Christophe leads APOPO’s team, with many years of management experience in East Africa. Christophe holds a Msc in Product Development & Development Sciences, and developed much of APOPO’s technical apparatus.

Anna has a 7 year business development background in the humanitarian/social entrepreneurship sector and is overseeing the Swiss and European development of APOPO. Anna started her career at UNIDO in operational follow-up and technical coordination of field offices, before joining Ashoka, a global network of social entrepreneurs, where she supported the development of their fledgling foundation in Switzerland, and their program to promote hybrid economic models. In 2014, she met Ashoka fellow and APOPO founder Bart Weetjens and became passionate about the project. She joined the organization to support and promote APOPO’s detection technology, strengthen its European anchor and initiate international partnerships. Anna holds an MA in Corporate Strategy & Finance from Science Po Strasbourg (FR) and the University of Sussex (UK).

Charlie is responsible for building new partnerships and projects with U.S. based organizations as well as developing APOPO’s independent US based 501c3 organization. Charlie joined the APOPO team in December 2014 and is based in Washington DC. Previously he worked in business development and project management for Gallup, a large research and consulting firm, and One Economy, an international technology NGO, both based in Washington DC.

Dr. Cynthia Fast holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Psychology specialising in Learning and Behaviour and Behavioural Neuroscience from UCLA. Cindy has more than ten years of experience conducting behavioural research with a variety of species including rats, mice, pigeons, hermit crabs, and horses.

Michael was appointed as Regional Manager in February 2021 and has been managing the Cambodia Mine Action Program since April 2018. APOPO’s Program in Cambodia is the largest mine action program in the organization, operating in several locations in Cambodia in partnership with National and International organizations. Prior to joining APOPO, Michael spent 10+ years leading various NTS, TS and Clearance tasks, writing standards and SOP’s, building training and accreditation areas, testing equipment, machines and animals.

Tess re-joined APOPO in 2020 to take up the role of Program Manager in Zimbabwe and Africa Regional Manager. Tess has over 18 years of experience in the Mine Action sector, which includes 6 years with APOPO Mozambique between 2011 and 2016. With his experience, technical expertise, leadership and networking skills, he is well placed to develop APOPO’s Mine Action Program in Zimbabwe. APOPO expects additional future tasks in Mozambique, where Tess has plenty of experience with from his time with usthere. Equally, Tess has experience in Angola where he previously worked for Halo Trust.

Manuel “Manu” Joao Agosthino with 20 years of mine action experience, joined APOPO in January 2019 as the new Mine Action Program Manager for Angola. Previously Manu worked for for mer partner Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) for 15 years where he eventually became Deputy Program Manager. He then continued on to take up a Degree in Law while also working part time for UNDP and CNIDAH on mine action related issues. On completing his studies and graduating as a lawyer, Manu worked as a liberal professional lawyer whilst also teaching law at University level in Luanda, before accepting to become our full time Program Manager in Angola.

Negussie has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry and M.Sc. in Public health with ample experience in biomedical sciences research. He served an Assistant Professor at Addis Ababa University, Head of Regional Health Research Laboratory and Lecturer of Clinical Chemistry in Ethiopia. He has conducted research in Austria, South Africa, Spain and Tanzania. Negussie managed APOPO’s Tanzania TB program and chemistry laboratory for seven years. He recently assumed the Program Manager post for APOPO’s TB Operation Program in Ethiopia.

Robert Burny joined APOPO in July 2018 as Program Manager for the TB operations in Maputo, Mozambique. Robert holds a Masters degree in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation and has substantial program management experience with highlights in health and social development. In his PM capacity, Robert will contribute further to the fight against TB and make linkages between services and communities, diagnosis, treatment and cure.

Joseph holds a degree of Doctor of Medicine and recently completed a Masters in Project Management & Monitoring and Evaluation in Health. Joseph has been with APOPO since 2014, and he has been managing the TB Dar es Salaam operations since we opened the new lab in 2016. Joseph has established good contacts with our collaborating TB hospitals in Tanzania.

Esther has a Bachelors degree in Social Work and a Masters degree in Communication. She is the Executive Secretary at the administrative headquarters of APOPO in Belgium since March 2019. Her contribution to APOPO involves a combination of communication, fundraising, HR and administration of our office in Antwerp. With her experience in the civil society sector and her track record in communications, HR and administration, she is perfectly qualified to shape the secretary position.

Javier is in charge of the Marketing Department at APOPO. He holds a degree in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from ESADE Business School. As an international digital marketer, consultant, and entrepreneur, he has over 20 years of experience working for several companies in a wide variety of industries and countries.

Lily is in charge of overseeing both internal and external communications for APOPO across sites and to the public. She ensures messaging is consistent and engaging and supports the organisations communications strategies and marketing campaign implementations to a wide range of audiences. Other roles include coordination of a busy press outreach (online and traditional) and producing digital assets for the various programs.

Bastian Van Mierlo is lead on APOPO’s IT architecture. Bastian, a German national, has an academic degree in computer science and has worked in the IT sector since 1999. Since 2011, he has been working for one of the leading German NGO’s, managing global projects and interacting with many different cultures.

Herwig Leirs is a professor of Zoology and Population Ecology at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He is a specialist of rodent biology and the ecology of infections with numerous international research projects, particularly in Africa. Currently he is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of Antwerp.

Joris Schoofs holds a Master in Commerce as well as a Master in Business Administration. He build his career in the oil industry focusing on management and advisory positions. He joined the APOPO board in 2017 and will add value to the team with his financial insights and sound business sense.

Mic is a sociologist and psychologist who lectured at Antwerp University. In the late 1960s he co-founded the Department of Product Development. He also co-founded the department of communication sciences at the University of Antwerp. For almost 20 years, Mic produced numerous socially oriented programs on Belgian Television, raising awareness on difficult social challenges. Mic co-founded APOPO and has been APOPO’s chairman since 1998.

Dr. Adee Schoon is a leading scientific expert in the olfactory detection capabilities of animals. She holds a Phd in Biology from Leiden University in the Netherlands and is the owner of Animal Detection Consultancy. Adee has a wealth of experience in detection dogs, as well as training detection teams of animals and handlers. She has been engaged in supporting the development of APOPO’s work since the early start in 1998.

Gerrit Ruitinga has been the chairman of the Dutch Petroleum Federation since 2005. He studied at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and Harvard Business School. Gerrit has served on the APOPO board since 2011.

Piet Van Hove is the head of the International Relations Office of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where he previously studied law. His office is responsible for policy formulation and implementation in the field of internationalization, including cooperation with developing countries. He is also a board member of the European Association for International Education (EAIE).

Thierry developed his career in the energy market, oil and natural gas, first as a manager and later as a director. He started his own management consultant company, called Act Management, 15 years ago. In this respect he undertook several important restructuring programs in the world of energy but also in the world of logistics, chemical industries, federations on national and European levels. He holds a Master degree in Applied Economic Sciences at the university of Leuven (UCL). His main hobby is sailing on the North Sea. As a sailor you learn how to combine weather, wind and courant to arrive at a destination. In business you are also dependent on several factors. You need to understand them in order to achieve the company objectives. Thierry is happy to share that experience and expertise with APOPO and sincerely hopes to contribute to the success of the organization.

Kristien knows APOPO since her visit to Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro during the early start-up phase when she was already working for the department for university cooperation for development of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR), of which she has been the Director since 2005. Kristien has a wide network in and an in-depth knowledge of the Belgian Development Sector and International University Collaboration.