Andrea E. Poelling is from Basel, Switzerland. The past fifteen years she was studying, living and working abroad in the USA, Central-/South America and Africa. She returned to Switzerland in August 2006 and joined ICAR as the Special Assistant to the Director/Office Manager in November 2006.

Andrea is a Political Scientist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (1997) and a Master’s 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 and humanitarian interventions, with a geographical focus on conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. As part of her Master’s program, she spent time in Kosovo working for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as a Legal Support Officer assisting with the establishment and enhancement of legal institutions and procedures for registering returning refugees and internally displaced populations.

Prior to joining ICAR, Andrea completed a five-year tour with the United Nations in the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Initially, she worked at the UN headquarters in New York in the Mine Action Service and subsequently she joined a UN peacekeeping operation in Africa, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). There she spent four years working as the Program/Training Officer for the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of UNMEE. She was responsible for managing and coordinating mine action programs, public and donor relations (including resource mobilization), advocacy and policy advice.

Before joining the UN, Andrea spent two years working as an International Projects Journalist for the Washington Times. She traveled to developing countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa, researching and analyzing the political and socio-economic stages of development of the respective countries. She coordinated and produced reports on Bolivia, Peru, Panama, the British Virgin Islands and Kenya.