children’s rights and policy issues, mainly in relation to child protection, migration, alternative care, adoption and surrogacy. She has had the opportunity to work on different country assessments, technical assistance and training projects, such as in Vietnam, Morocco, Honduras, Algeria, Guinea, etc.
She has also co-authored several ISS publications, namely the ISS’ international manual (2017) and the ISS' Kafalah study (2020).
Aside from her commitment to ISS, Jeannette has previously worked for ISS Switzerland as a cross-border caseworker and jurist as well as for Missing Children Switzerland on parental conflict and child abduction cases.
Today, Jeannette is leading the activities of the IRC.
She speaks French and German (both as a native speaker), Spanish, English, and has started learning Hindi.
Dayenne holds a BBA in Global Project and Change Management, with a focus on child development and well-being. She began her career at ISS through an internship in the Network Development unit in early 2025.
Her international experience working directly with children and families continues to inform her approach to child-focused work and strengthen her commitment to international child protection. Dayenne is a native Dutch speaker and is fluent in English.
Qualified as a lawyer in France, Floriane specializes in international cooperation in family matters. After experience in an international court in Cambodia, in NGOs focused on children’s rights, and in a law firm specializing in international law, she worked as a cross-border case officer and legal expert within the French Central Authorities for international child abduction, child protection, and intercountry adoption. She therefore has more than 10 years of experience in the field of children’s rights and inter-state cooperation, particularly in relation to wrongful removals, parental responsibility, unaccompanied minors, adoption, and kafala. She speaks French and English, and can work in Spanish and Portuguese.
Alissa is a Children’s Rights Specialist. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights from the University of Valencia and a Degree in International Studies from Leiden University. With international and regional experience in Latin America, including at the Inter-American Children’s Institute of the Organisation of American States, she has worked on issues such as alternative care, child participation, and the protection of children deprived of liberty. At ISS/IRC, Alissa contributes to project management, advocacy, and research initiatives. A native Dutch speaker, she is fluent in English and Spanish and is passionately learning other languages.
Chipo is a Zimbabwean/British Social Worker with over 20 years international experience in humanitarian, development and social services contexts. She joined the ISS/IRC team in August 2023 after completing her Advanced Masters (LLM) International Children’s Rights at Leiden University, Netherlands. Chipo is specialised in safeguarding and care of children without parental care and social service workforce development. She also has a keen interest in the rights of children born via assisted reproductive technology including surrogacy. Her work within ISS/IRC with a technical-legal, practice and advocacy focus.
Katerina has over 15 years of experience in advertising and marketing, overseeing projects related to the strategies development and new brands and products launches.
She joined the ISS team in 2024 as a Fundraising Coordinator and will contribute to advancing fundraising projects. Katerina speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English.
María José is a Colombian, professional in Sports and Recreation Sciences. She has a postgraduate degree in Sports Management and is currently finishing a Master’s Degree in Migration and Refugee Care. María José speaks Spanish and English and she is currently learning French.
Liliana, of Uruguayan origin, joined the ISS team in 2000 to support the Information and Publication Unit. Today, she is responsible for the administrative part of the ISS/IRC, in particular the management of the international database and the dissemination of services aimed at improving the protection of children around the world, a task that is particularly close to her heart. She speaks French and Spanish.
Sabina has been working at the ISS General Secretariat since 2015, starting as Project Assistant for the International Family Mediation Programme. Currently, she coordinates the development of the ISS Network, providing daily maintenance to its members and harmonising internal procedures. Sabina has a Master’s Degree in International and European Law and speaks English, French, and Russian.
With an administrative background, Mauricio has worked in the administration and finance department of the General Secretariat since 2014. His professional career has been in institutions and companies such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Guardianship Tribunal of Geneva, and the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN, among others. Mauricio speaks French and Spanish.
Marie runs and oversees the global program “A better future is possible” since 2013. She is a double degree graduate in Psychology (major in child development) and international cooperation management. She has a proven field work experience, which started in Benin as project coordinator and then in Mali as a Child Protection and Intercountry Adoption Officer attached to the Embassy of France.
At the end of 2022, Margherita graduated with a Master in Educational Sciences. She is specialised in designing training and intervention to support social workers and parents in their educational roles. Margherita speaks Italian, English, and French.
