Roxana Cristescu is the Head of CMI’s Programme in Eurasia. She leads CMI’s programme activities in the region. Ms Cristescu joined CMI in 2009 and previously worked as Adviser for the Black Sea and Central Asia Programme, with a special focus on CMI’s mediation related activities. Before joining CMI, Cristescu worked in various conflict affected areas including Ethiopia, Sudan, Kosovo (Mitrovica Region), Moldova/Transdniestria, Ukraine and Lebanon.

She holds a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Bucharest, two Master’s Degrees from Florence and Rome University in Mediation and Security Studies. She is currently enrolled for a Master of Science in Mediation Studies at Queens University, Belfast. Cristescu is among others a member of the United Nations Mediation Roster and a member of the UN Women, Central and Southeastern Europe (CSEE) Sub-regional Roster of Experts.

Itonde A. Kakoma is the Head of Region for Sub-Saharan Africa at CMI. Kakoma oversees the dialogue and mediation support efforts of CMI in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to CMI, he served as the Assistant Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center, managing the Center’s peace initiatives and supporting President Carter’s efforts in and between Sudan and South Sudan. He was an international observer for Sudan’s National Referendum on the Right to Self-Determination in 2011. Previously, he worked on the Carter Center’s peace initiatives in Liberia, where he was an advisor and report writer for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, specifically on the role of traditional and religious communities during the civil war and in peacemaking.

Kakoma has served as a guest editor for the Journal of Religion, Conflict and Peace and has worked for the World Council of Churches, consulted for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue’s Nairobi Bureau, and has advised inter-disciplinary initiatives at Emory University and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Oskari Eronen is Senior Manager of CMI’s Programme Management Office. He is responsible for the internal planning, monitoring and evaluation process. His expertise pertains in particular to the security-development nexus: comprehensive and integrated approaches; crisis management; security sector reform; and women, peace and security.

Oskari joined CMI in September 2012. He has previously worked at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an Adviser for Security and Development as well as in several research positions related to international conflict management, with a special focus on Afghanistan and civil-military affairs. In 2006–2007, he served as a Political Advisor to the Provincial Reconstruction Teams of the ISAF operation in northern Afghanistan. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences (Political Science) from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.