Andrea E. Poelling is from Basel, Switzerland. She studied, lived and worked abroad in the USA, Central-/South America and Africa for 15 years prior to returning home to Basel in August 2006.
Andrea joined the Institute in October 2006 with the launch of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR). Working in close cooperation with the Executive Management, she is responsible for the Resource and Operational Support unit of the Institute.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (1997) and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (2000) with a specialization in international law and human rights. Her main research interests at university included international security policy, UN peace operations, humanitarian interventions and international development assistance, with a geographical focus on conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. As part of her Master’s program, Andrea spent time in Kosovo working for the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) as a Legal Support Officer assisting with the establishment and enhancement of legal institutions and procedures for registering returning refugees and internally displaced persons. During her studies, she also conducted work for UNHCR (Washington, DC – 1997) and UNDP (New York, 2000).
Prior to joining the Institute, Andrea completed a five-year professional tour with the United Nations in the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Initially she worked at the UN headquarters in New York for the Mine Action Service (Special Assistant to Director/External Relations Officer) and subsequently she joined a UN peacekeeping operation in Africa, the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). There she spent four years working for the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of UNMEE (Program/Training Officer), coordinating various aspects of the mine action program, in particular donor and public relations, resource mobilization, advocacy and policy advice.
Before joining the UN, Andrea spent two years working for the Washington Times on special projects. She traveled to developing countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa, researching and analyzing the political and socio-economic state of development of the respective countries. She coordinated the production of, and wrote reports on Bolivia, Peru, Panama, the British Virgin Islands and Kenya.