Juliette, a Belgian lawyer, joined the ISS/IRC team in 2016, after obtaining her Advanced Masters in Children’s Rights at the University of Leiden. Since then, she has taken part in many of the program’s projects, both those with a pedagogical scope, such as the Manual on Access to Origins, which she co-authored, and those with a technical-legal scope.
Jeannette holds a double Degree in Law from the Universities of Sorbonne-Paris 1 in France and Cologne in Germany. She subsequently specialised in Advanced Children’s Rights, a professional Master from the University of Geneva.
Jeannette has over 9 years of experience working on different children’s rights and policy issues, mainly in relation to child protection, migration, alternative care, adoption and surrogacy. She has had the opportunity to work on different country assessments, technical assistance and training projects, such as in Vietnam, Morocco, Honduras, Algeria, Guinea, etc.
She has also co-authored several ISS publications, namely the ISS’ international manual (2017) and the ISS’ Kafalah study (2020).
Aside from her commitment to ISS, Jeannette has previously worked for ISS Switzerland as a cross-border caseworker and jurist as well as for Missing Children Switzerland on parental conflict and child abduction cases.
Today, Jeannette is leading the activities of the IRC.
She speaks French and German (both as a native speaker), Spanish, English, and has started learning Hindi.
Giovanna works as a Children’s Rights Specialist within the ISS/IRC team. She is an Italian Ph.D. candidate and is qualified to work as a lawyer. In addition, she has both international experiences, notably with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and the German Central Authority, and national experience with the Court of Appeal of Milan in the family and minors section. She speaks Italian, Spanish (both as a native speaker), English and German.
Ehab has a degree in International Business Management from the University of Bordeaux. He is responsible for identifying and recruiting new members, communicating with current members to ensure their active participation, and maintaining our network databases. Ehab has a successful track record of building strong partnerships and fluently speaks English, French, and Arabic.
Fanny thrives when she can motivate and guide people to pursue their individual and common goals. Inspired by the impact of collaboration in any kind of setting or part of the world, she has supported organisations achieving their objectives by developing strategic partnerships, fundraising, and communications. Trained as an economist and a humanitarian at heart, Fanny is passionate about being the Director of Communications of the General Secretariat. Her main responsibilities are to manage and coordinate both network and external communications. Fanny speaks English, French, and Dutch and is also a certified life and career coach.
Chloé is a Master’s student in Organisational Communication, Humanitarian Communication and Solidarity at the University of Lyon 2 in France. Previously, she worked for 5 years as a social worker in contact with different public, mainly in the medico-social sector. Chloé speaks French and English.
Carlotta is a qualified Italian Lawyer and English Solicitor, with a Masters of Law in Children’s Rights. She has worked for over a decade on children’s rights, focusing on alternative care and adoption within NGO, UN human rights system and other intergovernmental organisations. Currently, working as Senior Child Protection Lawyer at the ISS/IRC, she has previously worked as legal officer at the Italian Central Authority on intercountry adoption and the only Italian public accredited adoption body. Also, she has conducted training on behalf of the ISS/IRC in Mali and Burkina Faso. She is a native Italian speaker, fluent in French and English, and proficient in Spanish.
Spanish human rights lawyer and children’s rights expert. She has both international experience, notably with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Child Rights Connect, and national experience, at Plataforma de Infancia, the national network and coordinating body for NGOs working in children’s rights in Spain. She has mainly worked in the fields of access to justice, violence against children and the rights of children deprived of parental care. She speaks Spanish, Catalan (both as a native speaker), English and French.
With a beginning in the Red Cross as a volunteer, Jean Ayoub became operations director during the Lebanese civil war. He then served on several field missions for the International Red Cross before relocating to Geneva to re-design and supervise Red Cross Red Crescent response to worldwide natural disasters as Director of Operations and IFRC Director of Cooperation and Development.
Jean went off then to Paris as the Director General for the French Telethon to refocus systems and teams on the main vision and mission of the Telethon umbrella association (AFM). Starting 2005 he worked several years as an independent advisor, consulting mainly on turnaround management situations and leadership coaching.
Jean is currently and since 2008 the Secretary General and CEO of International Social Service (ISS) driving with a dream team the full transformation of the organisation ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2024.
Jean has travelled to more than 130 countries; has a deep understanding of the world’s humanitarian and social affairs. He is a strategic thinker and committed to organisational change and cultural diversity in the digital age.
Jean is passionate about having a role to make our battered world a better place to be, working with ISS worldwide in addressing child protection and children migration challenges.
His favorite motto is “You have not come that far to only come that far!”
